Japan is an amazing, unique and still mysterious country, located as if on a small boat, far from the rest of the world. To many foreigners, the Japanese seem like some kind of “freaks” who are sometimes really difficult to understand and relate to their worldview. Nevertheless, interest in Japan is only growing, and its legends are gaining even greater fame...
"The Legend of the Dinosaur and the Monstrous Bird"
Many legends of Japan can be seen thanks to film adaptations. One such possibility is a dinosaur-bird movie directed by Junji Kurata at Toei Studios in 1977.
Genre: kaiju eiga - monster movie.
Plot. In the summer of 1977, fossilized eggs of ancient creatures - dinosaurs - are found in a crevice of Mount Fuji. For millions of years they slept in a dead, peaceful sleep, until natural disasters awakened them from their long hibernation. A series of terrible events followed: human deaths, beheaded horses, mass panic and, finally, a volcanic eruption.
"The Legend of the Dinosaur" from Japan hit the screens of the Soviet Union in 1979 and was a surprising success with audiences - about 49 million views.
"The Legend of Narayama"
Like the example described above, this title also belongs to the 1983 film. The director and screenwriter Shohei Imamura got to work, taking the stories of Shichiro Fukazawa as the basis for the plot.
Genre: drama.
Plot. Famine reigns in a small primitive village - 19th century. In the village, only the eldest sons are allowed to create families, while the younger ones are used as workers. Girls are sold or exchanged for things, such as salt. Babies are sometimes killed, and families who steal someone else's crops are buried alive.
The meaning of the Narayama legend in Japan is that the village has a truly creepy custom. Elderly people over 70 years of age should no longer receive food as they are considered “extra mouths to feed.” Therefore, the eldest son is obliged to take his father or mother on his shoulders and carry him to Mount Narayama, where the ancestor will remain to die of thirst and hunger.
Inunaki Village
Inunaki Village is a mysterious settlement completely isolated from the rest of the world. It contains a large number of abandoned houses, and some of them are inhabited only by old people.
At the entrance to the village, you can see a sign that says "Japanese laws do not apply here," and according to eyewitnesses, life in this village is eerie.
For example, things like cannibalism and murder are quite normal. Electronic devices and telephones do not work in the village - there are pay phones and old shops, but you cannot make a call from such a phone.
The people who went to the Inunaki village did not return.
Ancient legends of Japan
Japanese myths and legends contain features of the religions of Shinto and Buddhism, as well as folk tales.
The mythology of this Asian culture is assigned the status of “the country of eight million deities,” since Japan really has a very large number of gods.
"Koto Amatsukami" is a group consisting of five kami (a god in the traditional religion of Japan - Shintoism).
When heaven and earth were born, the three Hitorigami deities descended onto the earth's surface. These creatures were:
- the presiding god is Ame no Minakanushi no Kami;
- the god of domination and achievement - Takamimusuhi no kami;
- the god of creation or birth - Kamimusuhi no kami.
When the earth was filled with seas, the rest also awakened:
- Hikoi no kami;
- Tokotachi no kami.
Further, according to Japanese legend, after the Amatsukami came the divine era of seven generations called “Kamiyo Nanae”, whose last representatives were Izanami and Izanagi, the creators of the Japanese islands.
The deities became engaged, and from them other islands of the Japanese archipelagos were born. When the fire god Kagutsuchi appeared, he crippled his mother Izanami, and she went to the underworld of Yemi. Izanagi, in a fit of anger, killed Kagutsuchi's son and went in search of his wife in the same underground kingdom.
Izanagi found his beloved, despite the pitch darkness. However, she had already tasted the food of the dead and became a slave of the underworld forever. When the husband completely refuses to leave his wife, she agrees to return with him, but before that she asks her lover to give her the opportunity to rest a little. Having waited too long, Izanagi enters her bedchamber with a lit torch and sees that his wife’s body is already a rotting corpse, covered with maggots and other abominations. Izanagi flees in complete horror and covers the underworld with a large stone. Izanami, in a rage, promises to take away 1000 living people a day, but Izanagi replies: “Then I will give life to 1500 people every day.”
Thus, according to Japanese legend, death appears.
After being in the world of the dead, Izanagi decides to cleanse himself by taking off his clothes and precious jewelry. Every jewel and drop that falls from it turns into a new deity. This is how they are born:
- Amaterasu (from the left eye) is the most famous goddess, representing the sun, sky and agriculture;
- Tsukuyomi (from the right eye) - lord of the night and the moon;
- Susanoo (from the nose) is the god of the sea, ice, snow and storm.
