Ghosts of Japan

Contents
Banch Sarayashiki
1.1
History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2
Plot summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.1
Folk version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.2
Ningy Jruri version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.3
Okamoto Kido version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.3
Okiku and Ukiyo-e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.4
Inuences on Japanese culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.5
See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.6
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.7
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.8
External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Botan Dr
2.1
History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2
Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2.1
Otogi Boko version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2.2
Rakugo version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2.3
Kabuki version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2.4
Dierences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3
Inuences and references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.4
Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.5
See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.6
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.7
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.8
Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.9
External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chchin-obake
3.1
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.2
Suggested Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3
See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ii
4
CONTENTS
Female Ghost (Kunisada)
10
4.1
Yrei-zu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10
4.2
Yakusha-e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10
4.3
Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11
4.4
Female Ghost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11
4.5
Print details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
4.6
See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
4.7
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
4.8
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13
4.9
External sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14
Funayrei
15
5.1
Legends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15
5.2
Classics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16
5.3
Modern examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17
5.4
From the view of folkloristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17
5.5
Theories on their true identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17
5.6
Funayurei by area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17
5.7
Similar legends outside Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18
5.8
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18
The Ghost of Oyuki
20
6.1
20
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Gory
21
7.1
Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21
7.2
See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21
7.3
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21
7.4
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21
7.5
External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21
Hitodama
22
8.1
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
22
8.2
Theories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
22
8.3
See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
23
8.4
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
23
8.5
Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
23
8.6
External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
23
Ikiry
24
9.1
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
24
9.2
Classical literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
24
9.3
Folk Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
25
CONTENTS
iii
9.3.1
Regional near-death spirits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
25
9.3.2
Ikiry as an illness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
26
9.4
Similar activity or phenomena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
26
9.5
See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
26
9.5.1
Explanatory notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
27
9.5.2
Citations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
27
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
28
9.6
10 Inugami
29
10.1 Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
29
10.2 Traditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
29
10.3 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
29
10.4 Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
29
11 Kuchisake-onna
30
11.1 The modern urban legend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
30
11.2 In popular culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
30
11.2.1 Live action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
30
11.2.2 Manga and anime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
31
11.2.3 Other appearances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
31
11.3 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
31
11.4 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
31
11.5 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
31
12 Mujina
32
12.1 In reality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
32
12.2 In folklore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
32
12.3 Sightings in Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
33
12.4 Other uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
33
12.5 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
33
12.6 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
33
13 Ochimusha
34
13.1 Appearance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
34
13.2 Modern Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
34
34
13.4 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
34
14 Onry
35
14.1 Origin of onry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
35
14.2 Onry vengeance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
35
14.2.1 Examples of onry vengeance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
35
14.3 Physical appearance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
36
iv
CONTENTS
14.4 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
36
14.5 Footnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
36
14.5.1 Explanatory notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
36
14.5.2 Citations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
36
14.6 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
37
14.7 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
37
15 Shirime
38
15.1 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
38
15.2 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
38
16 Shiry
39
16.1 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
39
16.2 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
39
16.3 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
39
17 Ubume
40
17.1 Ubume in folklore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
40
17.2 Ubume in literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
40
17.3 Ubume in art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
41
17.4 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
41
17.5 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
41
17.6 Suggested reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
41
17.7 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
41
18 Ushi no toki mairi
42
18.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
42
18.2 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
43
18.2.1 Curse using dolls in antiquity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
43
18.3 Miscellaneous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
44
18.4 Popular art
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
44
18.5 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
44
18.6 Footnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
44
18.6.1 Explanatory notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
44
18.6.2 Citations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
44
18.7 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
45
19 Yotsuya Kaidan
46
19.1 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
46
19.2 Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
46
19.2.1 Act 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
46
19.2.2 Act 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
47
19.2.3 Act 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
47
CONTENTS
19.2.4 Act 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
47
19.2.5 Act 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
47
19.3 Historical basis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
47
19.4 Popularity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
47
19.5 Ghost of Oiwa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
48
19.6 Yotsuya Kaidan and ukiyo-e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
48
19.7 Film adaptations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
48
19.8 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
49
19.9 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
49
19.10References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
49
19.11External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
49
20 Yuki-onna
51
20.1 Appearance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
51
20.2 Behaviour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
51
20.2.1 Lafcadio Hearn's version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
52
52
20.4 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
53
20.5 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
54
20.6 External references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
54
21 Yrei
55
21.1 Japanese afterlife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
55
21.2 Appearance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
55
21.3 Classications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
55
21.3.1 Yrei . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
56
21.3.2 Buddhist ghosts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
56
21.3.3 Ikiry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
56
21.3.4 Obake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
56
21.4 Hauntings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
56
21.4.1 Famous hauntings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
56
21.5 Exorcism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
56
21.6 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
57
21.7 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
57
21.8 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
57
22 Yrei-zu
59
22.1 Yrei . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
59
22.2 Historical background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
59
22.3 Yrei-zu and theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
60
22.4 Censorship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
60
22.5 Yrei-zu physical characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
61
vi
CONTENTS
22.6 Notable Edo examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
61
22.6.1 The Ghost of Oyuki . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
61
22.6.2 Other Edo artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
61
22.7 Contemporary examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
62
22.8 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
62
22.9 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
62
22.10References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
63
22.11External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
64
22.12Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
66
22.12.1 Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
66
22.12.2 Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
67
22.12.3 Content license . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
69
Chapter 1
Banch Sarayashiki
jruri production by Asada Iccho and Tamenaga Tarobei
I. Like many successful puppet shows, a Kabuki version
followed and in September 1824, Banch Sarayashiki was
staged at the Naka no Shibai theater starring Otani Tomoemon II and Arashi Koroku IV in the roles of Aoyama
Daihachi and Okiku.
A one-act Kabuki version was created in 1850 by Segawa
Joko III, under the title Minoriyoshi Kogane no Kikuzuki,
which debuted at the Nakamura-za theater and starred
Ichikawa Danjr VIII and Ichikawa Kodanji IV in the
roles of Tetsuzan and Okiku. This one-act adaptation
was not popular, and quickly folded, until it was revived
in June 1971 at the Shimbashi Embuj theater, starring
the popular combination of Kataoka Takao and Bando
Tamasabur V in the roles of Tetsuzan and Okiku.
The most familiar and popular adaptation of Banch
Sarayashiki, written by Okamoto Kido, debuted in February 1916 at the Hong-za theater, starring Ichikawa
Sadanji II and Ichikawa Shch II in the roles of Lord
Harima and Okiku. It was a modern version of the classic ghost story in which the horror tale was replaced by a
deep psychological study of the two characters' motivations.
Another adaptation was made in 2002, in Story 4 of the
Japanese television drama Kaidan Hyaku Shosetsu.* [1]
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi's portrait of Okiku.
1.2 Plot summary
Banch Sarayashiki or Bancho Sarayashi (

The Dish Mansion at Banch) is a Japanese ghost story
(kaidan) of broken trust and broken promises, leading to 1.2.1 Folk version
a dismal fate.
Once there was a beautiful servant named Okiku. She
The story of Okiku and the Nine Plates is one of the most worked for the samurai Aoyama Tessan. Okiku often refamous in Japanese folklore, and continues to resonate fused his amorous advances, so he tricked her into bewith audiences today.
lieving that she had carelessly lost one of the family's ten
precious delft plates. Such a crime would normally result
in her death. In a frenzy, she counted and recounted the
nine plates many times. However, she could not nd the
1.1 History
tenth and went to Aoyama in guilty tears. The samurai
The story of Okiku is an old one, whose true origins are oered to overlook the matter if she nally became his
unknown; however, it rst appeared under the title Ban- lover, but again she refused. Enraged, Aoyama threw her
cho Sarayashiki in July 1741 at the Toyotakeza theater. down a well to her death.
The familiar ghost legend had been adapted into a ningy It is said that Okiku became a vengeful spirit (Onry)
1
CHAPTER 1. BANCH SARAYASHIKI
who tormented her murderer by counting to nine and then

making a terrible shriek to represent the missing tenth
plate or perhaps she had tormented herself and was
still trying to nd the tenth plate but cried out in agony
when she never could. In some versions of the story, this
torment continued until an exorcist or neighbor shouted
tenin a loud voice at the end of her count. Her ghost,
nally relieved that someone had found the plate for her,
haunted the samurai no more.
1.2.2
by accident, and pardons her, but when Okiku reveals that

she broke the plate as a love-test, Aoyama is enraged and
kills her. He then throws her body down a well.
From then after, Okikus ghost is seen to enter the house
and count the plates, one through nine. Encountering her
in the garden, Aoyama sees that her ghostly face is not
one of vengeance, but beauty and calm. Taking strength
from this, he commits seppuku and joins her in death.
Ningy Jruri version
Hosokawa Katsumoto, the lord of Himeji Castle, has

fallen seriously ill. Katsumoto's heir, Tomonosuke, plans
to give a set of 10 precious plates to the Shogun to ensure
his succession. However, chief retainer Asayama Tetsuzan plots to take over. Tomonosuke's retainer, Funase
Sampei Taketsune is engaged to marry a lady in waiting,
Okiku. Tetsuzan plans to force Okiku to help him murder
Tomonosuke.
Tetsuzan, through the help of a spy, steals one of the 10
plates and summons Okiku to bring the box containing
the plates to his chamber. There, he attempts to seduce
Okiku. She refuses due to her love for Taketsune. Rejected, Tetsuzan then has Okiku count the plates to nd
only nine. He blames her for the theft and oers to lie for
her if she will be his mistress. Okiku again refuses and
Tetsuzan has her beaten with a wooden sword.
Tetsuzan then has her suspended over a well and, erotically enjoying her torture, has her lowered into the well
several times, beating her himself when she is raised. He
demands that she become his lover and assist in the murder of Tomonosuke. She refuses again, whereupon Tetsuzan strikes her with his sword, sending her body into An ukiyo-e print by Hokusai depicting Okiku
the well.
While wiping clean his sword, the sound of a voice counting plates comes from the well. Tetsuzan realizes that it Romantic Inuence
is the ghost of Okiku but is entirely unmoved. The play
ends with the ghost of Okiku rising from the well, Tet- Okamoto's version is notable for being a much more romantic adaptation of the story, similar to the Kabuki versuzan staring at her contemptuously.
sion of Botan Doro. This was an inuence of the Meiji
restoration, which brought Western plays to Japan for the
1.2.3 Okamoto Kido version
rst time. Western plays were much more noticeable for
romantic elements, and this was adapted into a style of
In 1655, in Edo, a vassal of the Shogun Aoyama Harima theater known as Shin Kabuki. Shin Kabuki was ultihas fallen in love with a young servant girl Okiku. mately an unsuccessful merger of East and West, although
Aoyama has promised to marry her, but has recently re- Okamoto's Bancho Sarayashiki remains as one of the few
ceived an auspicious marriage proposal from an Aunt. classics.
Aoyama promises Okiku that he will honor their love, and
refuse the proposal.
Okiku doubts, and tests him by breaking one of the 1.3 Okiku and Ukiyo-e
10 heirloom plates that are the treasure of the Aoyama
household. The traditional punishment for breaking one Like many Kabuki plays, Okiku was a popular subject
of the plates is death, which is demanded by Aoyama's matter for ukiyo-e artists. In 1830, Katsushika Hokufamily.
sai included her as one of the kaidan in his One HunAt rst, Aoyama is convinced that Okiku broke the plate dred Tales (Hyaku monogatari) series. Ekin, a somewhat
1.5. SEE ALSO

notorious artist who had troubles with the law, painted
a Byobu-e * [2] of Okiku being accused by Tetsuzan
Aoyama and his brother Chuta.
Most notably, she appeared as one of the New Forms of
Thirty-Six Ghosts by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi. His portrayal
of Okiku is unusually sympathetic, particularly as ghosts
were viewed as fearsome apparitions by nineteenthcentury Japanese, reecting a general trend in his later
work.
1.5 See also

Botan Doro
Yotsuya Kaidan
Kaidan
Onry
Obake
Yurei
1.4 Inuences on Japanese culture
Japanese mythology
J-Horror
In 1795, old wells in Japan suered from an infestation of

a type of worm that became known as the Okiku bug
(Okiku mushi). This worm, covered with thin threads
making it look as though it had been bound, was widely
believed to be a reincarnation of Okiku.
The Ningyo Joruri version is set in Himeji Castle, a popular tourist attraction at the castle is Okiku-Ido, or Okiku's
Well. Traditionally, this is where the hapless maid's body
was thrown after being killed by Tetsuzan. Although the
castle is closed at night, it is said that her ghost still rises
nightly from the well, and counts to nine before shrieking
and returning.
The NES game Monster Party features a boss named
Haunted Well, a well who attacks by throwing plates
at the player. In the prototype version, the boss actually
counts out ten plates, though this reference in the dialogue
does not exist in the nal release. * [3]
Manga artist Rumiko Takahashi included a parody of the
legend of Okiku in her romantic comedy Maison Ikkoku.
As part of an Obon event, the residents of Ikkoku-kan
take part in a summer festival; Kyoko dresses up as Okiku
and is supposed to hide in a shallow well.* [4]
In the manga Gintama, there is a parody of this story
when the Yorozuya trio assist a man in organizing atest
of courage.
In the video game We Love Katamari, there is a female
ghost that occasionally pops up from a well in the town
level.
In the 1998 lm adaptation of Koji Suzuki's novel Ringu,
the ghost in question is that of Sadako Yamamura, who
was pushed down a well, where she was left to die.
In the iOS and Android app Ayakashi: Ghost Guild,
Banch Sarayashiki is an obtainable daemon.
In the anime and manga YuYu Hakusho, the name of the
school the main protagonist (Urameshi Yuusuke), his rival (Kuwabara Kazuma) and his love interest (Yukimura
Keiko) attend is Sarayashiki Junior High.
1.6 Notes
[1] (Japanese) Kaidan Hyaku Shosetsu [] :: jdorama.com
[2] Pictures on paper folding screens.
[3] The Cutting Room Floor. http://tcrf.net/Proto:Monster_
Party#Haunted_Well
[4]Ido no nakain Takahashi Rumiko, 1984, Mezon
Ikkoku, vol. 6, Tokyo: Shogakukan, pp. 165-184.
1.7 References
Addiss, Steven, Japanese Ghosts and Demons, USA,
GeorgeBraziller, Inc., 1986, ISBN 0-8076-1126-3
Brazell, Karen, Traditional Japanese Theater: An
Anthology of Plays, USA, Columbia University
Press, 1998
Iwasaka, Michiko, Ghosts and the Japanese: Cultural Experience in Japanese Death Legends, USA,
Utah State University Press 1994, ISBN 0-87421179-4
Ross, Catrien, Supernatural and Mysterious Japan,
Tokyo, Japan,Tuttle Publishing, 1996, ISBN 4900737-37-2
Banch Sarayashiki. Kabuki21. Retrieved July
14, 2006.
Okiku. Asian Horror Encyclopedia. Retrieved
July 18, 2006.
CHAPTER 1. BANCH SARAYASHIKI
1.8 External links

