Japanese urban legends (都市伝説 Toshi Densetsu) are enduring modern folktales of paranormal creatures and their attacks on (usually) innocent victims or non-supernatural, widespread rumours in popular culture. The former rarely include the fantastical or animistic yokai of earlier Japanese superstition, and are mostly based on onryo, Japanese ghosts who have become vengeful spirits and take their aggression out on any who cross their path. Modern urban legends tend to include Japanese schools and, similar to the yokai legends, incorporate cautionary tales into their stories, warning people not to bully others, walk home late at night or talk to strangers. Although there are non-supernatural urban legends in Japan's cities, such as the secret Tokyo tunnels[1] or the corpse washing job rumour,[2] this article deals with the enduring ghostly legends of modern Japan.
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On 16 December 1932, the Shirokiya Department Store fire in Tokyo resulted in 14 deaths. During the fire, many saleswomen in kimono were forced onto the roof of the eight-story building. Rumors later spread that some of these women refused to jump into the safety nets held by firefighters on the ground. Traditionally, women did not wear undergarments with kimono, and they were afraid they would be exposed and ashamed if they jumped, and as a result died.[3][4] This news attracted attention from as far away as Europe. It has been alleged that in the aftermath of the fire, department store management ordered saleswomen to wear panties or other underwear with their kimono, and the trend spread.[3][4]
Contrary to this belief, Shoichi Inoue, a professor of Japanese customs and architecture 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 firemen, and the story of women who preferred to die with their modesty intact was fabricated for the benefit of Westerners. The story has been prevalent in many reference books, even some published by the Fire Fighting Agency. Moreover, it is generally believed in Japan that the Shirokiya Department Store fire was a catalyst for the change in fashion customs, specifically the trend toward wearing Western-style panties, though there is no evidence to substantiate the belief.[5]
It was once rumored that the Sony Corporation installed a device in all of its electronics products which caused them to fail soon after their warranties expired, an illegal form of planned obsolescence.
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 Ryoji Chubachi said that he was aware of the term "Sony Timer"[6].
In the 1980s, Kleenex released three Japanese commercials for their tissues, featuring a woman dressed in a white toga-like dress and a young child dressed as a Japanese ogre, sitting on straw. Each advert had the song "It's a fine day" by Jane & Barton playing in the background. Many viewers found the advertisement creepy. Some complaints claimed the music sounded like a German curse,[7] although the lyrics are in English. Because of its unnerving ambiance, several rumours began to circulate about the cast, such as with the crew meeting untimely deaths through accidents and the lead actress either dying, being institutionalized or becoming pregnant with a demon child. The actress, Keiko Matsuzaka, is still working today and has not given birth to a demonic entity.[8]
Similar Urban Legends: Set problems on The Exorcist
In Inokashira Park, Tokyo, there is a lake where visitors can rent rowing boats. It is believed that if a couple rides on a boat together their relationship will end.[9] The legend is connected to a local shrine dedicated to Benzaiten. She is believed to be very jealous and causes the break-ups of those who ride on the boats.[10]
The Red Room story is an internet legend about a pop up which appears on the victim's computer. The image simply shows a red door and a recorded voice asks "Do you like-". Even if the pop up is closed it will repeatedly reappear until the voice finally completes the question: "Do you like the red room?". Those who have seen the pop-up are found dead, their walls painted red in their own blood. The legend began with a flash animation of a young boy being cursed after encountering the pop-up, but gained notoriety when it was the schoolgirl who committed the Sasebo slashing in 2004 had the video as a bookmark.[11]
Similar Urban Legends: Katu Lata Kulu Email
Aka Manto is a spirit which haunts bathrooms, usually the last toilet stall in the women's/girl's bathroom. Some versions describe him as wearing a mask to cover his extremely handsome face, which had caused him stalking problems in life. When the unlucky victim is on the toilet, a mysterious voice will ask them if they want red paper or blue paper. If you answer red paper, you are killed violently and drenched in blood. If you ask for blue, you are strangled or bled dry, leaving your face/skin blue. Attempting to ask for any other colour of paper will result in hands appearing (sometimes coming out of the toilet you're sitting on), that will drag you into the the fires of hell. In other versions the ghost will simply ask you if you want a red vest and will then rip the skin from your back.[12] He could also ask you if you want a red or blue cloak.[13] The only correct answer is to refuse anything he offers.
