THE LEGENDS AND FOLKTALES : Japan Legends

Showing posts with label Japan Legends. Show all posts

The Red Room

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<span lang="EN-US">The legend of the red room comes from an
interactive flash video. In it, a boy hears about an Internet pop-up ad that
asks, “Do you like—?” His friend tells him anyone who gets the pop-up dies. The
boy doesn’t believe him, so he goes home and searches the internet for more
information. He can’t find any mention of the pop-up, so he figures his friend
was just trying to scare him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">He closes out all his searches and reads
some of his favorite websites instead. A little while later, he gets a pop-up.
It’s red with black text. “Do you like—?” it reads. A child’s voice repeats the
question. He tries to close the window, but it reappears. He keeps clicking and
clicking, closing and closing, but it keeps coming back. The text changes. It
reads, “Do you like red?” The voice echoes the change. Now he’s frantic, trying
desperately to close the pop-up. Finally, the voice asks, “Do you like the red
room?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">A new website appears. It’s red with black
text, just like the pop-up. It’s got a list of names on it; his friend’s is at
the bottom. Hands reach out towards the boy’s neck. The video then cuts to a
scene at school, where multiple children are talking about two boys who
committed suicide, painting their walls red with their own blood before dying.
There’s a surprise at the end of the video, but I won’t spoil it for you. Go
ahead. See for yourself if this legend is real.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The Red Room

The legend of the red room comes from an interactive flash video. In it, a boy hears about an Internet pop-up ad that asks, “Do you lik...

9:56:00 pm

The Girl from the Gap

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<span lang="EN-US">You know that small gap between your
dresser and the wall? Or between your bed and the floor? Don’t look in there.
Because if you see a pair of eyes staring back at you, you’re in trouble.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The first time you see the girl looking at
you from a small gap, she’ll ask you if you want to play hide and seek. You
don’t really have a choice. Even if you say no, you’re still locked into her
game, which isn’t so much a game as it is an exercise in never letting your
eyes lock on a gap ever again. If you see her a second time, she’ll drag you
down to hell.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The Girl from the Gap

You know that small gap between your dresser and the wall? Or between your bed and the floor? Don’t look in there. Because if you see a...

9:46:00 pm

The Adventures of Little Peachling

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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "open sans"; font-size: 16px;">A long long time ago there lived an old man and an old woman. One day the old man went to the mountains to cut grass; and the old woman went to the river to wash clothes. While she was washing a great big thing came tumbling and splashing down the stream. When the old woman saw it she was very glad, and pulled it to her with a piece of bamboo that lay near by.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "open sans"; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">When she took it up and looked at it she saw that it was a very large peach. She then quickly finished her washing and returned home intending to give the peach to her old man to eat.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "open sans"; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">When she cut the peach in two, out came a child from the large kernel. Seeing this the old couple rejoiced, and named the child Momotaro, or Little Peachling, because he came out of a peach. As both the old people took good care of him, he grew and became strong and enterprising. So the old couple had their expectations raised, and bestowed still more care on his education.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "open sans"; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">Momotaro finding that he excelled every body in strength determined to cross over to the island of the devils, take their riches, and come back. He at once consulted with the old man and the old woman about the matter, and got them to make him some dumplings. These he put in his pouch. Besides this he made every kind of preparation for his journey to the island of the devils and set out.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "open sans"; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">Then first a dog came to the side of the way and said; "Momotaro! What have you there hanging at your belt?" He replied: "I have some of the very best Japanese millet dumplings." "Give me one and I will go with you," said the dog. So Momotaro took a dumpling out of his pouch and gave it to the dog. Then a monkey came and got one the same way. A pheasant also came flying and said: "Give me a dumpling too, and I will go along with you." So all three went along with him. In no time they arrived at the island of the devils, and at once broke through the front gate; Momotaro first; then his three followers. Here they met a great multitude of the devil's retainers who showed fight, but they pressed still inwards, and at last encountered the chief of the devils, called Akandoji. Then came the tug of war. Akandoji made at Momotaro with an iron club, but Momotaro was ready for him, and dodged him adroitly. At last they grappled each other, and without difficulty Momotaro just crushed down Akandoji and tied him with a rope so tight that he could not even move. All this was done in a fair fight.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "open sans"; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">After this Akandoji the chief of the devils said he would surrender all his riches. "Out with your riches then;" said Momotaro laughing. Having collected and ranged in order a great pile of precious things, Momotaro took them, and set out for his home, rejoicing, as he marched bravely back, that, with the help of his three companions, to whom he attributed all his success, he had been able so easily to accomplish his end.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: "open sans"; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">Great was the joy of the old man and the old woman when Momotaro came back. He feasted every body bountifully, told many stories of his adventure, displayed his riches, and at last became a leading man, a man of influence, very rich and honorable; a man to be very much congratulated indeed!!</span></div>
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The Adventures of Little Peachling