Kaidan Bancho sara yashiki (1957) at the Internet
Movie Database
Bancho sara yashiki: okiku to harima (1954) at the
Internet Movie Database
Kaidan Hyaku Shosetsu (Story 4) (2002) at
JDorama
Original version of the story
Chapter 2
Botan Dr
2.1 History
Botan Dr entered the Japanese psyche in the 17th century, through a translation of a book of Chinese ghost stories called Jiandeng Xinhua (New Tales Under the Lamplight) by Qu You. The collection was didactic in nature,
containing Buddhist moral lessons on karma. *
In 1666, author Asai Ryoi responded to the Edo period
craze for kaidan, spawned largely by the popular game
Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai, by adapting the more spectacular tales from Jian Deng Xin Hua into his own book
Otogi Boko (Hand Puppets).* At the time, Japan was a
closed society, and very little was known outside of its
own borders, so China was viewed as a mysterious and exotic nation. Asai removed the Buddhist moral lessons and
gave the stories a Japanese setting, placing Botan Dr in
the Nezu district of Tokyo.
Otogi Boko was immensely popular, spawning multiple
imitative works such as Zoku Otogi Boko (Hand Puppets
Continued) and Shin Otogi Boko (New Hand Puppets), and
is considered the forerunner of the literary kaidan movement that resulted in the classic Ugetsu Monogatari. *
In 1884, Botan Dr was adapted by famous storyteller
Encho Sanyutei into a rakugo, which increased the popularity of the tale.* In order to achieve a greater length, the
story was eshed out considerably, adding background information on several characters as well as additional subplots. It was then adapted to the kabuki stage in July
1892, and staged at the Kabukiza under the title Kaidan
Botan Dr. *
Otsuyu and the Peony Lantern
In 1899, Lafcadio Hearn, with the help of a friend, translated Botan Dr into English for his book In Ghostly
Japan. He titled his adaptation A Passional Karma, and
based it on the kabuki version of the story. *
Botan Dr ( The Peony Lantern) is a
Japanese ghost story (kaidan) that is both romantic and
horric; it is one of the most famous kaidan in Japan.
The plot involves sex with the dead and the consequences
of loving a ghost.
A more modern version of the play was written in 1974

by the playwright Onishi Nobuyuki for the Bungakuza
troupe, starring Sugimura Haruko, Kitamura Kazuo and
Ninomiya Sayoko. It was so successful that it was staged
again a few years later in April 1976 at the Shimbashi EmIt is sometimes known as Kaidan Botan Dr ( bujo. A new adaptation by Kawatake Shinshichi III was
Tales of the Peony Lantern), based on the kabuki staged for the rst time with a full Kabuki casting in June
version of the story; this title is commonly used in trans- 1989, again at the Shimbashi Embujo. The Kawatake
lation.
version is still occasionally revived but is less popular than
5
CHAPTER 2. BOTAN DR
the Onishi one.
skeleton sits in the doorway holding a peony lantern. He

reports this to the local Buddhist priest, who locates the
graves of Otsuyu and her maid. Taking Saburo there, he
convinces him of the truth, and agrees to help Saburo
guard his house against the spirits. The priest places ofuda
around the house, and prays the nenbutsu every night.
Much like Yotsuya Kaidan, there remains a superstition

that actors who play the ghost roles in Kaidan Botan Doro
will come to harm. This comes from a 1919 performance
at the Imperial Theater, when the two actresses playing
Otsuyu and her maid became sick and died within a week
of each other.*
The plan works, and Otsuyu and her maid are unable to
enter, although they come every night and call out their
love to Saburo. Pining for his sweetheart, Saburo's health
begins to deteriorate. Saburo's servants, afraid that he
2.2 Story
will die from heartbreak leaving them without work, remove the ofuda from the house. Otsuyu enters, and again
2.2.1 Otogi Boko version
has sex with Saburo.
On the rst night of Obon, a beautiful woman and a young
girl holding a peony lantern stroll by the house of the widowed samurai Ogiwara Shinnojo. Ogiwara is instantly
smitten with the woman, named Otsuyu, and vows an
eternal relationship. From that night onward, the woman
and the girl visit at dusk, always leaving before dawn.
An elderly neighbor, suspicious of the girl, peeks into his
home and nds Ogiwara in bed with a skeleton. Consulting a Buddhist priest, Ogiwara nds that he is in danger
unless he can resist the woman, and he places a protection
charm on his house. The woman is then unable to enter
his house, but calls him from outside. Finally, unable to
resist, Ogiwara goes out to greet her, and is led back to
her house, a grave in a temple. In the morning, Ogiwara's
dead body is found entwined with the woman's skeleton.*
2.2.2
Rakugo version
See Kaidan botan dr.
2.2.3
Kabuki version
A young student named Saburo falls in love with a beautiful woman named Otsuyu, the daughter of his father's
best friend. They meet secretly, and promise to be married. But Saburo falls ill, and is unable to see Otsuyu for
a long time.
Later, when Saburo recovers and goes to see his love, he
is told that Otsuyu has died. He prays for her spirit during
the Obon festival, and is surprised to hear the approaching
footsteps of two women. When he sees them, they look
remarkably like Otsuyu and her maid. It is revealed that
her aunt, who opposed the marriage, spread the rumor
that Otsuyu had died and told Otsuyu in turn that Saburo
had died.
In the morning, the servants nd Saburo dead, his body

entwined with Otsuyu's skeleton. His face is radiant and
blissful.*
2.2.4 Dierences
The main dierences between the two versions are the
changing of the human lover from Ogiwara Shinnojo, an
elderly widower, to Saburo, a young student, and the establishment of a pre-existing lover's relationship between
Otsuyu and Saburo.
Where the Otogi Boku version was written during the isolated Edo period, the Rakugo/Kabuki version was written after the Meiji restoration, and was inuenced by the
ood of Western literature and theater that accompanied
the modernization of Japan.*
One of these inuences was adding a romantic element
to the story, something that was played down in older
kaidan. The Otogi Boku version makes no mention of Otsuyu's death. The Rakugo/Kabuki version creates the idea
of Otsuyu and Saburo's love being stronger than death,
and emphasizes Saburo's peaceful expression when his
body is found entwined with the skeleton.*
2.3 Inuences and references

Botan Doro establishes the themesexual encounter with
a womans ghost, which would be encountered in numerous Japanese ghost stories to follow.* This theme follows the standard pattern of a Noh theater katsuramono
play, where the female ghost hides her spectral nature until the nal reveal at the end of the story.
The nature of the ghost's return to Earth is either a lingering love, or a general loneliness. The Otogi Boko verThe two lovers, reunited, begin their relationship again in sion of Botan Doro has no prior relationship, and Otsecret. Each night Otsuyu, accompanied by her maid who suyu merely wishes for a companion in the afterlife. The
carries a peony lantern, spends the night with Saburo.
Rakugo/Kabuki version, however, has Otsuyu returning
This continues blissfully until one night a servant peeks for a former lover.
through a hole in the wall in Saburo's bedroom, and sees The sexual ghost can be found in Kyka Izumi's story
him having sex with a decaying skeleton, while another Maya Kakushi no Rei (A Quiet Obsession) which features
2.5. SEE ALSO
a sensual encounter with a female ghost in an onsen.
In 1972, director Chsei Sone made a pink lm verBotan Doro is famous for the onomatopoeia karannn sion for Nikkatsu's Roman Porno series, entitled Hellish
Love ( Seidan botan doro). Following the
koronnn, which is the sound of Otsuyu's wooden clogs
Rakugo\Kabuki version, Hellish Love places emphasis on
*
announcing her appearance on stage.
the sexual nature of the relationship between the protagonist and Otsuyu. Otsuyu is killed by her father who disapproves of the match with such a lowly samurai, but she
promises to return on Bon Odori to be reunited with her
2.4 Film
lover.*
A massive change in the story is made in Masaru
Tsushima's 1996 Otsuyu: Kaidan botan doro (Haunted
Lantern). This version has Shinzaburo dreaming of a past
life, where he promised a Double Suicide with Otsuyu,
but fails to kill himself after she dies. In his present life,
he meets a girl named Tsuya who is the reincarnation
of his past beloved, but Shinzaburo's father arranges a
marriage for him with Tsuya's sister, Suzu. Shinzaburo's
friend attempts to rape Tsuya, so that she would stop being a nuisance jealous of her younger sister. Devastated,
the two sisters commit suicide together. The usual consequences follow, but the lm ends with Shinzaburo and
Otsuyu further reincarnated together, living happily in a
future life.*
2.5 See also

Bancho Sarayashiki
Japanese mythology
Japanese horror
Obake
Box cover for Nikkatsu's Hellish Love
Boton Dr is one of the rst Japanese ghost stories to be

put to lm, with a silent version in 1910.* [1] Six further
adaptations were made between 1911 and 1937, although
all of these have been lost to time and only the titles are
still known. It is second only to Yotsuya Kaidan in lm
adaptations, with a new version released every decade as
either cinematic releases, direct-to-video releases, or television versions. *
Notable is Satsuo Yamamoto's 1968 version, lmed for
Daiei Studios. It is variously known as Bride from Hell,
Haunted Lantern, Ghost Beauty, My Bride is a Ghost,
Bride from Hades, or Peony Lanterns. Yamamoto's lm
roughly follows the Otogi Boko version of the story, establishing protagonist Hagiwara Shinzaburo as a teacher
who ees an unwanted marriage with his brother's widow
& lives quietly some distance from his family. The usual
encounter with Otsuyu follows, although the inevitable
consequence is treated as a happy ending or at worst bittersweet since they are united beyond the grave & need
never again be lonesome.*
Onry
2.6 Notes
[1] http://www2.ocn.ne.jp/~{}nekomata/senzen.html
2.7 References
1. ^ Reider, Noriko T. The Emergence of KaidanShu: The Collection of Tales of the Strange and
Mysterious in the Edo PeriodJournal of Folklore
Studies (60)1 pg. 79, 2001
2. ^ Reider, Noriko T. The Appeal of Kaidan Tales
of the StrangeJournal of Folklore Studies (59)2 pg.
265, 2000
3. ^ Iwasaka, Michiko, Ghosts and the Japanese: Cultural Experience in Japanese Death Legends, USA,
Utah State University Press, pg. 111 1994, ISBN
0-87421-179-4
CHAPTER 2. BOTAN DR
4. ^ Botan Doro. Kabuki 21. Retrieved July 8,
2006.
5. ^ Araki, James T., Traditional Japanese Theater:
An Anthology of Plays, USA, Columbia University
Press, 1998
6. ^ McRoy, Jay, Japanese Horror Cinema USA, University of Hawaii Press, pg. 22, 2005 ISBN 0-82482990-5
7. ^Botan Doro on Film. Weird Wild Realm. Retrieved July 28, 2006.
8. ^ Ross, Catrien, Supernatural and Mysterious Japan,
Tokyo, Japan, Tuttle Publishing, 1996, ISBN 4900737-37-2
2.8 Further reading

George Braziller, Inc., 1986, ISBN 0-8076-1126-3
Kincaid, Zoe, Kabuki, the Popular Stage of Japan,
USA, Macmillian, 1925
2.9 External links

Lafcadio Hearn's translation A Passional Karma
Mudan Dengji (Peony Lantern) by Qu You, a translated by Jeremy Yang. A translation of original Chinese version
The Peony Lantern
Tales of Ghostly Japan
Otsuyu: Kaidan botan-dr (1998) at the Internet
Movie Database
1990 botan-dr (1990)
Database
at the Internet Movie
Seidan botan-dr (1972) at the Internet Movie

Database
Botan-dr (1968) at the Internet Movie Database
Kaidan botan-dr (1955) at the Internet Movie
Database
Kaidan Botan-dr trailer
Chapter 3
Chchin-obake
[3] Kenji Murakami, Ykai Jiten
[4] Bakechochin, 57.
[5] Bakechochin, 57.
3.2 Suggested Reading

Bakechochin.The Element Encyclopedia of the
Psychic World. Harper Element. (2006)
Bush, Lawrence. Asian horror encyclopedia: Asian
horror culture in literature, manga and folklore.
Writers Club Press. (2001)
Kenkysho, Nihon Shakai Shis. Japan interpreter:
Volumes 8-9. (Tokyo, Japan), Nihon Shakai Shis
Kenkysho, Tokyo. (1974)
Murakami, Kenji (ed.). Ykai Jiten ( ).
Mainichi Shimbun (2000).
The Element Encyclopedia of the Psychic World.
Harper Element. (2006)
Screech, Timon. The lens within the heart: the Western scientic gaze and popular imagery in later Edo
Japan. University of Hawaii Press (2002)
Chchin-obake
Chchin-obake (, paper lantern ghost

