Hanako-san
Hanako-san, or Toire no Hanako-san (トイレの花子 (はなこ)さん, "Hanako of the Toilet"), is a
Legends about Hanako-san have achieved some popularity in Japanese schools, where children may challenge classmates to try to summon Hanako-san. The character has been depicted in a variety of media, including films, manga, anime, and video games, and not just as the notorious Hanako-san but in some as Hanako-kun, the male version.
The legend and its variations
According to legend, Hanako-san is the spirit of a young girl who haunts school toilets, and can be described as a yōkai or a yūrei.[1][2] The details of her physical appearance vary across different sources, but she is commonly described as having a bobbed haircut and as wearing a red skirt or dress.[3][4][5] The details of Hanako-san's origins also vary depending on the account;[4] in some versions, Hanako-san was a child who was murdered by a stranger or an abusive parent in a school toilet;[1][2] in other versions, she was a girl who committed suicide in a school toilet;[1] in still other versions, she was a child who lived during World War II[4] and was killed in an air raid while hiding in a school toilet during a game of hide-and-seek.[1][2]
To summon Hanako-san, it is often said that individuals must enter a girls' toilet (usually on the third floor of a school), knock three times on the third stall, and ask if Hanako-san is present.[1][4][5] If Hanako-san is there, she will reply with some variation of "Yes, I am."[1][4] Depending on the story, the individual may then witness the appearance of a bloody or ghostly hand;[4][5] the hand, or Hanako-san herself, may pull the individual into the toilet, which may lead to Hell;[1][3] or the individual may be eaten by a three-headed lizard who claims that the individual was invading Hanako's privacy.[4][6]
History
Author and
In popular culture
The Hanako-san character has appeared in film, literature, manga, anime, and video games. She made her first cinematic appearance in the 1995 film Toire no Hanako-san, directed by Joji Matsuoka,[7] in which she is depicted as the benevolent spirit of a girl who committed suicide, and who haunts the toilet of a school.[8] She was later depicted in the 1998 film Shinsei Toire no Hanako-san, directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi,[7] in which she is portrayed as a vengeful ghost who haunts the middle school that she attended before she died.[9][10] She is also depicted in the 2013 film Toire no Hanako-san: Shin Gekijōban, directed by Masafumi Yamada.[7]
Hanako-san appears in the manga series
The Hanako-san legend was also incorporated into the 2020
14th Generation Toilet Hanako-san (十四代目トイレの花子さん) is a Japanese idol whose persona is based on Hanako-san.[18] Her music encompasses many of the themes of the Hanako-san legend, including violence, death, revenge, and psychosexual issues.
See also
- Aka Manto ("Red Cape"), a Japanese urban legend about a spirit which appears in toilets
- Akaname, a Japanese yōkai said to lick the filth in bathrooms and bathtubs
- Bloody Mary, an urban legend about an apparition who appears in mirrors
- Madam Koi Koi, an African urban legend of a ghost who haunts schools
- Moaning Myrtle, a toilet-dwelling ghost in the Harry Potter book series
- Teke Teke, a Japanese urban legend about the spirit of a girl with no legs
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Meyer, Matthew (27 October 2010). "A-Yokai-A-Day: Hanako-san (or "Hanako of the Toilet")". MatthewMeyer.net. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
- ^ a b c Yoda & Alt 2013, p. 237.
- ^ a b Bathroom Readers' Institute 2013, p. 178.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Grundhauser, Eric (2 October 2017). "Get to Know Your Japanese Bathroom Ghosts". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- ^ a b c d Meza-Martinez, Cecily; Demby, Gene (31 October 2014). "The Creepiest Ghost And Monster Stories From Around The World". NPR. National Public Radio, Inc. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
- ^ From Travel + Leisure. "World's most haunted forests". BBCc.com. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- ^ a b c Dylan Foster 2015, p. 272.
- ^ Harper 2009, pp. 19–20.
- ^ Yoda & Alt 2013, p. 268.
- ^ Harper 2009, pp. 19–21.
- ^ Eisenbeis, Richard (14 September 2015). "A Manga About Urban Horror Stories Become Real". Kotaku. G/O Media. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
- ^ a b Pineda, Rafael Antonio (4 July 2019). "Lerche Animates Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun Anime for 2020 Premiere". Anime News Network. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
- ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (13 July 2019). "Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun Anime Reveals Visual, More Staff". Anime News Network. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
- ^ Orsini, Lauren (6 May 2015). "Episode 5 - Kyōkai no Rinne". Anime News Network. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
- ^ Silverman, Rebecca (3 June 2018). "Episode 10 - GeGeGe no Kitarō". Anime News Network. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
- ^ Sato (16 May 2014). "Yo-Kai Watch 2 Introduces New Monsters Including A Super Hero Cat". Siliconera. Curse LLC. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
- ^ "An Interview with JC Bratton: Author of Who's At the Door?". Self-Publishing Review. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
- ^ "14th Generation Toilet Hanako-san Official Web Site" (in Japanese). 2024-04-04. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
Bibliography
- Bathroom Readers' Institute (2013). Uncle John's the Haunted Outhouse Bathroom Reader for Kids Only!: Science, History, Horror, Mystery, and... Eerily Twisted Tales. ISBN 978-1607107842.
- Dylan Foster, Michael (2015). The Book of Yokai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore. ISBN 978-0520271029.
- Harper, Jim (2009). Flowers from Hell: The Modern Japanese Horror Film. Noir Publishing. ISBN 978-0953656479.
- Yoda, Hiroko; Alt, Matt (2013). Yokai Attack!: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide. ISBN 978-1462908837.