A long long time ago there lived an old man and an old woman. One day the old man went to the mountains to cut grass; and the old woman w...

9:40:00 pm

Teke Teke

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<span lang="EN-US">This story starts out with a tragedy: a
girl was accidentally pushed off the platform at a train station just as the
train was pulling in. She was cut in half and died on impact. Some time later,
a boy was walking home from school alone. He saw a girl through a window. She
was leaning on the window sill with her elbows, looking outwards. When she saw
the boy, she pushed herself through the open window.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">There was nothing the boy could do except
stand there, horrified. He had just seen a girl fall from a window, and on any
other day, that probably would have been his low point. It might’ve even been
the low point of his whole life if he got to live it. See, after the girl hit
the ground, the boy realized something: she had no lower body. As he was trying
to process this, the girl pushed herself up with her hands and started crawling
towards the boy. She was at his feet before he had time to run. He didn’t even
realize what she was carrying until the scythe was midway through his waist. As
the two halves of his body fell to the ground, it was the sound that she made
as she dragged herself toward him - teke, teke - that he heard last.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Teke Teke

This story starts out with a tragedy: a girl was accidentally pushed off the platform at a train station just as the train was pulling ...

9:31:00 pm

Straw Millionaire

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<span lang="EN-US">The legend of the "Straw
Millionaire" (</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: SimSun; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">わらしべ長者</span><span lang="EN-US"> Warashibe Chōja), also known as "Daietsu" or the
"Daikokumai", is a Japanese Buddhist folk tale about a poor man who
becomes wealthy through a series of successive trades, starting with a single
piece of straw.[1] The story was likely written during the Heian period and was
later collected into Konjaku Monogatarishū and Uji Shūi Monogatari. It
became popular during the Muromachi period. The legend has become a common
anecdote in Japanese popular culture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Straw Millionaire

The legend of the "Straw Millionaire" ( わらしべ長者 Warashibe Chōja), also known as "Daietsu" or the "Daikokumai...

9:26:00 pm

Okiku Doll

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<span lang="EN-US">You probably don’t need a reminder about
why so many people are afraid of dolls, but here’s another terrifying story
just in case. There is an actual doll (not a mythical one) known as the Okiku
doll on display in a temple in Japan. Why is a doll on display in a religious
temple? Because rumor has it that its hair grows. On its own. For no apparent
reason. And, as if that weren’t upsetting enough, a sample has supposedly
confirmed that the hair that grows from the doll’s head is human.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The doll was originally given to a
two-year-old girl by her brother in 1918. She died a year later, and her family
kept the doll as a remembrance of her. But soon they noticed that its hair
appeared to be growing, so they brought it to a priest, who observed it for a
few months and confirmed their story. The doll, which was named after the
little girl who owned it, was put on display in the temple and remains there to
this day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Okiku Doll

You probably don’t need a reminder about why so many people are afraid of dolls, but here’s another terrifying story just in case. Ther...

