Japanese urban legends
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A Japanese urban legend (日本の都市伝説, Nihon no toshi densetsu) is a story in Japanese folklore which is circulated as true. These urban legends are characterized by originating in or being popularized throughout the country of Japan. These urban legends commonly involve paranormal entities or creatures who encounter and attack humans, but the term can also encompass widespread, non-supernatural rumors in popular culture. Urban legends in the former category rarely include the folklore yōkai, instead of being primarily based on contemporary examples of yūrei (Japanese ghosts). Modern Japanese urban legends tend to occur in schools or urban settings, and some can be considered cautionary tales.
Natural legends
1932 Shirokiya Department Store deaths
On 16 December 1932, the
Contrary to this belief, Shoichi Inoue, a Japanese customs and architecture professor at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies, has denied the story of the ambivalent women with fatal modesty. According to Inoue, most people were saved by firefighters, and the story of women who preferred to die with their modesty intact was fabricated for Westerners. The story has been prevalent in many reference books, even published by the Fire Fighting Agency. Moreover, the Japanese generally believed that the Shirokiya Department Store fire was a catalyst for changing fashion customs, specifically the trend toward wearing Western-style panties. However, there is no evidence to substantiate the belief.[3]
Sony timer
It was rumored that the
This has never been substantiated, and while it is unlikely that Sony would explicitly add expiration devices to their hardware, the "Sony Timer" has also been taken to mean that Sony manufactures devices to withstand just enough use to necessitate a new line. At the annual shareholders meeting in 2007, then president
Supernatural legends
Aka Manto ("Red Cloak")
Cursed Kleenex commercial
In the 1980s, Kleenex released three Japanese commercials for their tissues, featuring a woman played by actress Keiko Matsuzaka dressed in a white dress and a child dressed as a Japanese ogre, sitting on straw. Each advertisement had the song "It's a Fine Day" by Edward Barton and Jane playing in the background.[12][13] Allegedly, viewers began to file complaints with television stations and with Kleenex's corporate headquarters because they found the commercial unnerving, and some supposedly claimed that the song sounded like a German curse, despite the lyrics being in English.[13] False rumors about the cast and crew were reported and circulated, including that all those involved in filming the commercial met untimely deaths in accidents, that Matsuzaka was institutionalized after a mental breakdown, or that Matsuzaka became pregnant with a demon child. The demon child is actually a depiction of the character Ten from the anime Urusei Yatsura.[13]
The Curse of the Colonel
The
The legend is similar in nature to the Curse of the Bambino.[14]
Ghost taxi passengers
A Japanese urban legend dating back to the
Gozu ("Cow Head")
Gozu (牛頭, "Cow Head"), also known as "Ox Head", is a Japanese urban legend about a fictional story called "Cow Head". Supposedly the "Cow Head" story is so horrifying that people who read or hear it are overcome with fear so great that they tremble violently for days on end until they die. The full story was broken up into fragments that when read individually are not lethal, but still terrify and bring great pain and suffering upon those who read or listen to their words.[19][20]
Gozu was sometimes rumored to be an unpublished piece written by the famous science fiction author Sakyo Komatsu, but there is no evidence to link the author to the legend. A Ukrainian folktale called Cow's Head exists, about a woman who receives good fortune by offering food and shelter to a disembodied cow's head that visits her one night.[21]
Hanako-san (Toire no Hanako-san)
Hanako-san, or Toire no Hanako-san (トイレのはなこさん, Hanako of the Toilet), is a legend about the spirit of a young girl named Hanako who haunts school bathrooms.[22][23] Several variations of the legend exist: in one, Hanako-san is the ghost of a girl who committed suicide during an air raid in World War II;[6][9] in another, she committed suicide after being bullied by other students.[22] Rumors and legends about Hanako-san have achieved notable popularity in Japanese primary schools, where children may challenge classmates to try and summon Hanako-san.[9]
Inokashira Park curse
In Inokashira Park, Tokyo, there is a shrine to the goddess Benzaiten, as well as Inokashira Pond, a lake where visitors can rent rowing boats.[24][25] There is an urban legend which states that if a couple rides on a boat together, their relationship will end prematurely.[26] In some versions of the legend, happy couples who visit the park will be cursed by the jealous Benzaiten, which will cause them to break up.[24][25]
Jinmenken ("Human-Faced Dog")
