It's likely higanbana were introduced from China at the same time as rice cultivation.
The poisonous flowers were once commonly planted around graveyards and fields to deter animals (particularly rodents) from feasting on corpses and rice.
Some have suggested there are over 1000 names for this one flower!
Doku-bana (毒花 poisonous flower)
Shibito-bana (死人花 flower of the dead)
Yūrei-bana (幽霊花 phantom flower)
Kitsunebana (狐花 fox flower)
Sutegobana (捨子花 abandoned child flower)
Samadhi flower (三昧花)😇