) is a type of Tsukumogami,* [1] "[the] lantern-spook
(chochinobake) ... a stock character in the pantheon of
ghouls and earned mention in the denitive demonology
of 1784.* [2] The Chchin-obake also appears in the
obake karuta card game, popular from the Edo period to
the early 20th century (and still in use today). * [3]
3.3 See also

Obake
Ykai
Karakasa
The Chchin-obake in particular was created from a

chchin lantern, composed of bamboo and paper or
silk.* [4] They are portrayed with one eye, and a long
tongue protruding from an open mouth.* [5]
Tsukumogami
Dusclops
ja: ('Burabura', possibly a type of
Chchin-obake)
3.1 Notes
[1] Bush, 109.
[2] Screech, 109
Chapter 4
Female Ghost (Kunisada)

Female Ghost is an ukiyo-e woodblock print dating to
1852 by celebrated Edo period artist Utagawa Kunisada,
also known as Toyokuni III. Female Ghost exemplies the
nineteenth century Japanese vogue for the supernatural
and superstitious in the literary and visual arts. The print
is part of the permanent collection of the Prince Takamado Gallery of Japan at the Royal Ontario Museum,
Canada.
4.1
Yrei-zu
This print belongs to a genre of Japanese painting and

ukiyo-e known as yrei-zu ( ), ghost pictures,
which peaked in popularity in the mid-nineteenth century.* [1] Literallyfaint ( - y) spirit ( - rei),yrei
is just one of several Japanese words used to refer to spirits. Other terms include: obake (), ykai (),
brei (), shiry/ shirei (), yki (), yma (
), ykai (), rei (), bakemono (), konpaku
(), henge (), onry () and yreijink (
).* [2]
There is a long tradition of belief in the supernatural in
Japan which relates to various inuences, including such
Kunisada Female Ghost print title cartouche
imported sources as Buddhism, Taoism and Chinese folklore. The most notable inuence, however, is Shint, a
native animistic religion which presupposes that the physical world is inhabited by eight million omnipresent spirit 4.2 Yakusha-e
beings.* [3]
Yrei-zu such as this one represent the conation of two
prevailing trends in the nineteenth century Japanese literary and visual arts: depictions of the female form, and depictions of macabre or supernatural themes. During this
period, ghosts particularly the female variety commonly gured in folktales, as well as theatre. Vengeful
spirits returning to punish their wrong-doers were a staple of kabuki, bunraku and n dramas, and proved popular with audiences.* [4] Wishing to tap into this market
for the macabre, painters and woodblock artists began to
create images of ghosts, as well as of kabuki actors in the
roles of ghost characters.
Kunisada entered Utagawa Toyokuni's studio from a

young age, and was therefore granted access to training
from the nest masters of the age, as well as valuable connections to publishers, poets' associations, theatres and
actors* [5] He began creating yakusha-e (actor images) in
1808, and this genre was to become the mainstay of his
fame and fortune.* [6] So esteemed and prolic was he
in this area, that he earned the epithet Kunisada, the
Portraitist of Actors (yakusha-e no Kunisada).* [7] The
Temp Reforms of 1842, which had banned depictions
of geisha, oiran courtesans and kabuki actors,* [8] began
to be gradually repealed from the late 1840s,* [9] which
10
4.4. FEMALE GHOST
11
left Kunisada free to return to his favourite medium.
4.3 Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni

III)
Born in 1786 in the Honj district of Edo,* [10] Utagawa
Kunisada () was an apprentice of Toyokuni I,
whom he later succeeded as Toyokuni III (
).* [11]* [12] Although he debuted as a book illustrator in 1807 with illustrations for the series of beauties Twelve Hours of the Courtesans(Keisei jnitoki),* [13] his production really took o from 1809.* [14]
He founded his own studio in the early 1810s, and demand for his illustrations soon outstripped that for his
masters.* [15] Not only was he respected for his artistic talent, he was also admired for his convivial and
balanced demeanor, and [the fact that] he delivered his
commissions on time.* [16]
Kunisada has been described as without a doubt... was
the most prolic and successful print artist of all time.
*
[17] Until the time of his death in 1865, he was incredibly prodigious, creating between 35 and 40 thousand designs for individual ukiyo-e prints.* [18] He produced images from diverse genres, including kabuki-e
(pictures of kabuki actors), bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful
women), yrei-zu (ghost pictures), sum-e (sumo wrestler Kunisada signature from Female Ghost print
pictures), shunga (erotica) and musha-e (warrior prints).
According to modern critics, Kunisada was a trendsetter... in tune with the tastes of urban society.* [19]
He is credited with infusing ukiyo-e with a sense of realism, particularly in his representations of female subjects.* [20] Compared with the females idealized in prints
by Utamaro, his women are shorter limbed,* [21] with
shorter and rounder physiques.* [22] They are often posed
with slightly bent backs and knees, giving them a
hunched up, stumpy look.* [23] Like the female spirit
in this print, they generally have longer faces with strong
jaws giving an impression ofgreater self-possession, if
not outright aggressiveness.* [24]
The print dates to 1852 and was therefore done when
Kunisada was 66, before his work declined into what
has been described as gaudy and ostentatioususe of
colour.* [25] Critics tend to agree that Kunisada's later
works suered in quality because of over-production
and lowering of artistic standards.* [26]
4.4
Female Ghost
The subject in this print corresponds to the typical depiction of female ghosts in Edo art: a fragile form with
long, owing hair... dressed in pale or white clothing, the
body below the waist tapered into nothingness.* [27] The
central area is dominated by the gure of a female spirit
with extremely long, wildly owing black hair, crowned

by a pale blue and white decoration. Unlike in many
other yrei-zu, the ghost in this print is not disgured
or particularly ghoulish.* [28] She wears a long, pale blue
kimono* [29] with the long sleeves (furisode - ) common to the kimono of single women and female ghosts.
Underneath are two inner robes, one solid red, and the
other with a pale blue and white geometric design. Her
kimono is fastened with a large dark blue obi tied in a disheveled bow at the front. Her kimono is closed left over
right, as it would be worn by a living woman.* [30]
The ghost oats, footless and with arms bent up at the elbows as is customary for ghost images of the period,* [31]
in ames above a grassy eld. Her head is framed by
pine boughs. She stares o to the right, her gaze following her outstretched right arm. Covering the palm of her
right hand is a blue cloth on top of which rests a rolled
up kakemono or makimono scroll. In her left hand she
grasps a red clothpossibly a furoshikiwhich is tied up
as a round, at parcel. Peaking out over her right shoulder
is the brown feathered etching of a single arrow.
The image dates to 1852, the most productive year of
Kunisada's career, during which he produced almost one
thousand compositions.* [32] The image depicts a scene
from a kabuki play entitled Otogi banashi Hakata no
imaori (), which was staged at Edo's
Nakamura-za theatre in 1852. The image takes its origi-
12
CHAPTER 4. FEMALE GHOST (KUNISADA)

Hakata no imaori
Signature: Toyokuni ga ( ); in red oval
toshidama-in cartouche, lower right corner
Publisher: Yamamoto-ya Heikichi, Eikyd;* [39]
dark blue hanmoto mark in bottom left corner
Censor seals: 2 nanushi seals reading top to bottom
Murata () & Kinugasa () indicating Murata Heiemon & Kinugasa Fusajiro* [40]
Date seal: rat 6, i.e. 6th month of 1852;* [41] oval
in lower left corner, below censor seals
Genre: Yrei-zu, yakusha-e
Provenance: donated to the ROM by linguist and
librarian Leonard Wertheimer (1914-1998)
4.6 See also

Princess Takamado
Spring and autumn landscapes (Hara Zaish) - items
in same gallery
Nanushi, date and publisher's seals from Kunisada's Female

Ghost
nal title from the character represented: Yaeki hime no rei

( - the ghost of Princess Yaeki). Although
not named on the print, the character was played by actor
Onoe Baik ().* [33]* [34]
Although it is displayed in isolation in the ROM, the print
is actually the centre image from a tryptich capturing different characters from the play.* [35] The image on the
leftto which her outstretched right arm appears to be
reachingis of Akamatsu Shigetamaru () as
played by actor Ichikawa Kodanji ().* [36] In
the tryptich's right position, is another character from the
play named Shichi[?]shir (? ). The image belongs to a series of over twenty images depicting scenes
from the play,* [37] including another of the Yaeki hime
no rei character.* [38]
4.5 Print details

Size: ban
Format: tate-e
Title: Yaeki hime no rei (); labelled
Female Ghost by ROM
Subject: Yaeki hime no rei (Ghost of Princess
Yaeki) character from the kabuki play Otogibanashi
Unit 88-9 (Kiyomizu Masahiro) - item in same

gallery
Eijud Hibino at Seventy-one (Toyokuni I) - print in
same collection
Ichikawa Omez as a Pilgrim and Ichikawa Yaoz
as a Samurai (Toyokuni I) - print in same collection
Fan print with two bugaku dancers (Kunisada) print in same gallery
Bust portrait of Actor Kataoka Ichiz I (Gochtei
Sadamasu II) - print in same gallery
View of Tempzan Park in Naniwa (Gochtei
Sadamasu) - print in same gallery
Actor Arashi Rikan II as Osome (Rysai Shigeharu)
- print in same gallery
4.7 Notes
[1] Ross 1996, 36
[2] tangorin.com
[3] Rubin 2000
[4] Rubin 2000
[5] Jesse 2012, 95
[6] Marks 2010, 120
[7] Jesse 2012, 95
4.8. REFERENCES
[8] Harris 2010, 146

[9] Jesse 2012, 95
13
[37] A number are visible at http://enpaku.waseda.ac.jp/db/

enpakunishik/results-1.php
[10] Marks 2010, 120
[38] http://enpaku.waseda.ac.jp/db/enpakunishik/results-big.
php?shiryo_no=101-0877
[11] Harris 2010, 70
[39] Lane 1978, 311
[12] From his accession to the name Toyokuni in 1844, Kunisada consistently signed his works Toyokuni II, refusing
to accept the legitimacy of his predecessor, Toyokuni II.
He is, however, always referred to as Toyokuni III (Marks
2010, 120).
[40] http://mercury.lcs.mit.edu/~{}jnc/prints/nanushi.html
[13] Marks 2010, 120

[14] Harris 2010, 70
[15] Marks 2010, 120
[16] Jesse 2012, 95
[17] Marks 2010, 120
[18] Harris 2010, 70
[19] Harris 2010, 70
[41] Lane 1978, 213
4.8 References
Bell, David. Ukiyo-e Explained. Kent, U.K.: Global
Oriental, 2004.
Calza, Gian Carlo. Ukiyo-e. New York: Phaidon
Press Ltd., 2003.
Chiappa, J. Noel. Nanushi Censor Seals.Accessed July 18, 2013. http://mercury.lcs.mit.edu/
~{}jnc/prints/nanushi.html
[20] Calza 2003, 335

[21] Calza 2003, 335
[22] Harris 2010, 70
[23] Harris 2010, 70
[24] Calza 2003, 335
[25] Harris 2010, 73
[26] Munsterberg 1998, 129
[27] Ross 1996, 125
[28] This distinction is evident when this print is compared with a contemporary Kunisada image such as
the kubi-e (large head print) The Ghost of Oiwa
(1852)
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:
Kunisada_The_Spectre.jpg
[29] See
http://ja.ukiyo-e.org/image/metro/
M141-016-01(02) for versions of this print in other
collections, which demonstrate colour variation.
[30] In preparation for burial or cremation, kimono of the deceased are always closed right over left. (http://www.
bellaonline.com/articles/art27885.asp)
[31] Ross 1996, 125
[32] Marks 2010, 120
[33] ja:
[34] http://ja.ukiyo-e.org/image/metro/M141-016-01(02)
[35] See
http://livedoor.blogimg.jp/vipsister23/imgs/4/b/
4b545317.jpg for the three intact images.
[36] http://enpaku.waseda.ac.jp/db/enpakunishik/results-big.
php
Foster, Michael Dylan. Pandemonium and Parade:

Japanese Monsters and the Culture of Ykai. Los
Angeles: University of California Press, 2009.
Harris, Frederick. Ukiyo-e: The Art of the Japanese
Print. Tokyo: Tuttle, 2010.
Hillier, J. Japanese Colour Prints.
Phaidon Press, 1991.
New York:
Iwasaka, Michiko and Barre Toelken. Ghosts and

the Japanese: Cultural Experience in Japanese Death
Legends. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press,
1994.
Jesse, Bernd. The Golden Age of the Utagawa School: Utagawa Kunisada and Utagawa Kuniyoshi.In Samurai Stars of the Stage and Beautiful Women: Kunisada and Kuniyoshi Masters of the
Color Woodblock Print, edited by Stiftung Museum
Kunstpalat, Gunda Luyken and Beat Wismer, 93101. Dsseldorf: Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2012.
Lane, Richard. Images from the Floating World:
The Japanese Print. New York: Konecky & Konecky, 1978.
Marks, Andreas.
Japanese Woodblock Prints:
Artists, Publishers and Masterworks 1680-1900.
Tokyo: Tuttle, 2010.
Munsterberg, Hugo. The Japanese Print: A Historical Guide. New York: Weatherhill, 1998.
14
Ross, Catrien. Japanese Ghost Stories: Spirits,
Hauntings and Paranormal Phenomena. Tokyo:
Tuttle, 1996.
Rubin, Norman A. Ghosts, Demons and Spirits in
Japanese Lore. Asianart.com. June 26, 2000. Accessed July 12, 2013. http://www.asianart.com/
articles/rubin/
4.9 External sources

http://www.rom.on.ca/en/
exhibitions-galleries/galleries/world-cultures/
prince-takamado-gallery-japan Webpage for the
ROM's Price Takamado Gallery
http://www.kunisada.de/ The Utagawa Kunisada
Project Vast repository of information about Kunisada's works
http://enpaku.waseda.ac.jp/db/enpakunishik/
results-1.php Images of prints from Kunisada's
1852 Otogi banashi Hakata no Imaori series
CHAPTER 4. FEMALE GHOST (KUNISADA)
Chapter 5
Funayrei
Kawanabe Kysai's Boatman and Funayrei. An example

of a funayrei rendered as an umibzu-like yokai.
Funayreifrom the Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki by Sekien