Jinmenken (人面犬, "Human-Faced Dog") are dogs with human faces that are said to appear at night in Japanese urban areas.[27] They are rumored to be able to run along highways at extremely high speeds, which allows them to overtake cars and then look back at drivers with their human faces.[27][28] Jinmenken can talk, but prefer to be left alone.[28] In some stories, which are often presented as comedic, wherein individuals may encounter a dog rummaging through garbage, only for the dog to look up, revealing itself as a jinmenken with its human face, and say something like "leave me alone!" (or "hottoite kure!").[27] Explanations for jinmenken include that they are genetic experiments, or that a jinmenken is the ghost of a human who was struck by a car while walking a dog.[27]
The concept of dogs with human faces dates back to at least as early as 1810, when a "human-faced puppy" was reportedly exhibited at a
Kisaragi Station
The Kisaragi Station is a Japanese urban legend originating on the 2channel message boards in 2004 and revolves around a mysterious railway station somewhere in Shizuoka Prefecture. Shared as an anecdote in the thread "Post About Strange Occurrences Around You: Thread 26", the tale recounted how the anonymous user – who was later identified as "Hasumi" – awoke on a train with all other passengers asleep. As Hasumi tried to figure out what had happened, she posted about the strange occurrence on 2channel, receiving advice from other users on the thread. The trip was meant to be her typical commute to work on the Enshū Railway Line, but the train was travelling in an unknown direction, and its driver and conductor were completely unreachable, making it impossible for Hasumi to figure out where she was headed.
After an hour, the train stopped at Kisaragi Station, late at night. Hasumi left the train, finding the station to be deserted. She asked users on the 2channel thread she had written about what to do, and everyone urged her to escape, but Hasumi chose to stay at the station. Wandering around the station premises, Hasumi attempted to locate a taxi to no success. She then located a telephone booth, dialled her parents and requested that they collect her, but they were unable to determine her location – Kisaragi Station appeared on no maps. Her parents urged her to call the emergency services and inform them that she was lost, but when she did, the authorities assumed it was a prank call.
Suddenly, the station's surroundings changed. A bell inside the station began tolling ominously, a loud drumbeat was heard, and even the physical qualities of the landscape began to change. Hasumi climbed down onto the tracks in an effort to flee, but was interrupted by a lone voice that shouted "Hey! Don't walk on the track, that's dangerous!" Expecting a station attendant to have found her, Hasumi turned around to see a man with only one leg, who immediately vanished. Terrified, Hasumi ran along the train tracks into a tunnel, but tripped and injured herself.
She soon reached the end of the tunnel and was welcomed by a friendly man who offered a ride to safety – unusual for this hour and also at such a location. With no options left, Hasumi returned to the station with the man, and boarded another train. However, this train continued along the line, deeper and deeper into a remote area of the Japanese Alps, and the once-friendly man went completely silent and didn't acknowledge Hasumi's presence.
Hasumi's final post on the 2channel thread was "My battery's almost run out. Things are getting strange, so I think I'm going to make a run for it. He's been talking to himself about bizarre things for a while now. To prepare for just the right time, I'm going to make this my last post for now." After that, she vanished without a trace.
Kokkuri
Legends about the game include Kokkuri-san only telling players the date of their death, while others say that one can ask Kokkuri-san anything, but one must finish the game either by saying goodbye to Kokkuri-san before leaving the table or by disposing of the kokkuri game utensils within a specific time limit, such as spending the coin or using up the ink in pen used to write the hiragana.[34]
Kuchisake-onna ("Slit-Mouthed Woman")
Kunekune ("Wriggling body")
Living dolls
One contemporary legend in Japan is that of "
Red Room Curse
The Red Room Curse (赤い部屋, Akai heya) is an early Japanese Internet urban legend about a red pop-up ad which announces a forthcoming death of the person seeing it on their computer. A common version of the story says that, while browsing the Internet the victim will be presented with a pop-up of a black text saying "Do you like — ?" (あなたは〜好きですか?) on a red background. After trying to close it, the pop-up will reappear, this time the text saying "Do you like the red room?" (あなたは赤い部屋が好きですか?). Then, the screen will turn red, displaying a list of names of the Red Room's victims. The target will sense a mysterious presence behind them, after which they will lose consciousness. They will later be found dead in their home, with the walls of the room in which they are discovered "painted red with blood".