9:18:00 pm

My Lord Bag of Rice

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<span lang="EN-US">"My Lord Bag of Rice" (in
Japanese, Tawara Tōda [</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "simsun"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">俵藤太</span><span lang="EN-US"> "Rice-bag Tōda"]) is a fairy tale about a hero who kills
a giant centipede, Ōmukade, to help a Japanese dragon princess, and is rewarded
in her underwater Ryūgū-jō </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "simsun"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">龍宮城</span><span lang="EN-US"> "dragon palace castle".<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The 1711 Honchō kwaidan koji </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "simsun"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">本朝怪談故事</span><span lang="EN-US"> contains the best-known version of this
Japanese myth about the warrior Fujiwara no Hidesato. There is a Shinto shrine
near the Seta Bridge at Lake Biwa where people worship Tawara Tōda </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "simsun"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">俵藤太</span><span lang="EN-US"> "Rice-bag Tōda" (a pun between
tawara "straw rice-bag; straw barrel" and the Japanese name Tawara </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: "simsun"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">田原</span><span lang="EN-US">).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In olden times, when Fujiwara no Hidesato
(who lived in the first half of the tenth century) crossed the bridge, a big
serpent lay across it. The hero, however, was not at all afraid, and calmly
stepped over the monster which at once disappeared into the water and returned
in the shape of a beautiful woman. Two thousand years, she said, she had lived
under this bridge, but never had she seen such a brave man as he. For this reason
she requested him to destroy her enemy, Ōmukade, a giant venomous centipede
which had killed her sons and grandsons. Hidesato promised her to do so and,
armed with a bow and arrows, awaited the centipede on the bridge. There came
from the top of Mt. Mikami two enormous lights, as big as the light of two
hundred torches. These were Ōmukade's eyes, and Hidesato sent three arrows in
that direction, whereupon the lights were extinguished and the monster died.
The dragon woman, filled with joy and gratitude, took the hero with her to the
splendid Dragon-palace, where she regaled him with delicious dishes and
rewarded him with a piece of silk, a sword, an armour, a temple bell and a bag
(tawara) of rice. She said, that there would always be silk left as long as he
lived, however much he might cut from it; and the bag of rice would never be
empty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Hidesato subsequently donated this bell to
Mii-dera temple at Mount Hiei but it was stolen by a priest from rival
Enryaku-ji temple. He threw it into a valley after it spoke to him, and when
the cracked bell was returned to Mii-dera, a small snake (the dragon) used its
tail to repair the damage. The 14th-century Taiheiki records an earlier version
of this legend about Hidesato, set during the Genpei War, but instead of the
dragon turning into a beautiful woman, it transforms into a "strange small
man" – the Dragon King himself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">According to Azuma Kagami, he was claimed
as an ancestor by Ashikaga Tadatsuna, under the name of Tawara Toda Hidesato,
from 10 generations ago.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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My Lord Bag of Rice

"My Lord Bag of Rice" (in Japanese, Tawara Tōda [ 俵藤太 "Rice-bag Tōda"]) is a fairy tale about a hero who kills a g...

9:14:00 pm

Kuchisake Onna

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<span lang="EN-US">If <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>you ever find yourself alone on a quiet, foggy
street after dark in Japan, you should probably beeline for the nearest
populated place because you might just encounter Kuchisake Onna.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">At first, you probably won’t be too upset
about running into the woman who seemed to just appear out of thin air right in
front of you. She’s gorgeous and demure, wearing a white surgical mask over her
mouth. She asks you, “Am I beautiful?” You say yes, because she really is. She
takes off her surgical mask for you. Her mouth has been slit from ear to ear.
She asks, “How about now?” You:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">A.) Say “No.” She slices your mouth from
ear to ear with a pair of scissors, giving you a beautiful smile just like
hers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">B.) Say “Yes.” She allows you to leave, and
you think you’ve gotten off the hook. But when you arrive home, she appears
again, killing you in your own doorway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">C.) Say “Maybe.” This confuses her. You
run; she’s so flummoxed that she doesn’t give chase and you escape.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Do you think you would be composed enough
to trick her? Or would you fall victim to a scissor-wielding maniac?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Kuchisake Onna

If you ever find yourself alone on a quiet, foggy street after dark in Japan, you should probably beeline for the nearest populated p...

9:07:00 pm

Himuro Mansion

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<span lang="EN-US">If you believe this legend, there’s a
secluded, abandoned mansion just outside of Tokyo where a series of brutal
murders was carried out. The family who lived there would carry out a sick
practice called “The Strangling Ritual.” They believed that there was a portal
on their property that brought them bad karma from within the earth, so in
order to seal the portal, they would choose a local village girl at birth,
raise her in isolation, and then tie her wrists, and ankles, and neck to five oxen,
which would rip her limbs and her head off her body. They would then take the
rope, soak it in her blood, and lay it at the entrance of the portal. This
protected them for fifty years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But something went wrong during the last
ritual. The woman, who was supposed to have been raised in isolation, had
formed a bond with a man who tried to rescue her. Because of this, the ritual
didn’t work, and the patriarch murdered his entire family before falling on his
own sword. Now, the mansion is said to be haunted by his family. Rumor has it
that the walls are splattered with blood - fresh blood. Blood of the
unfortunate people who go looking for the mansion, looking for a thrill, not
knowing that the ghosts of the family are waiting for the next victim of the strangling
ritual.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Himuro Mansion

If you believe this legend, there’s a secluded, abandoned mansion just outside of Tokyo where a series of brutal murders was carried...