Toriyama
Funayrei ( or , lit. boat spirit) are

ghosts (yrei) that have become vengeful spirits (onry)
at sea. They have been passed down in the folklore
of various areas of Japan. They frequently appear in
ghost stories and miscellaneous writings from the Edo An example of a funayrei appearing as mysterious ames.
Period as well as in modern folk customs.* [1] In the From the Tosa Bakemono Ehon.
Yamaguchi Prefecture and the Saga Prefecture, they are
called Ayakashi.* [1]
can be used to protect from the harm they inict, such
as throwing onigiri into the sea or preparing a hishaku
with its bottom missing. They are also called mjabune
(), bko, or ayakashi depending on the area.* [2]
5.1 Legends
Umibzu, another strange phenomenon at sea, are someto be a type of funayrei rather a type
Funayrei are ghosts believed to use hishaku (ladles) to times considered
*
[3]
of
ykai.
ll boats with water and make them sink. They are said to
be the remnants of people who have died in shipwrecks Their appearance as depicted in legends varies widely deand are attempting to cause humans to join them.* [1] pending on the area. There are stories that speak of ghosts
According to legends, there are various methods that that appear above water, of boats that are themselves
15
16
CHAPTER 5. FUNAYREI
ghosts ( ghost ships), of ghosts that appear on humanoccupied ships, or of any combination of the above. They
are described as appearing like umibzu or kaika.* [1]* [2]
There are many legends of funayrei at sea, but they
have also been described as appearing in the rivers, lakes,
and swamps of inland areas.* [1] In Kchi Prefecture, the
kechibi, a type of onibi, is also sometimes seen as being
a type of funayrei.* [4]
They often appear in rainy days, as well as nights on a
new or full moon,* [5] and on stormy nights and foggy
nights.* [1] When it appears as a boat, the funayrei itself
glows with light, so that it is possible to conrm its details
even at night.* [5] Also, by operating on the sixteenth day
of bon, the dead would attempt to approach the side of
the ship and sink the ship. Also, on a very foggy evening,
by making the boat attempt to run, a cli or a boat without a pulley would appear, and since getting startled and
attempting to avoid it would result in capsizing and getting stranded on a reef, it would be no problem to simply
push on forward, making it disappear naturally.* [2]
Other than attempting to sink ships, in the town of tsuki,
Hata District Kochi Prefecture, they are said to make the
boat's compass malfunction,* [6] and in the Toyoma Prefecture, shing boats that travel to Hokkaido get turned
into a funayurei, causing the crew to hang themselves.* [7]
In Ehime Prefecture, when one encounters a funayurei, if
one tries to avoid it by changing the boat's route, the boat
runs aground.* [8]* [9] Also, in the past, to avoid shipwreck on a day of bad weather, people would light a bonre on land, but a funayurei would light a re on open sea
and mislead the boatmen, and by approaching the re,
one would get eaten by the sea and drown.* [10]
There are also various legends about how to drive away
funayurei depending on the area, and in the Miyagi Prefecture, when a funayurei appears, they would disappear
if one stops the ship and stares xedly at the funayurei for
a while.* [11] It is also told that it is good to stir up the water with a stick.* [11] There are also various theories that it
would be good to throw things into the sea, and in Kzushima, it would be owers and incense, incense sticks,
dango, washed rice, and water,* [12] in Kochi Prefecture,
it would be ashes and 49 rice cakes,* [11] and in Otsuki,
Kochi, it would be summer beans,* [13] in Nagasaki Prefecture, it would be woven mats, ashes, and burnt rewood.* [14] Also, in Kochi Prefecture, it is said to be
possible to drive funayurei by saying I am Dozaemon
()" and asserting to be one of the
funayurei.* [4] In Ehime, one is able to disperse the funayurei by lighting a match and throwing it.* [9]
Funayreifrom the Ehon Hyaku Monogatari by Takehara

Shunsen
clan. It is known that the Taira clan came to ruin in the

Battle of Dan-no-ura, but in the open sea between Dan
no Ura and Mekari in the Kanmon Straits (Hayamoto,
), a funayurei wearing armor and helmet would appear, say give me a bucket, and would cling to the
boat. By lending a hishaku, it would pour water onto the
boat, so when crossing this sea on a boat, one would thus
prepare one with its bottom open, and thus stave o the
funayurei. Once, there was a Buddhist priest, feeling pity
for the spirit, gave it a Buddhist service, causing it to go
away.* [15]
Genrin Yamaoka, an intellectual from the Edo period,

commented on funayurei that appear as balls of re or
ghosts at sea. Referring to Zhu Xi and the Cheng-Zhu
school, he brought up several examples of departed souls
that died with resentment and remained even after carrying out their revenge, and concluded, even by seeing something from 10 people, by sometimes going along
with reason, you can also sometimes see it in ancient Chinese books (
)". Although it is not

possible to get a hold of smoke with one's hands, by accumulating it and staining one's hand, it is possible to take
5.2 Classics
it into one's hands. The spirit (, ki) is the beginning of
one's nature, and when the spirit stagnates, the ones that
In the collection of fantastic stories, the Ehon Hyaku create a form and produce a voice are called yurei. In the
Monogatari from the Edo period, the funayurei that ap- rst place, the stagnated spirits of the ghosts desire to fall,
pear on the western sea are departed souls from the Taira and disappear.* [16]
5.6. FUNAYUREI BY AREA
5.3 Modern examples
17
stagnate to sea level, but the water on both sides would
not move too much, and would form a boundary. Around
that boundary, if the boat has a screw propeller, however
much one turns it, the energy would merely stir up the water on the boundary, and expended all on creating internal
waves, resulting in the boat not moving. In polar regions,
ice would melt and oat into the middle of sea, creating
the same result, which was also recorded by the polar explorer Nansen. In this way, there is a hypothesis that the
internal waves accompanied by changes in the salt content, the water temperature, and the hydraulic pressure
would obstruct the boat from advancing.* [20]* [21]
In 1954, after the Toya Maru accident, the largest marine

accident to occur after the war, the ferryboats that went
on commission after the accident were discovered to have
a strange scar on their propeller, providing an example
of where rumors started to spread about how the victims
of the accident turned into funayurei and dug claws into
the propellers.* [17] This funayurei appears in sea and on
land, and in Nanaehama, Hokkaido, there is a rumor that
at midnight, a female would appear completely wet would
appear riding in a taxi, who would disappear once one
reaches the destination, and who was rumored to be the
ghost of Toya Maru.* [17] Also, in Aomori Station, the
sta members who slept in the night duty room would 5.6 Funayurei by area
wake up at the sound of banging on the glass window, and
would see the hand of the completely wet female on the Inadakase The coast of Fukushima Prefecture. They
other side, got startled that Toya Maru's victims were
speak to people on ships, saying lend me an inada
pleading for help,and the next morning, there would be
(hishaku).Aninadais a hishaku that is used on
a promissory note remaining on that glass window.* [17]
boats, if one doesn't open a hole in it before giving it
over, it would suddenly ll the boat with water and
Also, in 1969, in the sea in Kanagawa Prefecture, one
cause it to sink.* [22]
would observe a white human gure, hear a voice saying please give me a hishaku,and it was said that the The man in white, the beautiful princess Kowaura,
shipwrecked members of the university's yacht club were
Minamiise, Mie Prefecture. During storms, it
wanting to bail water.* [18]
would say lend me a hishakuto boats that were
too slow to ee and sink the boat. By lending a
hishaku with a hole in it, it is possible to ee and
return.* [23]
5.4 From the view of folkloristics
Murasa Tsumamura, Oki District, Shimane Prefecture
According to the folkloristician, Hideo Hanabe, fu(now Okinoshima). Here, what might appear to be
nayurei appear in evenings of wind and rain and heavy
noctiluca in the lake is said to be a crystallization of
fog, and also frequently when the weather suddenly worssalt, but by staring in there, the thing that spherically
ens, and since the matter that accidents happen more eassolidied while shining is Murasa. By making the
ily adds a sense of reality, and since they also give a feelboat go over it, the boat would suddenly sink.
ing of eeriness and unease, some of the strange incidents
would be put into a frame of legends, so that phantoms Also, there are cases where at night, the sea would suddenly shine with light, but this is due to being posand illusions would be spoken of as reality. The fact that
sessed by Murasa, and it is said that it eective to
they often appear during Bon makes its image overlap
attach a sword or knife to the end of a pole and stir
with that of the shrbune. However, at its foundation, as
the sea several times with it.* [24]
ones who are not deied, there is also faith in the spirits of
those who have died at sea and oat around and turn into Yobashiri Aishima, Abu District, Yamaguchi Prefecfunayurei, and in Bon and in New Year's Eve, and other
ture (now Hagi). By coiling a white sail and makset days, it is forbidden to sh or go to sea, or forbidden
ing it run forward, it would also run along. By
to go close to the sea, and a prohibition on breaking these
scattering ashes and making a sound, it would distaboos.* [2]
perse.* [14]* [25]
5.5 Theories on their true identity

Funayurei are said to possess ships and prevent them from
moving,* [19] but they have somewhat been given a scientic explanation in the modern era, and have been determined to be a phenomenon of internal waves. For example, in the area of the ocean that is at the mouth of large
rivers, there are areas of water with low salinity, but since
water with low salinity is comparatively light, it would
Ugome Hirado, Nagasaki Prefecture and Goshourajima,

Kumamoto Prefecture, among other areas of
Kyushu. It is said that when a boat is possessed,
it obstructs the boat's movement, and in Hirado, a
sail boat would come chasing even though there is
no wind.* [26] In the western coast of Kyushu, it
appears as an illusion of a boat or an island.* [27]
In order to avoid this, in Hirado, it would be to
throw ashes, and in Goshourajima, it would be to
say I'm putting down the anchor (
)" while throwing a stone, and then throwing the
18
CHAPTER 5. FUNAYREI
anchor.* [26] They are also said to disappear if one
smokes tobacco.* [27] They are also said to appear
while sayinggive me an akadori (, a scoop
for removing water that gathers at the bottom of a
ship),and they would sink a ship if one doesn't give
them an akadori that has its bottom open.* [27]
Mayoibune Onga District, Fukuoka Prefecture and in

the same prefecture Kanezaki, Munakata. On the
evening of moonlight nights around the time of
Bon, they appear as sailboats at sea. It is said that
kaika would appear and people's voices could be
heard.* [28]* [29]
Mouren Yassa () Kaij District, Chshi
city, Chiba Prefecture (now Asahi). On days of
deep fog and stormy days, it is a funayurei that would
appear to shing boats, and it is said that a spirit of
someone who died in a shipwreck is attempting to
increase their fellows. A voice would approach the
boat sayingmouren, yassa, mouren, yassa, lend me
an inaga (
),and suddenly a hand would
come from the sea, sayinggive me a hishaku,but
since it would sink the boat if lent a hishaku, it is
said that one should thus give a hishaku with its bottom open. Mourenmeans ghost, and inaga
means a hishaku, and yassaare the encouraging
shouts used while rowing a boat.* [30] In the works
of the yokai manga cartoonist Shigeru Mizuki, it
was written as Mourei Yassan (),* [31] and
in Sakaiminato, Tottori Prefecture, Mizuki's birthplace, a festival has been opened for calming this
Mourei Yassan.* [32]
Misaki () Appearing in Fukuoka Prefecture
among other places, they are seen as a kind of Funayurei.* [33]
Namourei In the legends of Kosode, Ube town, Kunohe
District, Iwate Prefecture, (now Kuji), it is a yokai
that appears frequently along with black boats, and
they make an impossible demandgive me a paddle
in times of storms ( (shike)
(kai) ),but it would do no good to reply,
or lend them a paddle.* [34]
5.7 Similar legends outside Japan
called Kikokutan no Kai( ), and

discolored monsters would attempt to capsize ships
(these are close to the umibzu).
5.8 References
[1] Murakami, Kenji, ed. (2000). Ykai Jiten .
Mainichi Shimbunsha. p. 298. ISBN 978-4-620-314280.
[2] Hanabe, Hideo et al. (1987). Nomura, Jun'ichi, ed.
Mukashibanashi Densetsu Shjiten (
). Mizuumi Shob. p. 209. ISBN 978-4-8380-3108-5.
[3] Kygoku, Natsuhiko (2008). Tada, Katsumi, ed. Ykai
Gahon Kyka Hyakumonogatari (
). Kokushokankkai. p. 291. ISBN 978-4-3360-50557.
[4] (1978). " ". In .
. . pp. 250 .
[5] (1990). . Truth in fantasy IV. . pp. 172 . ISBN 978-4-91514644-2.
[6] . " 39
".
. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
[7] (1973). " ". In .
. . pp. 306 .
[8] . " 5
". . Retrieved 200802-14.
[9] (1983). " ". In
. . . pp. 830831
.
[10] . " ".
2008-01-31.
. Retrieved
[11] (2000). 2.
. pp. 3234 . ISBN 978-4-3096-1382-6.
[12] . " 30
". . Retrieved
2008-02-14.
[13] . " 39
".
. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
[14] (October 1938). " (1)".
According to the Keirin Manroku () (writ() 11 (10 130 ): 2324 .

ten in Kansei 12), there are writings such as the
ghosts of those who have drowned become ghosts [15] (1997). -
-. . pp. 75 . ISBN 978-4-336-03948-4.
that capsize ships ( (fukuteki)
(ghosts) )" and they
[16] (2007).
. .
are seen in writings about yokai overseas (
. pp. 149 . ISBN 978-4-0872-0398-1.
)" stating that what are considered
funayurei to the Japanese were also written about in [17] (2007).
. . pp. 244 . ISBN 978-4-7730-0365-9.
China. In China, there are legends of a phenomenon
5.8. REFERENCES
19
[18] (2008). " ". In

. . . vol.0024. . pp.
241 . ISBN 978-4-04-883992-1.
[19] . "
". . Retrieved
2008-02-14.
[20] "
".
. . Retrieved
2008-02-14.
[21] " ".
Water Works . . 2001.
Retrieved 2008-02-14.
[22] (1955). , ed.
1 . . pp. 105 .
[23] " ". :
. . Retrieved 2010-09-24.
[24]
4 . pp. 1565 .
[25]
4 . pp. 1703 .
[26] (2003). . 3.
. pp. 333334 . ISBN 978-4-480-03813-5.
[27] (1995).
.
. . pp. 221222 . ISBN 978-4-09460074-2.
[28]
4 . pp. 1491 .
[29] (August 1932). " ".