It is thought to originate from a 1990s Flash animation horror animation of the late 1990s that tells the story of the legend.
Square (or the Corner Game)
Square (スクエア) is an urban legend game circulated in East Asia. The game requires four players and can allegedly summon a supernatural entity.[43]
Teke Teke (or Kashima Reiko)
Teke Teke (テケテケ) is the ghost of a young woman or schoolgirl who fell on a railway line, which resulted in her body being cut in half by a train.[44] She is an onryō, or a vengeful spirit, who lurks around urban areas and train stations at night. Since she no longer has her legs, she travels on either her hands or elbows, dragging her upper torso along the ground and making a scratching or "teke teke"-like sound. If she encounters a potential victim, she will chase them and slice them in half at the torso with a scythe or another bladed weapon.[45]
In some versions of the Teke Teke story, the spirit is identified as Kashima Reiko, who is said to have died when her legs were severed from her body by a train.[44] According to legend, her legless ghost haunts bathrooms, asking occupants if they know where her legs are. If a questioned individual replies with an answer that Kashima deems unacceptable, she will tear or cut their legs off.[6] Individuals may escape Kashima by replying that her legs are on the Meishin Expressway,[6][46] or by answering her question with the phrase "kamen shinin ma", which translates to "mask death demon".[5]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8048-3772-9.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-520-04742-6.
shirokiya.
- ISBN 978-4-02-259800-4.
- ^ ソニー、定時株主総会を開催。「利益を伴う成長へ」 「ソニータイマーという言葉は認識している」中鉢社長 (in Japanese), 2007-06-21, AV watch
- ^ a b Bathroom Readers' Institute 2017, p. 390.
- ^ a b c d Grundhauser, Eric (2 October 2017). "Get to Know Your Japanese Bathroom Ghosts". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- ^ Joly 2012, p. 55.
- ^ a b c "Aka manto". Yokai.com. 31 October 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- ^ a b c Yoda & Alt 2013, p. 237.
- ^ Bathroom Readers' Institute 2017, p. 391.
- ^ Bricken, Rob (19 July 2016). "14 Terrifying Japanese Monsters, Myths And Spirits". Kotaku. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- ^ "Cursed Japanese Kleenex Commercial". Museum of Hoaxes. 1 October 2007. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
- ^ a b c Jacobson, Molly McBride (5 October 2016). "Watch a Cursed Japanese Kleenex Ad". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
- ^ a b White, Paul (21 August 2003). "The Colonel's curse runs deep". USA Today. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ Nugent, Addison (2019-10-28). "The Ghosts Who Hailed Taxis". OZY. Archived from the original on 2022-09-21. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
- ^ "Japanese Taxi Drivers Frequently Report Ghostly Encounters". Japan Insider. 2021-05-27. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
- ^ Gidman, Jenn. "Taxi drivers see 'ghosts' after tsunami". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
- ^ Kingston, Jessica (2020-10-13). ""Have I died?" After Japan's 2011 tsunami, taxi drivers picked up 'ghost passengers'". Mamamia. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
- ^ Bingham 2015, p. 49.
- ^ Griffin, Erika (12 January 2011). "8 Scary Japanese Urban Legends". Cracked. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
- ^ "Cow's Head: From Ghost Stories at Americanfolklore.net". americanfolklore.net. 21 October 2022.