9:05:00 pm

Gozu

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfd9QcntmH4RU97Dxt_M5Z1gQsx1fbeLO88Y_Gnb-tL11xlm0yiyXY-J8P2Jw0ahfxyhk0MACh0SP7N1foeYevIIPdQ8ZJMvJzVV2i2rqXROys5CJUImm9g68Gb_E8-8SofKC6R4Hz2g/s1600/cabe%25C3%25A7a-de-vaca-cultura-jap%25C3%25A3o-2-325x150.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="325" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfd9QcntmH4RU97Dxt_M5Z1gQsx1fbeLO88Y_Gnb-tL11xlm0yiyXY-J8P2Jw0ahfxyhk0MACh0SP7N1foeYevIIPdQ8ZJMvJzVV2i2rqXROys5CJUImm9g68Gb_E8-8SofKC6R4Hz2g/s320/cabe%25C3%25A7a-de-vaca-cultura-jap%25C3%25A3o-2-325x150.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Have you ever heard a story so scary that
it made you catatonic and when you woke up you were foaming at the mouth? What
about a story so scary that it killed you? Well, okay, you probably wouldn’t
know if you had experienced the second one. Because you’d be, you know, dead.
But that first one is a pretty common experience, right? No?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The story of the Gozu is a legend within a
legend. According to the tale, a story called the Gozu, or Cow Head, appeared
in Japan around the 17th century. It was so horrific that almost all copies of
it were destroyed; those unlucky enough to read or hear it trembled and shook
for days before dying of fright. Only fragments of the tale remain to this day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Another version of the story holds that a
schoolteacher was taking his students on a field trip. Tired of their chaotic
behavior on the bus, he decided to try and get their attention by telling them
horror stories. He had read part of the Cow Head story in the past and repeated
that small section to the children. He only meant to frighten them a little
bit, but they began convulsing and begging him to stop. He couldn’t pause,
though. His eyes turned white but he continued, telling parts of the story he
had never heard before. Saying unspeakable things. Losing all control as the
children screamed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">He awoke a few hours later. The bus was in
a ditch. The driver was slumped over the steering wheel, shaking. And the kids?
They were all unconscious, foaming at the mouth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Gozu

Have you ever heard a story so scary that it made you catatonic and when you woke up you were foaming at the mouth? What about a story ...

9:00:00 pm

Dream School

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<span lang="EN-US">According to legend, if you don’t forget
this story within a week, it will happen to you. So if you’re worried about
being cursed, don’t read on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">One night, a boy had a dream about a
school. It was a school he didn’t recognize, and as he wandered the halls, he
became increasingly unsettled. The hallway he walked down was a continuous
loop, always bringing him back to where he started. He climbed stairs only to
find himself back on the first floor. The school was a maze he couldn’t figure
out, and as he started to become scared, he heard the sound of footsteps behind
him. The sound was faint and far away, but instinctively, he ran. The footsteps
got closer and closer. He found an emergency exit with a glass lock box that
held the key right next to it, but the glass had already been smashed. The key
was missing. In its place, there was a note that said the key was in room 108.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The boy ran off in search of room 108, and
when he found it, he shut the door behind him. There were no students, but there
were backpacks hanging off every chair. He searched them all frantically,
turning out the drawers of the teacher’s desk, but it was no use. The footsteps
caught up with him. Now someone was pounding on the door. And as the boy
cowered, the pounding just...stopped. The boy opened the door to the hallway,
but quickly wished he hadn’t. The corridor was littered with dead children,
their limbs scattered from end to end. He never woke up from his dream. And if
you don’t forget this story in one week, you’ll have the same dream - and be
resigned to the same fate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Dream School

According to legend, if you don’t forget this story within a week, it will happen to you. So if you’re worried about being cursed, do...