() 5 (8 56 ): 22 .
[30] . pp. 322 .

[31] 1 (2006).
. . pp. 31 . ISBN 978-4-06-213742-3.
[32] " ".
. . 2004-0322. Retrieved 2009-01-31.
[33] (1991). . . pp.
64 . ISBN 978-4-06-205172-9.
[34] (1955). , ed.
3 . . pp. 1126 .
Funayurei Translated funayurei story on Hyakumonogatari.com

Iwasaka, Michiko and Toelken, Barre. Ghosts
and the Japanese: Cultural Experiences in Japanese
Death Legends, Utah State University Press, 1994.
ISBN 0-87421-179-4
Chapter 6
The Ghost of Oyuki

The Ghost of Oyuki ( Oyuki no maboroshi)
is a painting of a female yrei, (a traditional Japanese
ghost), by Maruyama Okyo (17331795), founder of the
Maruyama-Shij school of painting.
According to an inscription on the painting, Okyo had a
mistress in the Tominaga Geisha house. She died young
and Okyo mourned her death. One night her spirit came
to him in a dream, and unable to get her image out of his
head he painted this portrait. This is one of the earliest
paintings of a yrei (ghost) with the basic late-Edo period
ghost characteristics: disheveled hair, white or pale blue
robe, limp hands, nearly transparent, lack of lower body.
6.1 References
ISBN 0-87421-179-4
20
Chapter 7
Gory
This article is about the mythological Japanese spirit.
For the Korean dynasty, see Goryeo.
Gory ( ) [ojo] are vengeful Japanese ghosts,
from the aristocratic classes, especially those who have
been martyred.
government, it was immediately raised to the

rst rank of ocial shrines.* [1]
7.2 See also

onry
yurei
7.1 Description
Bancho Sarayashiki
The name consists of two kanji, (go) meaning honorable and (ry) meaning soul or spirit.
Arising mainly in the Heian period, the belief was that
the spirits of powerful lords who had been wronged
were capable of catastrophic vengeance, including destruction of crops and the summoning of a typhoon or
an earthquake.
According to tradition, the only way to quell the wrath
of a gory" was with the help of a yamabushi, who could
perform the necessary rites that would tame the spirit.
An example of a gory is the Shinto kami known as
Tenjin:
Government ocial Sugawara no
Michizane was killed in a plot by a rival
member of the Fujiwara clan. In the years
after his death, the capital city was struck by
heavy rain and lightning, and his chief Fujiwara adversary and Emperor Daigo's crown
prince died, while res caused by lightning
and oods destroyed many of residences. The
court drew the conclusion that the disturbances
were caused by Michizane's angry spirit. In
order to placate him, the emperor restored
all his oces, burned the ocial order of
exile, and he was promoted to Senior Second
Rank. Even this wasn't enough, and 70 years
later he was elevated to the post of Prime
Minister, and he was deied as Tenjin-sama,
which means heavenly deity. He became
the patron god of calligraphy, of poetry and
of those who suer injustice. A shrine was
established at Kitano. With the support of the
Japanese mythology
Emperor Sutoku
7.3 Notes
[1] Morris, 54.
7.4 References
ISBN 0-87421-179-4
7.5 External links

The image of the Gory for Japanese families
Goryo Shinko - The Religion of Ghosts - An article about the Heian period Goryo religion at hyakumonogatari.com
21
Chapter 8
Hitodama
They are frequently confused with onibi and kitsunebi,
but since hitodama are considered to be theappearance
of souls that have left the body and y through the air,
they are strictly speaking a dierent general idea.
Concerning their shape and nature, there are common
features throughout Japan, but some dierences could
also be seen depending on the area. They y crawling
along at an elevation that is not very high. They have a
color that is blue, orange, or red, and also have a tail, but
it can either be short or long. There are also a few that
have been seen during daytime.
In the Okinawa Prefecture, hitodama are called tamagai, and in Nakijin, they are said to appear before a
child is born* [3] and in some areas are also said to be
mysterious ames that drive o humans to death.* [4]
In Kawakami, Inba District, Chiba Prefecture, (now
Yachimata), hitodama are calledtamase,and are said
to come out of the body 2 or 3 days after a human dies,
and go toward temples or people they have a deep relation
with, and are said to make a great sound in storm shutters
and gardens, but it is said that this sound can only be heard
by those who have a deep relation with the spirit. Also,
for those who have not seen a tamase by the time they
Hitodama from the Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki by Toriyama are 28 years of age, a tamase would come towards them
saying let's meet, let's meet (aimashou, aimashou)" so
Sekien
even those who have not seen one when they are 28 years
*
In Japanese folklore, Hitodama (Japanese ; mean- old will pretend to have seen one. [5]
ing human soul) are balls of re that mainly oat in
the middle of night.* [1] They are said to besouls of the
dead that have separated from their bodies,* [1] which
8.2 Theories
is where their name comes from.
According to one theory, since funerals before the war
were burials, so it would be common for the phosphorus
8.1 Summary
that come from the body to react to the rain water on rainy
nights and produce light, and the meager knowledge about
Hitodama are mentioned in literature from ancient times. science from the masses produced the idea of hitodama.
In the Man'ysh, there is the following poem:* [1]
Another possibility is that they come from reies, of
which three species are common in Japan: Luciola cruciWhen you are alone and meet the complete
ata (, Genji hotaru; meaning Genjis rey
blueness of a hitodama, you would naturally
), Luciola lateralis (, Heike hotaru; meaning
think of it as the sorrow* [* 1] on a rainy night
rey from Heike), and Colophotia praeusta. All these
Man'ysh (Amasaki book) Chapter
snail-eating beetles and their larvae are famous for their
16* [2]
ability to make special body parts glow (bioluminescence)
22
8.5. SOURCES
and make them blink rhythmically. Every year at the
Fusa-park in Tokyo the legendary feast Hotarugari (
; meaningrey catching) is celebrated. They have
also been thought to possibly be misrecognitions of shooting stars, animals that have luminous bryophytes attached
to them, gasses that come from swamps, light bulbs, or visual hallucinations. There have also been somearticial
hitodamacreated using combustible gases (an experiment in 1976 by the Meiji University professor, Masao
Yamana using methane gas).
In the 1980s, the Yoshiko Ootsuki posited the idea that
they are plasma from the air.* [6]
However, there are some hitodama that cannot be explained by the above theories, so they are thought to come
from various phenomena.
8.3 See also
23
8.5 Sources
Karen Ann Smyers: The fox and the jewel: shared
and private meanings in contemporary Japanese
inari worship. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu
1999, ISBN 0-8248-2102-5, page 117 & 118.
Stephen Addiss, Helen Foresman: Japanese ghosts
& demons: art of the supernatural. G. Braziller, Illinois 1985, ISBN 978-0-486-99052-1
Lloyd Vernon Knutson, Jean-Claude Vala: Biology
of Snail-Killing Sciomyzidae Flies. Cambridge University Press, Camebridge (UK) 2011, ISBN 0-52186785-1, page 24.
Chris Philo, Chris Wilbert: Animal spaces, beastly
places: new geographies of human-animal relations
(= Band 10 von Critical geographies). Routledge,
London/New York 2000, ISBN 0-415-19847-X,
page 172173.
Ball lightning
Soul
Yurei
Will-o'-the-wisp
8.4 Notes
Translation note
[1] This is actually of unknown meaning and pronunciation, but hahisameans sorrowin Tamil.
References
[1] p.2255
[2]
()
pp.77-78
[3] (1955). , ed.
2 . p. 894.
[4] (1998). .
. pp. 6163. ISBN 978-4-938923-58-7.
[5] (October 1935). " ".
() 8 (10 94 ): 4647.
[6] (1986).
40 !.
. . p. 257. ISBN 978-4-576-86129-6.
8.6 External links

Hitodama at The Obakemono Project
Chapter 9
Ikiry
transforming into their ikiry form. It is believed that
if a sucient grudge is held, all or part of the perpetrator's soul leaves the body, appearing in front of the victim to harm or curse them, a concept not so dissimilar
from the evil eye. The ikiry has even made its way into
Buddhist scriptures, where they are described as living
spiritswho, if angered, might bring about curses, even
just before their death. Possession is another means by
which the Ikiry are commonly believed to be capable
of inicting harm, the possessed person thought to be unaware of this process.* [4] However, according to mythology, the ikiry does not necessarily act out of spite or
vengefulness, and stories are told of the ikiry who bears
no grudge, or poses no real threat. In recorded examples,
the spirit sometimes takes possession of another person's
body for motives other than vengeance, such as love and
infatuation (for example the Matsutya ghost below). A
person's ikiry may also leave the body (often very shortly
before death) to manifest its presence around loved ones,
friends and/or acquaintances.* [2]
9.2 Classical literature
Ikiry" ( ) from the "Gazu Hyakki Yagy" by Sekien

Toriyama
Ikiry, or shry, seirei, ikisudama (, lit. living

ghost,"eidolon"), in Japanese popular belief and ction,
refers to a spirit that leaves the body of a living person and
subsequently haunts other people or places, sometimes
across great distances.* [1]* [2]* [3] The term(s) are used
in contrast to shiry, which refers to the spirit of those
who are already deceased.
9.1 Summary
In classical literature,The Tale of Genji (ca. 1100) describes the well knownepisode of the ikisudama (the
archaic form of ikiry) that emerged from Genji's lover
Lady Rokujo, and tormented Genji's pregnant wife Aoi
no Ue, resulting in her death after the successful delivery of her son.* [6] This spirit is also portrayed in Aoi
no Ue, the Noh play adaptation of the same story. After
her death, Lady Rokujo became an onry and went on to
torment those who would later become Genji's consorts,
Murasaki and Onna-sannomiya (ja).* [6]
In the Heian period, a human soul leaving a body and
drifting away is described by the old verb akugaru
meaning departure. In The Tale of Genji, the mentally troubled Kashiwagi fears that his soul may be found
wandering (akugaru), and requests that last rites are performed on his body to stop his soul from escaping if this
should happen.* [7]* [8]* [9]* [10]* [11]* [12] and by Murakami* [11]* [lower-alpha 1]
The popular belief that the human spirit (or soul) can escape from the body has been around since early times,
with eyewitness accounts and experiences (hauntings,
possessions, out-of-body experience) reported in anecdotal and ctional writings. Vengeful spirits ( onry)
of the living are said to inict curses ( tatari) upon
the subject or subjects of their vengeance by means of In the medieval collection Konjaku Monogatarish is the
24
9.3. FOLK LAW

tale of How the Ikiryo Spirit of Omi Province Came
and Killed a Man of the Capital.It describes how a
commoner traveling out of Kyoto agrees to act as guide
for a noblewoman at the crossroads, and leads her to the
house of a certain Senior Assistant Minister of Popular
Aairs ( Minbu-no-tay) in the capital. Unbeknownst to the man, the woman turned out to be the ikiry
of the wife the ocial had abandoned. Upon reaching
the house, the lady promptly vanished before the man's
eyes, even though the gates were shut. Wailing noises
were then heard from inside the house. The following
morning, the guide learned that the master of the house
complained of the presence of his former wife's ikiry,
and claimed it was causing his illness, which short led to
his later death. The guide later sought out the lady's house
in mi Province. There a woman spoke to him through
blinds, acknowledging the man's services that day, and
showering him with gifts of silk cloth.* [13]* [14]* [15]
The ikiry can also possess the object of its infatuation,
rather than its love-rival. The essay collection Okinagusa
() recordsMatsutya yrei, a tale allegedly based
on events in Kyh 14 or 15 (172930), whereby a Kyoto merchant named Matsutya Tokubei (
) had a teenaged son named Matsunosuke possessed
by the spirit of two women who loved him, and who tormented the boy's conscience. On occasion, he would be
suspended in mid-air, engaging in conversation as if the
girls were present before his eyes, the ikiry's words being
spoken through the boy's lips. Finally the family sought
help from a renowned priest named Zkai, or Zkai Etan
( 1682-1733). The priest successfully exorcised the boy and cured his condition, but rumors had
already spread regarding the incident.* [16]* [17]
25
but it turns out to be (or has transformed into) the animated, severed head of the woman. When the face grins
at him, he attacks with a sword, and chases it to a home in
the capital of the province. Inside the house, the housewife transforms from this nightmare being, but is still being chased by the man, who is brandishing a blade, leading to the consequential awakening of her husband. The
wandering head was, according to the title, the woman's
monen (), or her wayward thoughts or obsession (that
strays from the tenets of Buddhism). The woman later becomes a nun to repent for her sins.* [1]* [18]* [19]* [loweralpha 2]
9.3 Folk Law