- ^ a b Meyer, Matthew (27 October 2010). "A-Yokai-A-Day: Hanako-san (or "Hanako of the Toilet")". MatthewMeyer.net. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
- ^ a b Fitch, Laura (7 June 2005). "Have you heard the one about..?: A look at some of Japan's more enduring urban legends". The Japan Times. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ a b "Inokashira Park Benzaiten Shrine". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ a b "Tokyo facts: 40 trivia tidbits to wow your mind". Time Out. 25 August 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ "The curse of Inokashira Pond". The Japan Times. 17 November 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f Foster 2015, p. 226.
- ^ a b Cameron, Kim (21 December 2015). "Feature: Monster Mondays - Jinmenken (Human-Faced Dog)". Crunchyroll. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ Murakami 2000, p. 195.
- ^ Foster 2015, p. 226–227.
- ^ Komatsu, Mikikazu (27 October 2016). "3rd "Yo-Kai Watch" Film New Trailer Introduces More Live-Action Cast including Human Face Dog". Crunchyroll. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ Kelly, Katy (28 September 2019). "Ouija satchel lets you talk to a Shinto spirit while you shop". Japan Today. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
- ^ "Obakemono.com". Archived from the original on 2011-06-16. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
- ^ "Japanese Urban Legend: Kokkuri-san's voice". thejapanesehorror.com.
- ^ a b Yoda & Alt 2013, p. 204–206.
- ^ a b c d Meyer, Matthew (31 May 2013). "Kuchisake onna". Yokai.com. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ Matchar, Emily (31 October 2013). "Global Ghosts: 7 Tales of Specters From Around the World". The Atlantic. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
- ^ Philbrook, Scott (co-host); Burgess, Forrest (co-host); Meyer, Matthew (guest) (14 October 2018). "Ep 121: Yokai Horrors of Japan" (Podcast). Astonishing Legends. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ Freeman 2010, p. 200.
- ^ Yamaguchi 2007, p. 19–23.
- ^ "発表報文(メディア紹介・発表論文)". Kinjo Rubber Co., Ltd. 21 May 2004. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-59884-720-8.
- ^ Peters, Lucia (9 May 2016). "The Most Dangerous Games: The Corner Game". The Ghost In My Machine. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ de Vos 2012, p. 170.
- ^ Bricken, Rob (19 July 2016). "14 Terrifying Japanese Monsters, Myths And Spirits". Kotaku. G/O Media. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
Further reading
- Ballaster, Ros (2005). Fables of the East: Selected Tales 1662-1785. ISBN 978-0199267354.
- Bathroom Readers' Institute (2017). Uncle John's OLD FAITHFUL 30th Anniversary Bathroom Reader (Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Annual). ISBN 978-1684120864.
- Bingham, Adam (2015). Contemporary Japanese Cinema Since Hana-Bi (Traditions in World Cinema EUP). ISBN 978-0748683734.
- de Vos, Gail (2012). What Happens Next? Contemporary Urban Legends and Popular Culture. Libraries Unlimited. ISBN 978-1598846331.
- Foster, Michael Dylan (2015). The Book of Yokai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore. ISBN 978-0520271029.
- Freeman, Richard (2010). The Great Yokai Encyclopaedia. CFZ. ISBN 978-1905723546.
- Joly, Dom (2012). Scary Monsters and Super Creeps: In Search of the World's Most Hideous Beasts. ISBN 978-0857207647.
- Murakami, Kenji (2000). 妖怪事典 (Yōkai jiten) [Monster encyclopedia]. ISBN 978-4620314280.
- Philip, Neil (1999). Myths & Legends: The World's Most Enduring Myths and Legends Explored and Explained (DK Annotated Guides). ISBN 978-0789441171.
- Tyler, Royall (2002). Japanese Tales (The Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library). ISBN 978-0375714511.
- Yamaguchi, Bintaro (2007). 本当にいる日本の「現代妖怪」図鑑 (Hontō Ni Iru Nihon No Gendai Yōkai Zukan) [Japan's "Modern Monster" Picture Book)]. Kasakura Publishing Company. ISBN 978-4773003659.
- Yoda, Hiroko; Alt, Matt (2013). Yokai Attack!: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide. ISBN 978-1462908837.