8:55:00 pm

Danzayémon, Chief of the Etas

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<span lang="EN-US">At Asakusa, in Yedo, there lives a man
called Danzayémon, the chief of the Etas. This man traces his pedigree back to
Minamoto no Yoritomo, who founded the Shogunate in the year 1192 A.D. The whole
of the Etas in Japan are under his jurisdiction; his subordinates are called
Koyagashira, or "chiefs of the huts"; and they constitute the
government of the Etas. In the "Legacy of Iyéyasu," the 36th Law
provides as follows:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">All wandering mendicants, such as male
sorcerers, female diviners, hermits, blind people, beggars, and tanners (Etas),
have had from of old their respective rulers. Be not disinclined, however, to
punish any such who give rise to disputes, or who overstep the boundaries of
their own classes and are disobedient to existing laws.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The occupation of the Etas is to kill and
flay horses, oxen, and other beasts, to stretch drums and make shoes; and if
they are very poor, they wander from house to house, working as cobblers,
mending old shoes and leather, and so earn a scanty livelihood. Besides this,
their daughters and young married women gain a trifle as wandering minstrels,
called Torioi, playing on the shamisen, a sort of banjo, and singing ballads.
They never marry out of their own fraternity, but remain apart, a despised and
shunned race.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">At execution by crucifixion it is the duty
of the Etas to transfix the victims with spears; and, besides this, they have
to perform all sorts of degrading offices about criminals, such as carrying
sick prisoners from their cells to the hall of justice, and burying the bodies
of those that have been executed. Thus their race is polluted and accursed, and
they are hated accordingly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Now this is how the Etas come to be under
the jurisdiction of Danzayémon:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">When Minamoto no Yoritomo was yet a child,
his father, Minamoto no Yoshitomo, fought with Taira no Kiyomori, and was
killed by treachery: so his family was ruined; and Yoshitomo's concubine, whose
name was Tokiwa, took her children and fled from the house, to save her own and
their lives. But Kiyomori, desiring to destroy the family of Yoshitomo root and
branch, ordered his retainers to divide themselves into bands, and seek out the
children. At last they were found; but Tokiwa was so exceedingly beautiful that
Kiyomori was inflamed with love for her, and desired her to become his own
concubine. Then Tokiwa told Kiyomori that if he would spare her little ones she
would share his couch; but that if he killed her children she would destroy
herself rather than yield to his desire. When he heard this, Kiyomori,
bewildered by the beauty of Tokiwa, spared the lives of her children, but
banished them from the capital.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>

Danzayémon, Chief of the Etas

At Asakusa, in Yedo, there lives a man called Danzayémon, the chief of the Etas. This man traces his pedigree back to Minamoto no Yorit...

8:35:00 pm

Aka Manto

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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">As if public bathrooms weren’t already
scary enough, there’s a Japanese urban legend called Aka Manto, or Red Cape,
about some weirdo in a mask who hides out in the last stall of women’s
restrooms and asks his victims a question that’s nearly impossible to answer.
Get the answer wrong and you die a horrible death. If you get the answer right,
you live, but you’ve still been playing twenty questions in a bathroom with a
ghost. There’s kind of no way to win with this guy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The legend goes like this: Red Cape was
extremely handsome in real life, attracting the attention of every woman who
saw him. He became so fed up with women desiring him only for his looks that he
began wearing a white mask, a tradition he continued in death. When you enter
the last stall in the women’s restroom that he haunts, you’ll hear a voice.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">“Red Cape or blue cape?” it asks. Answer
“red” and he’ll tear your shirt off and skin your back. The blood will make it
look like you’re wearing a red cape. Answer “blue” and he’ll strangle you to
death, leaving your body a dazzling shade of periwinkle. Say something else,
like “pink” or “leopard print with feather trim, please!” and two hands will
reach up out of the toilet, dragging you down to hell. Say nothing and you get
to walk away, contemplating whether that was even the worst experience you’ve
ever had in a public bathroom.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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References: Wikipedia</div>
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Aka Manto

As if public bathrooms weren’t already scary enough, there’s a Japanese urban legend called Aka Manto, or Red Cape, about some weirdo i...

7:32:00 pm

THE LEGENDS AND FOLKTALES

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