9.3.1 Regional near-death spirits
Sightings of ikiry belonging to those whose deaths are
imminent have been recorded from all over Japan. Stories abound of spirits that materialize (or otherwise manifest their presence) to someone dear to them,* [20] such
as immediate family. The recipient of the visit experiencing a metaphysical foreshadowing of this person's death,
before any tangible news of bereavement arrives.
Many of the local terms for the ikiry were collected
by Kunio Yanagita and his school of folklorists.:* [loweralpha 3]
In the tradition of the Nishitsugaru District, Aomori Prefecture, the souls of the person/s on the brink of death
are called amabito, and believed to depart from the body
and walk around, sometimes making noises like that of
the door sliding open.* [20]* [21]
According to Yanagita, tobi-damashi () is
the equivalent term to the Senboku District, Akita region.
Yanagita denes this as the ability of certain persons to
traverse the world in their Ikiro form. Such individuals
are purported to have voluntary control of this ability, in
contrast to those who are only temporarily capable of tapping into such a state as a precursor to their death.* [20]
In the Kazuno District in Akita Prefecture, a soul that

pays visit to acquaintances is called an omokage (
) reminescence, lingering shadow, and
assumes the form of a living human, that is to say, it has
Onna no Mnen Mayoiaruku Koto( ) feet and make pitter-patter noises, unlike*the stereotypical
Japanese ghost that have no legs or feet. [22]* [23]
from the Sorori Monogatari()* [18]
The horror story (kaidan) collection Sorori Monogatari
() (published Kanbun 3, or 1663) includes a
tale of a woman whose ikiry assumed the shape of her
severed head (cf. the ykai monster known as nukekubi).
One night, a man traveling towards Kyoto arrives at place
called Sawaya in Kita-no-sh, Echizen Province (now
Fukui City), where he mistakedly thinks he saw a chicken
y from the base of a nearby stone tower on to the road,
Yanagita in Tno monogatari shi reported that in the

Tno Region, Iwate Prefecture,the thoughts of the dead
or the living coalesce into a walking shape, and appear to
the human eye as an illusion is termed an omaku in this
region.An example being a beautiful girl aged 16 or 17,
critically ill with a case of "cold damage" ( shkan)
(Typhoid fever or a similar disease). She was seen wandering around the construction site of the Kganji temple
rebuild project in Tsujibuchi, Iwate (ja), the days before
26
CHAPTER 9. IKIRY
her death.* [22]* [24]* [25]* [26]

In Kashima District, Ishikawa on the Noto Peninsula, a
folklorist recorded belief in the shininb (), said
to appear 2 or 3 days before someone's death, which was
seen passing through on its visits to danna-dera (The family temple, also called bodaiji). The temple was believed
to be the soul's nal resting grounds, where one nds a
place amongst their ancestors.* [23]* [27]* [28]
Soul ames
For more details on this topic, see hitodama and hidama.
There are cases where the wandering ikiry appear as a
oatingsoul ame, known in Japan as the hitodama or
hidama.* [lower-alpha 4] However, asoul amefrom a
person who is near death is not considered unusual, wity
the traditional conception among Japanese being that the
soul escapes the body within a short phase (several days)
either before or after death.* [29] Therefore, pre-death
soul ames may not be treated as cases of ikiry in works
on the subject of ghosts, but led under chapters on the
hitodama phenomenon.* [30]* [lower-alpha 5]
Rikonby () from the Kyka Hyaku Monogatari illustrated by Masasumi Rykansaijin. The woman on the left is aficted by the soul separation illness, and her ikiry appears
next to her.
ternately written as kage-no-wazurai (

).* [32]* [33]
This aiction is treated as an instance of ikiry by folklorist Ensuke Konno in his chapter on the topic.* [32]
The case study example is that of Yji Kita, doomed by
One case of a near-death hitodama deemed 'suitable for the kage no yamai for three generations in succession,
discussion' under the topic of ikiry by a folklorist closely recorded in the shu banashi (,Far North
resembled the aforementioned tale of the woman's head Tales) by Tadano Makuzu (d. 1825).
in the Sorori Monogatari, namely, that the subject
The identical double might be seen by the suerer or be
who witnessed the soul's apparition pursued it ruthlessly,
witnessed by others, and can be classed as a doppelgnger
until he discovered the owner of the soul, who claimed
phenomenon.* [34] Others have reported a sort of outto have seen the entire experience of being chased durof-body experience, whereby their consciousness inhabits
ing a dream. The subject worked at the town oce of
theikiryto see their own lifeless body.* [35]
Tno, Iwate, and one night, he reported seeing an hidama
emerge from a stable and into the house's entrance where
it was 'ying around'. He claimed to have chased it with
a broom, and trapped it beneath a washbasin. A while 9.4 Similar activity or phenomena
after, he was rushed out to see his sick uncle on the
brink of death, but he made sure to release the reball The ushi no koku mairi () is, when one, in the
from its trapping. He soonlearned that his uncle had only hour of the ox (1AM to 3AM), strikes a nail in a sacred
just passed away, but his uncle came back to life again, tree, and thus becomes an oni while alive, and using these
enough so to accuse the nephew of the of chasing him oni powers, would inict curses and calamity upon a rival.
with a broom and capturing him.* [31] Similarly, the folk- Although many ikiry generally are spirits of humans that
lore archives of Umedoi, Mie Prefecture (now part of leave the body unconsciously and move about, deeds akin
Inabe) tells a tale about a band of men who, late in the to performing magic rituals and intentionally tormenting
night, spotted and chased a reball into a sake warehouse, a target can also be interpreted as ikiry.* [35] In the same
waking a maid who was asleep inside. The maid later pro- way, in the Okinawa Prefecture, performing of a magic
fessed to being pursued by many men and eeingto ritual with the intention of becoming an ikiry is termed
take refuge in the warehouse.* [1]
ichijama (ja).* [36]* [37]
9.3.2
Ikiry as an illness
During the Edo period, there was a belief that there was
a condition called rikonby () soul separation
illness, whereby the soul would not just separate from
the body, but assume the shape and appearance of the
suerer. The condition was also known interchangeably as shadow-sickeness ( kage no yamai), al-
9.5 See also

Astral projection
Out of body experience
Doppelgnger
9.5. SEE ALSO

Fetch (folklore)
Soul
9.5.1
Explanatory notes
[1] Another example of this term occurs in the verse by the

poet Izumi Shikibu which depicts the author's soul as a
wandering rey: While I am rapt in thought, / The
reies of the marsh would seem to be / My soul, caught
up and wandering / Forth out of me.(Goshi Wakash,
Tale 20).
[2] Original source story title is Onna no maunen mayohi
ariku koto ()
[3] Whilst terms such as tobi-damashi or omokage, Akita, or
shininb are used in the Ishikawa Prefecture in isolated
cases, these terms are not frequently used anywhere elsewhere.
[4] A hidama, the Japanese equivalent to the will-o'-the-wisp
(or generically "atmospheric ghost lights")
[5] Konno 1969, pp. 4446 describes cases of oating
balloon-like objects of yellow color (iridescent colored,
according to Konno) an omen of death. The locals in the
Shimokita District, Aomori refer to the object as tamashi
() souls, the same term in common usage by
locals in Komena hamlet, in the town of hata. On the
day after a sighting of one heading towards the mountains
(Mount Osore) on April 2, 1963, a boy died in the hospital from injuries he sustained falling o a bridge while
double-riding a bicycle.
9.5.2
Citations
[1] Ikeda 1959, pp. 186190 (Japanese)

[2] Konno 1969, Chapter 3 (Ikiry no yri), pp. 6398
(Japanese)
[3] Clarke, Peter Bernard (2000), Japanese new religions: in
global perspective, Volume 1999 (annotated ed.), Routledge, p. 247, ISBN 978-0-7007-1185-7
[4] Kojien dictionary* [5] (Japanese)
27
[11] Murakami, Kenji () (2005), Nihon ykai daijiten [The Great Yokai Encyclopedia of
Japan], Kwai books (in Japanese), Kadokawa, pp. 2425,
ISBN 978-4-04-883926-6
[12] Konno 1969, pp. 6667
[13] Dykstra, Yoshiko Kurata (tr.), ed.
(2003), The
Konjaku Tales: From a Medieval Japanese Collection. Japanese section (Intercultural Research Institute, Kansai Gaidai University Publication) 3: 95-,
ISBN 4873350263 http://books.google.com/books?id=
M3IqAQAAIAAJ |url= missing title (help) |chapter= ignored (help)
[14] Haga, Yaichi ( ), ed. (1921), Ksh konjaku
monogatari sh (in Japanese), 3 (): 367 http://dl.
ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/945416 |url= missing title (help)
|chapter= ignored (help)
[15] Konno 1969, pp. 9396: subchapter Otto wo torikoroshita aoginu no onna ()A
woman in blue garment who possessed and killed her husband(Japanese)
[16] Kanzawa, Teikan/Tok ( / 17101795), ed. (1906). Book 56 Matsutya yrei. Okina
gusa 6. (revised). Goshar shoten. pp.
667.
[17] Iwaya, Sazanami (1935), Dai goen
8: 90
[18] Takada 1989, pp. 1315 (Japanese)
[19] Yuasa, Yoshiko ( ) (2009).
[A Study of a similar story of SORORIMONOGATARI"]. Bulletin of Tokyo Gakugei University,
Humanities and Social SciencesI (in Japanese) 60: 307
309. ISSN 1880-4314.
[20] Yanagita, Kunio (1970), Chapter 77, About Our Ancestors: The Japanese Family System, Fanny Hagin Mayer
(tr.), Greenwood Press, p. 171, There are also many instances reported, especially when facing death, of men
materialising in front of a chosen loved one or associate.
In Senhoku-gun such people are called amabitoand individuals who can 'y anywhere in their dreams' are called
tobi-damashi [ying soul], the same term used in Tsugaru,..
[5] Shinmura, Izuru (), ed. (1991). Kojien [Kojien]

(4th ed.). Iwanami. p. 122. ISBN 978-4-00-080101-0.
[21] Konno 1969, pp. 67, 68
[6] Konno 1969, p. 69
[22] t 1955, pp. 46293
[7] Bargen, Doris G. (1997). A Woman's Weapon: Spirit Possession in The Tale of Genji. University of Hawaii Press.
p. 166. ISBN 082481858X.
[23] Konno 1969, Chapter 4, pp.100105
[8] Kojien dictionary,* [5] akugaru, sense 2.

[9] Miyamori, Asatar (ed. tr.) (1956). Masterpieces of
Japanese Poetry: Ancient and Modern 1. Taiseido Shobo
Company.
[10] Konno 1969, pp. 6667
(in Japanese)
[24] Yanagita, Kunio (2004) [1948]. Tno monogatari supplements , Tale 160. Tno monogatari
(in Japanese). Kadokawa. pp. 146151. ISBN 978-4-04308320-6.
[25] Konno 1969, pp. 81, 82, citing Yanagita, Tno Monogatari
[26]lower-alpha
28
CHAPTER 9. IKIRY
[27] Nakamura, Hiroshi () (1929).Noto t saihroku

". Minzokugaku 1 (2): 4244., cited by
Konno 1969, Chapter 4, pp. 103104
[28] International Research Center for Japanese Studies
(2002). Shininb ". Kaii & ykai densh
database (in Japanese).
[29] Konno 1969, Chapter 2 Hitodama k, p.38
[30] Konno 1969, Chapter 2 Hitodama k, pp.3762)
[31] Konno 1969, p. 75), citing Tno monogatari
[32] Konno 1969, pp. 12, 6466)
[33] Hearn, Lafcadio (1905), The Romance of the Milky Way:
And Other Studies & Stories, Houghton, Miin, pp. 60
64
[34] Hearn 1905, p. 61
[35] Tada 2008, p. 283 (Japanese)
[36] Uezu, Hitoshi () (1994) [1972]. tsuka minzoku gakkai, ed. Nihon minzoku jiten
[Japanese folk encyclopedia] (Pocket ed.). Kbund (ja).
p. 41. ISBN 978-4-335-57050-6.
[37] Shimabukuro, Genshichi ( ) (1974) [1929].
Sangen no dozoku ". In Ikeda Yasusabur
(ja) et al. Nihon minzokushi taikei 1. Kadokawa. p. 373.
ISBN 978-4-04-530301-2.
9.6 References
Ikeda, Yasusabur () (1978) [1959].
Nihon no yrei [Ghosts of Japan].
Chuokoron. ISBN 978-4-12-200127-5.
t, Tokihiko () (1955).
, ed. Sg nihon minzoku goi
[Sogo Japanese folk vocabulary] 1.