Urban Legends of Japan: Onre
Traditionally, all the stories inherent in the cities of the country are most often devoted to creepy and scary creatures that harm people as revenge or simply because of their sinister nature.
Most often, the main character is onre - an offended and therefore vengeful spirit. The legend about him comes from Japanese mythology of the 7th century.
It is believed that most of the bodies that became onre were previously historical figures in Japan. The state government tried to fight them using various methods, the largest of which was the construction of temples on the graves of Onre.
Hitobashira
Hitobashira (“living pillar”) is an ancient ritual of sacrificing a person who was walled up alive in a pillar for construction. It was believed that this ritual would help protect the building from earthquakes, military operations, etc.
Ancient people thought that by walling up a living person in the support of a building, his spirit would help ward off evil forces from the building and the building would last for many centuries. It is said that buildings with people sealed in their columns are often haunted by their ghosts.
Do you need legs?
A Japanese legend tells of an old woman who may come up and ask: do you need legs? Despite the initially comical plot, everything ends in tears. There is no right answer. If you answer the question in the negative, the spirit tears off the person's lower limbs; if he agrees, he will sew a third one on him.
The only way out is to try to answer like this: “I don’t need it, but you can ask him about this.” The moment the enemy switches his attention, the person will have a chance to escape.
Hell Tomino
A Japanese urban legend says that whoever dares to read the poem in its entirety will die or meet with a catastrophe.
Everyone knows that words have powerful power, and there are those that are undesirable to say. "Tomino's Hell" has a set of words that no one should read.
Even if someone doesn't die after reading a poem, they will experience something bad sooner or later.
The poem was written by Emota Inuhito in the book “The Heart is Like a Rolling Stone”, in it the lines are about Tomino, who died and went to hell.
Kashima Reiko
Another scary legend in Japan is the story of Tek-tek, or Kashima Reiko, a girl whose body was run over by a train. From that moment on, the unfortunate woman wanders in the darkness, moving on her elbows, thus making a knock (hence the nickname Tek-tek).
If she notices anyone, and especially a child, she will pursue the victim until she is done with her. Typical methods of reprisal are either cutting him in half with a scythe, or transforming a person into the same creature as her.
Teke-teke
“Teke-teke-teke” is the sound that a moving creature makes. And it moves with the help of its elbows.
The legend tells that a sweet girl was hit by a train and was cut in half. There are different versions - one says that the girl threw herself under the wheels, the other that she accidentally fell while on the subway.
The train wheels cut the girl in half, but her upper body decided to take revenge because her anger was too great.
Despite the fact that she has no lower body, she moves quickly, and if anyone happens to meet her, she will cut them in half with her scythe.
Kaori
The girl, having entered high school, wanted to celebrate this event by piercing her ears. To save money, she decided to do it herself and at home. After a few days, her ear began to itch. Looking in the mirror, Kaori discovered a white thread in the earring and immediately realized that the itching was precisely because of it. When she pulled out the thread without a second thought, the light in front of her eyes immediately went out. It turned out that the cause of the high school student’s illness was not just a thread, but the optic nerve, the rupture of which led to blindness.
After such a tragedy, the girl began to persecute others. If the answer to her question “Do you have your ears pierced?” was yes, then she would bite them off for the unfortunate victim.
Scary and strange stories from Japan
Due to its strangeness, Japan and its people have become very popular in many countries. Due to the long isolation, the culture of this place seems incomprehensible and amazing to us, and the Japanese seem eccentric. Naturally, they themselves do not think so and do not see anything strange in themselves.
Today we will tell you the chilling legends of Japan, which are far from intended for the fragile child’s psyche - even adults cannot listen to them without shuddering. We will not ignore the favorite characters of Japanese horror films - dead girls with black hair; also, these legends cannot do without darkness and water. You can find all this in the stories below.
1.Revenge
This story in all sorts of interpretations can be found in legends of all times and peoples. It is simple and instructive, it says that any evil will always be punished. And the hunter is not always the victim - very often the situation changes radically and terribly.
