Aokigahara
Aokigahara (青木ヶ原), also known as the Suicide Forest or Sea of Trees (樹海 Jukai), is a 35-square-kilometre (14 sq mi) forest that lies at the northwest base of Mount Fuji in Japan. The forest contains a number of rocky, icy caverns, a few of which are popular tourist destinations. Due to the wind-blocking density of the trees and an absence of nearly all wildlife, the forest is known for being exceptionally quiet.[1]
The forest has a historic association with demons in Japanese mythology and is a popular place for suicides (57 in 2010)[2] despite the sign posted in Japanese at the head of the main trail, pleading people to reconsider their actions.[3]
Geography
The forest floor consists primarily of volcanic rock and is difficult to penetrate with hand tools such as picks or shovels. The forest itself is very dense and one can get lost easily if leaving the official trails. Because of this, hikers and tourists trekking through Aokigahara have begun to use plastic tape to mark their paths so as to avoid getting lost in recent years.[4] Past the designated trails leading to tourist attractions such as the Ice Cave and Wind Cave, the first kilometer of the forest is littered with tape and other rubbish left by tourists, despite the officials' attempts to remove it. After the first kilometer into Aokigahara towards Mount Fuji, the forest is in better condition, with little to no litter and few obvious signs of human presence.
Visitors and suicides
The forest is a popular place for suicides, reportedly the most popular in Japan. Statistics vary, but what is documented is that during the period leading up to 1988, about 100 suicides occurred there every year.[5]
In 2003, 105 bodies were found in the forest, exceeding the previous record of 78 in 2002.[6] In recent years, the local government has stopped publicizing the numbers in an attempt to downplay Aokigahara's association with suicide.[7] In 2004, 108 people killed themselves in the forest. In 2010, 247 people attempted suicide in the forest, 54 of whom completed the act.[2] Suicides are said to increase during March, the end of the fiscal year in Japan.[8] As of 2011, the most common means of suicide in the forest were hanging and drug overdoses.[9]
The high rate of suicide has led officials to place a sign at the entry of the forest in Japanese, urging suicidal visitors to seek help and not kill themselves. Annual body searches have been conducted by police, volunteers, and attendant journalists since 1970.[10][11][12]
The site's popularity has been attributed to the 1960 novel Kuroi Jukai (Black Sea of Trees) by Seichō Matsumoto.[13] However, the history of suicide in Aokigahara predates the novel's publication, and the place has long been associated with death: ubasute may have been practiced there into the nineteenth century, and the forest is reputedly haunted by the Yūrei (angry spirits) of those left to die.[7]
References in media
- As mentioned already, Kuroi Jukai (Black Sea of Trees) by Seichō Matsumoto is a novel that refers to the popularity of the forest as a suicide spot.
- The movie Sea of Trees , by director Gus Van Sant will be released in 2015. It's about two men, an American (Matthew McConaughey) and a Japanese (Ken Watanabe) who travel to Aokigahara specifically to kill themselves.
- In the anime series Mazinger Z, Professor Juzo Kabuto's laboratory is set right next to Aokigahara, and he lives not too far from there with his grandsons Koji and Shiro.
- In the fighting game Akatsuki Blitzkampf, the protagonist Akatsuki's stage is set in the bank of Lake Sai and the beginning of Aokigahara.
- 2013 movie (Grave Halloween) It is a film about a young woman who journeys to Aokigahara to not only try to find the body of her biological mother (Who committed suicide in the forest), but also risk hers and her friends lives to try and save her mother's restless spirit. With only a photo to guide her to the suicide site and a video camara to document the paranormal events happening around them, they have quite a harrowing and deadly experience ahead of them.
References
- ↑ Zack Davisson. "The Suicide Woods of Mt. Fuji". Seek Japan.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Gilhooly, Rob (26 June 2011). "Inside Japan's 'Suicide Forest'". Japan Times. p. 7.
- ↑ Brennan, Lyle (10 April 2012). "The suicide forest of Japan: Mount Fuji beauty spot where up to 100 bodies are found every year". Daily Mail. Associated Newspapers. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
- ↑ "Intruders tangle 'suicide forest' with tape". Asahi Shimbun. 2008-05-03. Archived from the original on 2008-05-06. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
- ↑ Takahashi, Yoshitomo (1988). "EJ383602 - Aokigahara-jukai: Suicide and Amnesia in Mt. Fuji's Black Forest". Education Resources Information Center (ERIC). Retrieved 2008-09-20.
- ↑ "Aokigahara forest". 2014-02-14.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Studio 360:Suicide Forest. Studio 360 in Japan (radio program). January 8, 2010. Accessed: February 11, 2010.
- ↑ Lah, Kyung (March 19, 2009). "Desperate Japanese head to 'suicide forest'". CNN.com/Asia. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
'Especially in March, the end of the fiscal year, more suicidal people will come here because of the bad economy,' he said. 'It's my dream to stop suicides in this forest, but to be honest, it would be difficult to prevent all the cases here.'
- ↑ ROB GILHOOLY, Special to The Japan Times (June 26, 2011). "SUNDAY TIMEOUT: Inside Japan's 'Suicide Forest'". Japan Times. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ↑ "Japan's harvest of death". The Independent (London). 2000-10-24. Archived from the original on 24 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
- ↑ Hadfield, Peter. "Japan struggles with soaring death toll in Suicide Forest", The Sunday Telegraph (London). June 16, 2001.
- ↑ Kyodo News, "'Suicide forest' helps skew Yamanashi's statistics", Japan Times, 9 May 2012, p. 3.
- ↑ 波の塔〈下〉(文春文庫): 松本 清張: 本 (in Japanese). Tōkyō: Bungeishunjū. 2009. ISBN 978-4167697235. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
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Coordinates: 35°28′12″N 138°37′11″E / 35.47000°N 138.61972°E