(supervising editor). Heibonsha. BN05729787.
Konno, Ensuke () (2004) [1969]. Nihon
kaidansh; yrei hen [Japanese kaidan collection:
ghosts] (snippet) 1. Chuokoron-Shinsha. ISBN 9784-12-204464-7.
Chapter 1 Sugata naki maboroshi (
) Phantasm without visible form,
pp. 1136
Chapter 2 Hitodama k () Thoughts
on the soul ame, pp. 3762
Chapter 3 Ikiry no yri ()Peregrination of the living soul, pp. 6398
Chapter 4 Tamash no wakare (
) Souls bidding farewell, pp. 100
125
Tada, Katsumi ( ) (2008). Chapter:

Ykai soran ". In Natsuhiko Kyogoku.
Ykai gahon: kyka hayakumonogatari
[Ykai picture book: satirical waka
version Hyakumonogatari]. Kokusho kankkai (ja).
ISBN 978-4-3360-5055-7.
Takada, Mamoru (), ed. (1989). Sorori
monogatari ". Edo Kaidansh
[Edo ghost story collection] 2. Iwanami. ISBN
978-4-00-302572-7.
Visser, Marinus Willem de (1935). Ancient Buddhism in Japan 1. Leiden: E.J. Brill.
(Ancient Buddhism In Japan)
Chapter 10
Inugami
For other uses, see Inukami (disambiguation).
the evoker is perfectly trained, he can order his Inugami
Inugami (, lit.dog god) is a class of being from to possess humans and manipulate them. The victim is
often forced to kill itself or other people, or to act like a
lunatic. But Inugami are also said to be very dangerous
for the evoker himself: since the Inugamis soul is blinded
by its desire for revenge and its unstoppable rage, the Inugami can quickly escape the masters control and kill his
own evoker.
Families that keep Inugami in their household are called
Inugami-mochi (meaningThose who have a dog-god as
a pet). Its tradition within these households that family members always marry members from other Inugamimochi only.
10.3 External links
The inugami as depicted in Sawaki Suushi's Hyakkai-Zukan.
Web infos about Inugami at obakemono.com (English)
Japanese mythology, which is similar to the Shikigami and

who belongs to the range of the spirits, the Kami.
10.4 Sources
10.1 Description
Japanese folklore describes Inugami as zoomorphic
or anthropomorphic, dog-like beings, often similar to
werewolves. They are masters of black magic.
Takeshi Abe, Adam Beltz: The Negima Reader: Secrets Behind the Magic. DH Publishing Inc, 2007,
ISBN 1932897240, page 4951.
10.2 Traditions
Stephen H. Sumida: And the View from the Shore:

Literary Traditions of Hawaii. University of Washington Press, 1991, ISBN 0295970782, page 228.
Folklore has it that Inugami can be conjured from a complex and cruel ceremony: A common pet dog must be
buried up to his neck, only the head remains free. Then
a bowl with food or water must be placed close but in
unreachable distance before the snout of the dog. Several days after that, when the dog is about to perish and
tortured by hallucinations, his head must be severed and
buried beneath a noisy street. After a certain time, head
and body must be placed in a well prepared shrine. Now
an Inugami can be evoked.
Similar to Shikigami, possessed paper mannequins,
Inugami are evoked for criminal activities, such as
murdering, kidnapping and mutilation of the victims. If
29
Moku Jya: Mock Jya's Things Japanese. Japan

Times, Tokyo 1985, page 408412.
Herbert E. Plutschow: A reader in Edo period travel.
Global oriental, 2006, ISBN 1901903230, page 16
19.
Michaela Haustein:
Mythologien der Welt:
Japan, Ainu, Korea epubli, Berlin 2011, ISBN
3844214070, page 19.
Keiko I. McDonald: Reading a Japanese Film: Cinema in Context. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu 2006, ISBN 082482993X, page 11.
Chapter 11
Kuchisake-onna
Kuchisake-onna (, Slit-Mouthed Woman
) is a gure appearing in Japanese urban legends. She
is a woman who was mutilated by her husband, and returns as a malicious spirit. When rumors of alleged sightings began spreading in 1979 around the Nagasaki Prefecture, it spread throughout Japan and caused panic in
many towns. There are even reports of schools allowing
children to go home only in groups escorted by teachers
for safety,* [1] and of police increasing their patrols. Recent sightings include many reports in South Korea in the
year 2004 about a woman wearing a red mask who was
frequently seen chasing children, and, in October 2007, a
coroner found some old records from the late 1970s about
a woman who was chasing little children. She was then
hit by a car, and died shortly after. Her mouth was ripped
from ear to ear.* [2]
11.1 The modern urban legend

Kuchisake-onna ()
Conversation Diagram
Asks: "Am I pretty?"
Yes
No
Kills you with

scissors.
may encounter a woman wearing a surgical mask, which

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 pretty?"
If the child answers no, the child is killed with a pair of
scissors which the woman carries. If the child answers
yes, the woman pulls away the mask, revealing that her
mouth is slit from ear to ear, and asksHow about now?"
If the child answers no, he/she will be cut in half. If the
child answers yes, then she will slit his/her mouth like
hers. It is impossible to run away from her, as she will
simply reappear in front of the victim.
When the legend reappeared, the 1970s rumors of ways
to escape also emerged. Some sources say she can also be
confused by the victim answering her question with ambiguous answers, such asYou are averageorSo-so.
Unsure of what to do, she will give a person enough time
to escape while she is lost in thought. Another escape
route is to tell her one has a previous engagement; she will
pardon her manners and excuse herself. In some variations of the tale, she can be distracted by fruit or candies
thrown at her which she will then pick up, thus giving the
victim a chance to run. She will also be at an advantage
to run toward you if she has the chance.* [3] Another way
is for the child to ask her if the child is pretty; she will get
confused and leave.* [4]
11.2 In popular culture

11.2.1 Live action
Takes o mask.
Asks: "How about now?"
Kuchisake-onna (Video, 1996)

No
Cuts you in half.
Kann byt: nureta akai kuchibiru aka The SlitMouthed Woman (2005)
Yes
Carved aka A Slit-Mouthed Woman aka Kuchisakeonna (2007)
Slits your mouth so

it appears like hers.
Kaiki toshi-densetsu - Kuchisake-onna (2008)
Diagram of likely conversations with Kuchisake-onna according

to the modern legend.
According to the legend, children walking alone at night

30
Kuchisake-Onna 2 The Scissors Massacre aka

Carved 2 aka A Slit-Mouthed Woman 2 aka
Kuchisake-onna 2 (2008)
11.4. REFERENCES
The Slit-Mouthed Woman 0: The Beginning aka
Kuchisake-onna 0: Biginingu (2008)
Kuchisake-onna Returns (2012)
Constantine, in episode 5, Danse Vaudou
Mamma mia Kara, stupid Gyuri
11.2.2
Manga and anime
Kuchi-sake Onna
Kuchisake Onna Densetsu
The Kuchisake Onna was mentioned in an episode
of "Detective Conan"
11.2.3
Other appearances
The Kuchisake-onna also makes an appearance in:
31
La Llorona
Onry, a malicious ghost in Japanese folklore
Teke Teke, another malicious Japanese spirit.
Japanese urban legends
Vengeful ghost
11.4 References
[1] Severed Mouth Woman on YouTube
[2] http://www.terrorsofmen.com/3159/kuchisake-onna
[3] Have you heard the one about?: A look at some of
Japan's more enduring urban legends. Japan Times. June
7, 2005.
[4] Yoda, H & Alt, M. (2008)Yokai Attack! The Japanese
Monster Survival GuideKodansha Internation
[5] http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=37e_1178742040
Hell Teacher Nube

Hanako to Guuwa no Tera
Franken Fran (includes a short parody of the
Kuchisake-onna legend in an extra of Volume 2)
Toshi Densetsu (Includes the Kuchisake-onna)
[6] Harstad, Johan (2012). 172 Hours on the Moon. Trans.

Tara F. Chace. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 9780-316-18288-1. LCCN 2011025414.
11.5 External links
Ghost Stories (The Kuchisake-onna was planned to

make an appearance in episode 5 of the series, but
it was banned after several complaints that her disgurement looked too much like a cleft palate.)* [5]
Kuchisake Onna Urban Legend
Danganronpa The split personality of character Touko Fukawa, the scissors wielding serial
killer Genocider Syo, was most likely inspired by
Kuchisake-onna.
Tales of Ghostly Japan, Japanzine
The episode Danse Vaudouof Constantine, features the ghost of a supermodel who received similar
scars and goes after people in a similar way to the
Kuchisake-onna
Kuchisake-onna is mentioned in Darlah 172 timer p
mnen (aka 172 Hours on the Moon), a 2008 sci-/horror
novel by Johan Harstad.* [6]
Kuchisake-onna is also mentioned in the Japanese visual
novel Rewrite.
11.3 See also

Bloody Mary, a similar apparition in western urban
legends.
Glasgow smile
Kuchisake onna at the Internet Movie Database

Kuchisake-onna (Japanese)
Histoire de Kuchisake Onna (French)
Chapter 12
Mujina
12.2 In folklore
Mujinafrom the Wakan Sansai Zue
Mujina () is an old Japanese term primarily referring

to the badger. In some regions the term refers instead
to the raccoon dog (also called tanuki) or to introduced
civets. Adding to the confusion, in some regions badger- Mujinafrom the Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki by Sekien
like animals are also known as mami, and in one part of Toriyama
Tochigi Prefecture badgers are referred to as tanuki and
raccoon dogs are referred to as mujina.
In Japanese folklore, like the fox and the tanuki, they are
frequently depicted as a ykai that shapeshifts and deceives humans. They are rst seen in literature in the
12.1 In reality
Nihon Shoki in the part about Empress Suiko's 35th year
(627), where it states, in two months of spring, there
The confusion over the term mujina has led to legal conse- are mujina in the country of Mutsu ( 2
quences in Japan. In Tochigi Prefecture in 1924 a hunter ), they turn into humans and sing songs
killed a raccoon dog, which he believed to be called a mu- ( ),showing that in that era, there
jina. He believed that badgers were a protected species was already the general idea that mujina shapeshift and
as they were called tanuki in Tochigi Prefecture. How- deceives humans.* [1] In the Shimsa region, they are
ever, the law banning the hunting of tanuki was referring called kabukiri-koz (), and they would
to such raccoon dogs, as a raccoon dog is called tanuki shapeshift into a koz (little monk) wearing a strangely
in Tokyo. The Japanese Supreme Court ruled that the short kimono with a kappa-like bobbed head, and frehunter was legitimately confused and he was judged not quently appear on roads at night without many people
and say, drink water, drink tea ().
guilty.
32
12.6. REFERENCES
*
[2] The story in Lafcadio Hearn kaidan collections called

Mujina* [3] about the witnessing of a faceless ghost (a
noppera-b) is also well-known.
12.3 Sightings in Hawaii

On May 19, 1959, Honolulu Advertiser reporter Bob
Krauss reported a sighting of a mujina at the Waialae
Drive-In Theatre in Kahala. Krauss reported that the witness watched a woman combing her hair in the women's
restroom, and when the witness came close enough, the
mujina turned, revealing her featureless face. The witness was reported to have been admitted to the hospital for a nervous breakdown. Noted Hawaiian historian,
folklorist and author Glen Grant, in a 1981 radio interview dismissed the story as rumor, only to be called by
the witness herself, who gave more details on the event,
including the previously unreported detail that the mujina in question had red hair.* [4] The drive-in no longer
exists, having been torn down to make room for Public
Storage.
Grant has also reported on a number of other mujina
sightings in Hawaii, from Ewa Beach to Hilo.
12.4 Other uses

The term can also refer to the following:
"Mujina", a short story relating to the above legends,
found in Lafcadio Hearn's book Kwaidan: Stories
and Studies of Strange Things
Mujina-no-yu is an onsen facility in Nasu, Tochigi,
Japan
12.5 See also

Folklore in Hawaii
12.6 References
[1] (1994).
.
. pp. 120 . ISBN 978-4-7601-1299-9.
[2] (November 1939). " ". (
) 5 ( 2 ): 9.
[3] Monsters You Never Heard Of!: THE MUJINA by
Michael D. Winkle. Accessed 3/7/08
[4] THE FACELESS WOMAN MUJINA. Source: B.
Krauss, Faceless Ghost. Accessed online 03/07/08
Notes
33
de Visser, M. W. (1908).The Fox and the Badger
in Japanese Folklore. Transactions of the Asiatic
Society of Japan 36: pp. 1159. Retrieved 200612-14.
Casal, U. A. (1959). The Goblin Fox and Badger
and Other Witch Animals of Japan. Folklore Studies 18: pp. 193. doi:10.2307/1177429. JSTOR
1177429.
Hearn, Lafcadio; Oliver Wendell Holmes (1904).
Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things.
Houghton, Miin and company. pp. 7780.
Chapter 13
Ochimusha
Ochimusha () is the ghost of a warrior that
during the conict ees the battleeld, ochiliterally
means rebel remnants of a defeated factionand "
mushameans warrior, meaning defeated warrior that ed
the enemy.
The ochimusha is considered a low-class, no longer at the
level of a samurai, since he ed battle instead to commit
seppuku. In some instances, is said that to escape safely
those warriors get to hide themselves in villages at mountainous areas.
used in regard to a candidate caught cheating an election

or to corrupt politicians that have been arrested.
Sometimes the term is also used to refer people with a
bald top head and stretched hair on the sides.
13.3 In popular culture

Ochimusha is the name of 1925 movie by Hiroshi
Shimizu
According to the folklore to became an Ochimusha the

warrior should be killed by farmers looking for his belongings and to take the reward usually oered for the
decapitated head of enemies during the Sengoku period.* [1]
"The Ochimusha - Doemu Samurai Toujou" is a

2007 Japanese action game, developed by Tamsoft
and published by D3 Publisher.
Instead of only occurring during battle times, samurais

and aristocrats whose support is no longer needed can also
became an Ochimusha, if attacked by the townspeople
of the region under their protection. There are tales of
samurai mansions being plundered.
Ochimusha Kote (Ochimusha gloves) an in game

item in Final Fantasy XI.
Ochimusha is a low-level warrior-type monster in

.hack game.
One of the antagonist in the manga Mob Psycho 100

at one point loses his head top hair, and claims that
he looks like an Ochimusha.
Is also subject to ochimusha a crimminal that goes into

exile.* [2]
In some areas of Nagano and Gifu Prefecture Ochimusha
are referred to as daik(). They were was also
used to be called ochipuwaa() in some parts
of Kansai, but this term is no longer in use due derogatory
connotations.
13.4 References
13.1 Appearance
[1] Imatani , Akira,
. , ISBN
4005003354 p.153
[2] ,Shimizu, Katsuyuki, forth chapter "
"
The iconography usually represents the Ochimusha with

the crown of his head shaved and the rest of the hair long
and loose, a dissolved chonmage. The dissolved chonmage would then mean losing the social status of the
samurai. Arrows stuck in body is also a common motif.
13.2 Modern Times

In modern times the term is used to refer to politics that
loose an election, while the termOchimusha huntingis
34
Mob Psycho 100" Vol 2. Ura Sunday.
Chapter 14
Onry
14.2 Onry vengeance
For the professional wrestler, see Onryo (wrestler).