In one of the many districts of Tokyo, a gang of four brutal criminals was operating. Among them was a very handsome and stately guy who met girls and allegedly invited them to his hotel for a romantic evening. And already in the room the handsome man’s accomplices were waiting for the poor victim and pounced on her. On that fateful day, the guy met the girl and then everything went according to the script. But, apparently, the scenario had a bad ending for the gang - when the hotel workers got tired of waiting for the guests to leave, they opened the room and found the torn bodies of the criminals there.
2. Satoru-kun
Based on this legend, telephone games are a very dangerous thing. And not only because anyone, even a maniac, could be hiding in the interlocutor. Films were even made based on such modern stories. You can read this story right now. And you will never want to play with your phone again.
There is a being in the world named Satoru, he can give you the answer to any possible question. To call him, you just need to have a cell phone and a 10 yen coin in your pocket (naturally, everything should happen in Japan, therefore the money is Japanese). Find a pay phone, use a coin to call your own mobile phone. When the connection is established, say into the phone “Satoru-kun, if you are here, then please come to me.” (Surely you need to speak Japanese too). Throughout the day, this creature will call your number and tell you where it is until it is behind your back. When Satoru says “I'm behind you,” you immediately ask the question you want answered. But don't look back - if you look back or don't remember the question, the creature will take you with it.
A similar story is told about a certain Anser, only he punishes differently.
In order to find out the answers to your questions, collect ten telephones and start calling simultaneously from the first to the second, from the second to the third, etc. From the 10th, call the first. When all the phones are connected, Anser will answer you. (Which phone, we don’t know). He will answer questions from 9 people. But the tenth one will be less lucky - Anser will ask him his question. If he does not answer, then the cruel monster will take some part from his body, since Anser is a freak child, initially consisting only of a head and assembling his body in parts.
3. Do you need your legs?
This legend would be funny if it weren't so cruel. From it you can learn to be attentive to the questions of random people - perhaps your answers will be taken too literally. And the most important thing is that in this story there is no correct answer - if you say no, you will be left without legs, and if you answer yes, you will have a third leg.
One day, a boy walking home from school was accosted by an eccentric old woman, repeating one phrase: “Don’t you need legs?” The boy tried to ignore the old witch, but she did not lag behind. Then he shouted “no!” to make the grandmother fall behind. A crowd of people came running to the child’s cry and saw him lying legless on the asphalt.
4. Okiku
The most mysterious mystery in Japanese legends is a doll named Okiku. According to stories, when the owner of the toy died, the doll began to grow hair similar to the hair of a child and growing quite quickly.
This doll was given to his little sister in 1918 by a 17-year-old boy named Eikichi Suzuki. And his sister, as you might have guessed, was called Okiku. The boy bought the doll at a maritime exhibition in Sapporo (a resort town on the island of Hokkaido). The girl really loved this gift and played with it every day. But at three years old the girl died of a cold. Relatives placed the doll on the altar at home and prayed near it every day in memory of the little girl. One day they noticed that the doll’s hair had become longer and concluded that the girl’s spirit had settled in her favorite toy.
5. Kaori-san.
The preface to this story is very creepy. But the sequel is even worse than the preface. What’s funny is that while the second part of the story scares only small children, almost all teenage girls from Japan believe in the preface.
Upon entering high school, one girl decided to celebrate this in a very original way - to pierce her ears. To save money, she did not go to a specialized place, but did it at home herself, inserting her first earrings into the pierced lobes. After a couple of days, my ears became swollen and my earlobes began to itch terribly. Looking at them in the mirror, Kaori-san saw a strange white thread sticking out of one ear. And suddenly the world of the girl who tried to pull the thread was covered in darkness. And the reason was not the light being turned off - this thread turned out to be the optic nerve and the girl went blind.
But that is not all. Having gone crazy from the constant darkness, Kaori went to bite off the ears of her seeing friends and acquaintances. She did the same with high school student A-san, who carelessly went for a walk alone. When she answered in the affirmative to the persistent question of a strange girl with a pubescent head: “Do you have your ears pierced,” the crazy woman attacked A-san and, biting off her earlobes with earrings, ran away.
6. Sennichimae
The story is about the Osaka region, where a terrible tragedy occurred back in 1972. Then more than 170 people burned during the fire. In general, the spirits of the dead often appear in horror films. But during the day they rarely walk the streets. So…
An ordinary employee of an ordinary company was driving home in rainy weather. When the man came out of the subway and opened his umbrella, he noticed strange passers-by walking down the street without umbrellas and with frozen looks. In bewilderment, the man constantly dodged the individuals trying to collide with him. Suddenly a taxi driver called him over, and although the man did not need a taxi, he persuaded him to get into the car. It wasn’t that difficult—the passer-by really didn’t like the strange street and the people who filled it. And the taxi driver, pale as snow, said: “When I was passing by and saw you walking along an empty street and dodging who knows what, I realized that I needed to save you.”