This story concerns a lone taxi driver making his way along a road during the night. Legend goes that a person will suddenly appear from the night darkness and hail the taxi. The person will only ever sit in the back of the car and will ask to be taken to a place the driver has never heard of. When the driver mentions this, he is assured that he will be given directions. The passenger then feeds the driver increasingly complex directions which leads them down streets and alleys, through many towns and even in some instances all the way from the city to the countryside. After traveling this distance and still seeming no closer to any destination, the driver becomes uneasy. He turns around to the back seat to ask the passenger exactly where they are – but he is suddenly shocked to find that the passenger has vanished. The taxi driver turns back to the steering wheel; only to drive off the edge of a cliff.[14]
Similar Urban Legends: Killer in the backseat and the Vanishing Hitchhiker
Gozu (Ox-head), also known as Cow Head, is the title of a story in a Japanese Urban legend. The legend involves a bored group of school children on a coach during a class trip. A teacher, anxious to cheer his students, decides to tell some ghost stories. The children enjoy them but as he begins to run out of good tales to tell, he suddenly asks if anyone has heard of 'Cow Head'? None of the students were familiar with the story. The teacher began and at first the children were mesmerised, but gradually, many grew frightened and then terrified. Several of the children begged the teacher to stop but he appeared to be in a trance, unable to stop. The teacher came to a while later and found the bus stopped in the middle of the road. The children lay about the bus in a catatonic state, their eyes turned in their heads, their mouths frothing, the driver in a similar state. All were alive, but the teacher could not remember the story he told, and no one else present would ever mention what happens in the tale of 'Cow's Head'. Other variations of the story state who ever hears it is never able to retell the story as they die soon after. The cursed story was rumored to be an unpublished piece from sci-fi writer Sakyo Komatsu, but there is no evidence to link the author to the Cow Head legend.[15] A Ukrainian folktale called Cow's Head does exist, about a woman who receives good fortune by offering food and shelter to a disembodied cow's head that visits her one night,[16] but the tale is unlikely to cause hysteria in those who hear it. There is also a 2003 film called Gozu, directed by Takashi Miike which, though violent and surreal, is not linked to the urban legend.
Jinmenken are dogs, but with human faces that supposedly appear at night in Japanese urban areas and run along highways at extremely fast speeds. The jinmenken can also talk, but reports say that they will either be rude or will ask to be left alone. Unlike most Japanese urban legends, the human-faced dog is not widely known to kill those unlucky enough to meet it, though they are said to be escaped scientific experiments or the spirits of road crash victims.[17] There is also speculation that witnesses who say they have met a jinmenken have actually come across Japanese macaques, which accounts for the quadrupedal movement, dog-like fur, human face and the human-like noises the jinmenken can supposedly make.[18]
Similar Urban Legends: The Black Dog
Kokkuri is a Japanese version of a ouija board, which became popular during the Meiji era.[19] Rather than using a pre-bought board with letters and a Planchette, 'players' write down hiragana characters and place their fingers on a coin, before asking 'Kokkuri-san' a question. This is a popular game in highschools[20] and, similar to the western ouija board, several rumours and legends surround it. Some include Kokkuri-san only telling players the date of their death, while others say you can ask Kokkuri-san anything but you must finish the game correctly, either by saying goodbye to Kokkuri-san before leaving the table, or disposing of the kokkuri game utensils within a certain time limit, such as spending the coin or using the pen which wrote the hiragana. Failure to do so will result in misfortune or death for the players.
Similar Urban Legends: Ouija Board
Children walking alone at night may encounter a woman wearing a surgical mask, this is not an unusual sight in Japan as people wear them to protect others from their colds or sickness. The woman will stop the child and ask, 'Am I beautiful?'. If they say no, she kills them with a pair of scissors she always carries with her, but most children will answer yes, in which case the woman asks 'How about now?' and removes her mask to reveal her mouth has been slit from ear to ear. Regardless of whether the child answers yes or no at this point, the woman will kill them, if they say no, they are cut in half, and if they say yes, she cuts their mouths to be exactly like her's.[21] To escape the Kuchisake-onna, you can answer her second question with "You're average" or "So-so", and you can escape while she is confused, or you can throw fruit or sweets at her which she will pick up, thus giving the victim a chance to run. One other way is to ask her if you are pretty, she will get confused and leave.[14]
Similar Urban Legends: The Hook and Bunny Man
The Teke Teke is the ghost of a young woman who fell on a rail way line and was cut in half by the oncoming train. Now a vengeful spirit, she carries a scythe and travels on either her hand or elbows, her dragging upper torso making a scratching or teke teke sound. If she encounters anyone at night and the victim is not fast enough, she will slice them in half at the torso to mimic her own disfigurement and they will sometimes become Teke Teke's themselves.[13] Versions of the legend include a young school boy walking home at night and spotting a beautiful young girl standing by a windowsill resting on her elbows. When she notices him, she jumps out of the window and onto the pavement in front of him, revealing herself to be no more than upper torso; she then cuts the boy in two.[22]
Similar Urban Legends: Carmen Winstead
Toire no Hanako-san is a famous legend associated with Japanese elementary schools. The story tells of an omnipresent ghost who is thought to be the spirit of a student who committed suicide due to excessive bullying or "ijime". However the entity is also known to just appear for no apparent reason. Hanako-san is a popular legend in elementary schools in Japan, and supposedly haunts the fourth stall of the girl’s bathroom. Characterized by a pair of stark gleaming eyes, the spirit scares any person who sets eyes on it. Not known to be malevolent or vicious in any way, Hanako-san is simply an eerie entity that only serves to severely scare its victims.[14]
Similar Urban Legends: Bloody Mary
Urban legends are popular in Japan, and are often used in movies, anime and manga, suggesting their endurance in the common imagination.
Kuchisake-onna
Hanako-san of the Toilet
Teketeke
Other
Several horror manga works, usually anthologies, contain the urban legends listed in this article, along with some more obscure rumours and original stories.
Kuchi-sake Onna Manga
Other legends