7. Hanako-san and Mr. Shadow
Since the Japanese closely associate the water world with the world of the dead, many legends are told about toilets and their mysterious inhabitants. We will tell you the most popular and common ones.
Come to school in the middle of the night, find the north building and stand between the third and fourth floors. Don't forget to bring various goodies and a candle from home. Place all this behind your back and, turning to the shadow you cast, chant: “Mr. Shadow, listen to my request, please.” Then this gentleman will appear from the shadows and fulfill your desire. But only if the candle does not go out. If it stops burning, then the cruel master will take away part of your body (which part is, probably, at his discretion).
Another absurdity from this series:
When you go to the toilet, you will be asked whether to give you red or blue paper. The choice is small and sad - if you say that it’s red, you will be torn to pieces, spattering everything around with your own blood. If your choice falls on blue paper, then all your blood will be sucked out to the last drop. There is another not very pleasant option, but it will keep you alive. You can say “yellow” and the booth will be filled to the brim with shits. True, you risk choking on feces, but those who know how to swim will definitely survive and then the unpleasant smell will not be able to darken their festive mood.
There is another similar variation, only in it all the actions take place at night.
In the fourth stall of the boys' toilet there lives a voice that belongs to someone unknown. If you go there at night, he will ask: “Red cloak or blue cloak?” Unfortunately, there is no option with a yellow cloak. When you choose the red cloak, the owner of the creepy voice will stick a knife in your back. With blue, accordingly, you will lose your blood. Rumor has it that one skeptical boy decided to prove that this story was a fiction. He never returned that night, and in the morning he was found with a knife stuck in his back, and blood covering his body like a cloak.
There is also such a game with Hanako-san:
1).If you drum on the door of the third booth three times and say: “Hanako-san, let’s play!”, you will hear in response “Yesss!” and a girl in a red skirt with a bob hairstyle will come out. 2.) Someone should go into the second booth, and his partner should stay outside. The one outside must knock on the booth door four times, and the one inside the booth must knock twice. Then, in a chorus of three or more voices, you need to say: “Let's play, Hanako-san. What do you want - tags and rubber bands? The voice will say, “Okay, let's play tag.” And then... A girl in a white blouse will come to the one in the booth and touch him on the shoulder. Surely, older boys are not at all interested in this game.
8. Scary story about a cow's head
Komatsu Sakyo once wrote a scary story about a cow's head. This legend originates from it, which is told like a true story, which has already become urban folklore. In general, the story dates back to the Kan-ei period (1624-1643). The story itself is nowhere to be found, only phrases like: “Today I was told a heartbreaking, creepy story about a cow’s head, but I can’t write it because it’s too scary.” Because of this, the story is not in any book; it was always transmitted orally. And we won’t publish it here - it’s really too terrible and chilling. It’s just hair-raising... We’d better tell you what happened when it was voiced.
One day on the bus, an elementary school teacher was telling scary stories. The naughty children sat quietly that day - they were really scared. The teacher, proud of his storytelling skills, decided that he would finally tell the most terrible story, of course, about a cow’s head. As soon as he began the story, the children began to ask Sensei in horror to stop. Many became whiter than chalk, many began to cry... But the teacher did not shut up, and his eyes became empty, like the eye sockets of death. It was both him and not him.
And only when the bus stopped did the teacher come to his senses and look around. He realized that something was wrong. The driver was scared to death and covered in sweat. He simply couldn't go any further. Looking around, the teacher saw that all the children were in a deep faint, and foam was coming out of their mouths. He never told this story again.
9. The Woman with the Slit Mouth
You may have even seen a film based on this legend. The story, of course, is tritely simple, but I just wish I could find out who came up with this terrible nonsense about an ugly woman mutilating children. And what kind of mental illness did that person have? There is also an option about a lady simply disfigured by an atomic explosion, but this is an interpretation of the first story.
This horror story became so popular because police found similar entries in case files, newspaper reports and television reports. If you believe the legend, then an incredible beauty with a bandage on her face wanders the streets of the country. When she meets a child, she asks whether she is beautiful. If the child does not answer immediately, she removes the bandage, revealing a gap instead of a mouth, scary sharp teeth and a snake tongue. After that she will ask: “And now?” If the child answers in the negative, she will cut off his head. And if it’s positive, he’ll make the same mouth for him. They say that in order to be saved, you need to ask her first about something or give an evasive answer.
Well, actually, another option on the same topic
Allegedly taken from the notebook of the narrator's great-grandfather and written in 1953. He went to Osaka, and there they told him the story of the atomic girl. And if a person hears the story, then three days later he will meet this girl, who is all covered with scars and scars after the explosion of the atomic bomb. And then on the third night a girl comes to him (and it sounds romantic) and asks: “Am I beautiful or not.” And the narrator’s great-grandfather answers: “I think you’re pretty!” “Where am I from?” the girl asks again. “I think you are from Kashima or Ise” (these are the places where the atomic bombs were exploded). The girl confirmed the correctness of the answer and left. The narrator's great-grandfather wrote that he was very scared - after all, the wrong answer would have sent him to the next world.
10. Tek-tek
Americans call this horror film “Clack-Clack.” And the story is about a woman who was hit by a train and found herself cut in half. It’s no wonder that after this the lady became angry with the whole world and began to take revenge on him. Here's a classic story, and in pairs there's another one similar to it.
Kashima Reiko, cut in half by a train, wanders through the night, moving on her elbows and making a gloomy “tek-tek” sound. And if she meets someone on her way, she will not stop until she catches up and kills him, turning him into the same freak. And she will do this manipulation with a scythe. They say that this woman especially loves children playing at dusk.
Here's another version of the story:
The young man decided to go skiing on a weekday so that there would be fewer people around. He was right - he was driving past the roadside forest alone. And then the man heard obvious cries for help from this very forest. Approaching him, he saw a woman who had fallen waist-deep into the snow and begged him for help. When he took her hands and began to pull her out of the snow, she was incredibly light. Looking at where her legs should be, the man saw that the lady was missing the lower half of her torso. And there was no hole under it. And then the woman grinned...
Hanako
In Japanese legends, there is a whole separate theme about ghosts living in schools, and most often in toilets. Why there? This may be due to the fact that in Japan the water element represents the world of the dead.
Hanako is the most famous of all such ghosts. According to the myth, she appears on the 3rd floor in the 3rd booth when she is asked the question: “Is that you, Hanako?” If the answer is yes, you need to run immediately, otherwise you have a chance to drown in not the most pleasant and clean waters.
Okiku doll
The doll named Okiku seems the most ordinary, but only at first glance.
According to legend, a 17-year-old guy bought a doll as a gift for his 2-year-old sister at a maritime exhibition - the girl was delighted with it and always played with it (this was in 1918).
A year later, the girl died, her parents kept the doll and named it after their daughter, Okiku. The girl's soul took possession of the doll, and her hair gradually became longer and longer (although it was short when purchased). Now the doll is in the Mannenzhi Temple.
Aka Manto
Aka is the second most popular “toilet” representative, but this time the role of the spirit is played by a fabulously handsome young man who enters women’s toilets and asks the victims which cloak they would prefer: red or blue.
If they chose the first option, then the young man would cut off the unfortunate woman’s head, thereby creating the appearance of a red cloak behind her back. If a person chose the second color, he would be strangled, thus acquiring a blue tint to his face.
If any neutral answer follows, then hell will open before the victim, into which deathly pale hands will carry him away.
Kushisake She
One of the most popular horror legends in Japan is the story of a girl with a torn mouth. According to the most common version of the backstory, she committed such violence against herself by escaping from a psychiatric hospital.
But if you listen to ancient beliefs, you can conclude: the woman’s face was cut by her husband in a fit of jealousy, since she was one of the most beautiful girls in the country.
Since then, the most interesting legend of Japan begins. The unfortunate woman, full of hatred, put a bandage on her scars and began to wander the streets and pester victims with questions about her beauty. If a person rushed about, Kushisake took off her mask and showed in all its glory her scar, crossing the skin from one ear to the other, as well as a huge mouth with teeth and a snake tongue. After which the girl asked again: “Am I beautiful now?” If a person gave a negative answer, then she would tear off his head, but if he said that he was beautiful, then she would draw the same scar on him.
The only way to avoid a terrible fate is to give a vague, evasive answer like “You look average,” or to ask something before she does.