In traditional beliefs of Japan and in literature, onry
Traditionally in Japan onry driven by vengeance were

thought capable of causing not only their enemy's death,
as in the case of Hirotsugu's vengeful spirit held responsible for killing the priest Genb,* [4]), but causing natural disasters such as earthquakes, res, storms,
drought, famine and pestilence,* [1] as in the case of
Prince Sawara's spirit embittered against his brother,
the Emperor Kammu.* [5] In common parlance, such
vengeance exacted by supernatural beings or forces is
termed tatari ().* [1]
The Emperor Kammu had accused his brother Sawara
of plotting (possibly falsely to remove him as rival to the
throne), and the latter who was exiled died by fasting. The
reason that the Emperor moved the capital to Nagaokaky thence to Kyoto was an attempt to avoid the wrath
of his brother's spirit, according to a number of scholars.* [5] This not succeeding entirely, the emperor tried
to lift the curse by appeasing his brother's ghost, by performing Buddhist rites to pay respect, and granting Prince
Sawara the posthumous title of emperor.* [5]
Onry from the Kinsei-Kaidan-Simoyonohoshi (

)
(, literally vengeful spirit, sometimes rendered

wrathful spirit* [1]) refers to a ghost (yurei) believed
capable of causing harm in the world of the living, harming or killing enemies, or even causing natural disasters
to exact vengeance to redress the wrongs it received while A well-known example of appeasement of the onry
alive.
spirit is the case of Sugawara no Michizane, who had
The term overlaps somewhat with gory (), except been politically disgraced and died in exile. Believed to
that in the cult of the gory, the acting agent need not cause the death of his calumniators in quick succession,
as well as catastrophes (especially lightning damage), and
necessarily be a wrathful spirit.* [1]
the court tried to appease the wrathful spirit by restoring Michizane's old rank and position.* [1] Michizane became deied in the cult of the Tenjin, with Tenman-g
14.1 Origin of onry
shrines erected around him.
While the origin of onry is unclear, their existence can
be traced back to the 8th century and was based on the
idea that powerful and enraged souls of the dead could
inuence or harm the living people. The earliest onry
cult that developed around Prince Nagaya who died in
729;* [1] and the rst record of possession by the onry
spirit aecting the health is found in the chronicle Shoku
Nihongi (797), which states that "Fujiwara Hirotsugu (
)'s soul harmed Genb to death(Hirotsugu having died in a failed insurrection, named the "Fujiwara no
Hirotsugu Rebellion,after failing to remove his rival,
the priest Genb, from power).* [2]* [3]
14.2.1 Examples of onry vengeance

Possibly the most famous onry is Oiwa, from the Yotsuya
Kaidan. In this story the husband remains unharmed;
however, he is the target of the onrys vengeance.
Oiwa's vengeance on him isn't physical retribution, but
rather psychological torment.
Other examples include:
35
How a Man's Wife Became a Vengeful Ghost and

How Her Malignity Was Diverted by a Master of
36
CHAPTER 14. ONRY

Divination
In this tale from the medieval collection,
Konjaku Monogatarish, an abandoned wife is
found dead with a full head of hair intact and
the bones still attached. The husband, fearing
retribution from her spirit, asks a diviner (
onmyji) for aid. The husband must endure while grabbing her hair and riding astride
her corpse. She complains of the heavy load
and leaves the house to go looking(presumably for the husband), but after a day she
gives up and returns, after which the diviner is
able to complete her exorcism with an incantation.* [6]* [7]
Of a Promise Broken
In this tale from the Izumo area recorded by
Lafcadio Hearn, a samurai vows to his dying
wife never to remarry. He soon breaks the
promise, and the ghost comes to rst warn, then
murder the young bride, ripping her head o.
The watchmen who had been put to sleep chase
down the apparition, and with a slash of the
sword while reciting Buddhist prayer, destroys
it.* [8]
14.4 See also

Japanese urban legends
Ghosts in Vietnamese culture
Kayako Saeki
Sadako Yamamura
S-Ko
List of ghosts
Fatal Frame (video game)
Muoi: The Legend of a Portrait (lm)
Vengeful ghost
14.5 Footnotes
14.5.1 Explanatory notes
[1] In addition to blue, brown shadows ( taishaguma)
"red ochre fringeor black kumadori(
2005, p. 57)
14.5.2 Citations
14.3 Physical appearance

Traditionally, onry and other yrei (ghosts) had no particular appearance. However, with the rising of popularity of Kabuki during the Edo period, a specic costume
was developed.
Highly visual in nature, and with a single actor often assuming various roles within a play, Kabuki developed a
system of visual shorthand that allowed the audience to
instantly clue in as to which character is on stage, as well
as emphasize the emotions and expressions of the actor.
A ghost costume consisted of three main elements:
White burial kimono, shiroshzoku ( ) or
shinishzoku ()
Wild, unkempt long black hair
Face make-up consisting of white foundation
(oshiroi) coupled with face paintings (kumadori)
of blue shadows ( aiguma) "indigo fringe,
much like villains are depicted in kabuki make-up
artistry.* [9]
*
[10]* [lower-alpha 1]
The Onry bears a striking similarity to the demonic

Kuntilanak and Sundel Bolong of Indonesian folklore.
[1] Grappard, Allan G., Hall, John Whitney, ed., The

Cambridge History of Japan 2: 559, ISBN 0521223539
http://books.google.co.jp/books?id=eiTWWfoyuyAC&
pg=PA560 |url= missing title (help) |chapter= ignored
(help)
[2] For a source that identies Hirotsugu as onry, see:Suzuki
2011, 135 (note 2 to Chapter 2)
[3] A source that gives Hirotsugu as rst example on record
of etiological possessionis McCullough 1973, p. 97
[4] McCullough, William H. (1973), ta, Saburo (
); Fukuda, Rikutaro (), eds., Spirit Possession in the Heian Period, Studies on Japanese Culture () (The Japan P.E.N. Club) 1:
97; (Also printed in Nihon Bunka Kenky Kokusai Kaigi
gijiroku () (Volume 1,
1973, pp. 350- (p.356)
[5] Suzuki, Yui (2011). Medicine Master Buddha: The Iconic
Worship of Yakushi in Heian Japan. BRILL. pp. 2931.
ISBN 9004196013.
[6] Jones, S. W. (translator), ed. (1959). Ages ago; thirtyseven tales from the Konjaku monogatari collection (snippet). Harvard University Press. p. 72.
[7] One of the texts cited by Jones: Haga, Yaichi (
), ed. (1921),
(Ksh konjaku monogatari sh), 3 (): 106 http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/
945416 |url= missing title (help) |chapter= ignored (help)
14.7. EXTERNAL LINKS
[8] Hearn, Lafcadio (1901), A Japanese miscellany (Little, Brown): 1526 http://books.google.com/books?id=
DGEiAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA15 |url= missing title (help)
[9] (2005).
:
. PHP
. p. 57. ISBN 4569665497.
[10] Parker, Helen S. E. (2006). Progressive Traditions: An
Illustrated Study of Plot Repetition In Traditional Japanese
Theatre. BRILL. p. 87. ISBN 9004145346.
14.6 Bibliography
ISBN 0-87421-179-4
14.7 External links

Ghoul Power - Onryou in the Movies Japanzine By
Jon Wilks
Yrei-ga gallery at Zenshoan Temple
37
Chapter 15
Shirime
Shirime as drawn by Yosa no Buson.
Shirime (, lit. buttocks eye) is a strange ykai

with an eye in the place of his anus.
The story goes as follows: Long ago, a Samurai was walking at night down the road to Kyto, when he heard someone calling out for him to wait.Who's there?!" he asked
nervously, only to turn around and nd a man stripping
o his clothes and pointing his bare buttocks at the abbergasted traveler. A huge glittering eye then opened up
where the strange man's anus should have been.
This creature was so liked by the haiku poet and artist
Buson that he included it in many of his ykai paintings.* [1]
15.1 References
[1] Murakami, Kenji (2000). Ykai Jiten, p.192. Tokyo: The
Mainichi Newspaper Company. ISBN 4-620-31428-5.
15.2 External links

Shirime Eyeball Butt at hyakumonogatari.com
(English).
38
Chapter 16
Shiry
a father who had a daughter died, the father's shiry appeared before the daughter, and tried to take her away.
The daughter became afraid, and she was able to get relatives and friends to come, but even then the father's shiry
appeared to try to take her away, and it is said that after
one month, he nally stopped appearing.* [4]* [5]
16.2 References
[1] (1991). ( 4 ed.). . pp.
1311 . ISBN 978-4-00-080101-0.
[2] (1991). ( 5 ed.). . pp.
1360 . ISBN 978-4-00-080111-9.
[3] (2004). . .
. pp. 1338 . ISBN 978-4-12-2044654.
[4] (2004). " ". .
. . pp. 153 . ISBN 978-4-04308320-6.
[5] (2004). .
. . pp. 194195 . ISBN 978-4-12204464-7.
Shiry" from the Gazu Hyakki Yagy by Sekien Toriyama
Shiry () are the soul of the dead. It is used as the

antonym of ikiry (soul of the living).* [1]
16.3 See also

Soul
16.1 Summary
Tatari
Classical literature and folkloristics material has left

many mentions of shiry, and they have various behavior. According to the Kjien, they were considered onry
(vengeful spirits) that possess humans and perform a
tatari (a type of curse),* [1]* [2] but other than possessing humans and making them suer like ikiry do, there
are also stories where they chase around those who killed
themselves, loiter around the place they died, appear to
people they are close to and gree them, and try to kill
those who they are even close to in order to bring them to
the other world.* [3]
In the Tno Monogatari, there was a story where after
39
Chapter 17
Ubume
Ubume (), a Japanese ykai,* [1] appears in folk stories and literature as an old woman or Crone, with a child
in her arms, imploring the passerby to hold her infant,
only to then disappear.* [2] As legend has it, the weight of
the child increases by degrees, until the bewitchedchild
is revealed to be nothing more than a huge rock or boulder.* [3] The rst version of this sort of tale was related
by Urabe Suyetake, servant of Raiko.* [4]
just a moment and disappears when her victim takes the

swaddled baby.* [8] The baby then becomes increasingly
heavy until it is impossible to hold. It is then revealed not
to be a human child at all, but a boulder or a stone image
of Jizo.* [9]
Many scholars have associated the Ubume with the legend of the hitobashira,* [10] where a sacricial mother
and child are buried under one of the supporting pillars
of a new bridge."* [11]
The Shoshinin Temple, according to scholars,* [12] is
where local women come to pray to conceive a child or
to have a successful pregnancy.* [13] According to Stone
and Walter (2008), the origins of the temples legend,
set in the mid-sixteenth century, concern:
... a modern statue of Ubume, displayed once
a year in July. At this festival, candy that has
been oered to the image is distributed, and
women pray for safe delivery and for abundant
milk. The statue, which is clothed in white
robes, has only a head, torso, and arms; it has
no lower half.* [14]
17.2 Ubume in literature

Stories about Ubume have been told in Japan since at least
the twelfth century.* [15]
The early seventeenth-century tale collection Konjaku
hyaku monogatari hyoban says of the Ubume:
An image of ubume as depicted by Toriyama Sekien, an ukiyo-e
artist famous for his prints of yokai and obakemono.
When a woman loses her life in childbirth, her

spiritual attachment (shjaku) itself becomes
this ghost. In form, it is soaked in blood from
the waist down and wanders about crying,Be
born! Be born!(obareu, obareu).* [16]
17.1 Ubume in folklore

Originally the name for a kind of small sea sh,* [5] in
Japanese folklore the term is now applied to the ghost of
a woman who had died in childbirth, or
birthing woman
ghost. * [6]* [7]
Natsuhiko Kyogokus best-selling detective novel, The

Summer of the Ubume, uses the Ubume legend as its central motif, creating something of an Ubume 'craze' * [17]
at the time of its publication and was made into a major
Typically, the Ubume asks a passerby to hold her child for motion picture in 2005.* [18]
40
17.6. SUGGESTED READING
41
17.3 Ubume in art
Hepburn, James Curtis. A Japanese-English and EnglishJapanese dictionary. Maruya & co. (1887)
Tokugawa-era artists* [19] produced many images of Joly, Henri L. Legend in Japanese art: a description of
Ubume, usually represented as naked from the waist historical episodes, legendary characters, folklore, myths,
up, wearing a red skirt and carrying a small baby." * [20] religious symbolism, illustrated in the arts of old Japan. J.
Other illustrations of Ubume are from Toriyama Sekien Lane. (1908)
s late eighteenth-century encyclopedia of ghosts, goblins Stone, Jacqueline Ilyse and Mariko Namba Walter. Death
and ghouls, Gazu_Hyakki_Yagy.* [21]
and the afterlife in Japanese Buddhism. (2008)
17.4 Notes
[1] Bush, 188.
[2] Stone and Walter, 191.
[3] Joly, 15.
[4] ibid.
[5] Hepburn, 705.
[6] Joly, 16.
17.6 Suggested reading

Iwasaka, Michiko and Barre Toelken. Ghosts And The
Japanese: Cultural Experience in Japanese Death Legends. (1994)
Kyogoku, Natsuhiko. The Summer of the Ubume. San
Francisco: Viz Media. (2009)
Wakita, Haruko. Women in medieval Japan: motherhood, household management and sexuality. Monash
Asia Institute. (2006)

17.7 See also
[9] Joly, 15.

[10] Glassman, 560.
[12] Joly, 15.
[13] Glassman, 560.
[15] Glassman, 560.
[17] Foster, 230.
[18] ibid.
[19] Joly, 16.
[20] ibid.
17.5 References
Bush, Laurence C. Asian horror encyclopedia: Asian horror culture in literature, manga and folklore. Writers Club
Press. (2001)
Foster, Michael Dylan. Pandemonium and parade:
Japanese monsters and the culture of ykai. University
of California Press. (2009)
Glassman, Hank. The religious construction of motherhood in medieval Japan. Stanford University. (2001)
Sankai, ykai that emerge from pregnant women
Chapter 18
Ushi no toki mairi

mairi (), ushimitsu mairi ().* [9]* [10]
18.1 Overview
Sources say that common method of the ritual developed
during the Edo Period (1603-1868).* [5]
The woman performing the curse is generally portrayed
as dressed in white, with disheveled hair,* [4] wearing an iron crownthat holds three burning candles,* [3]* [5] suspending (from her neck) a mirror upon
her chest* [1]* [3]* [9]* [11] (which lies hidden* [1]) and
wearring a pair of tall clogs (geta).* [6]* [lower-alpha 3]
She would then nail a straw doll representing her target
to a sacred tree ( shimboku) at the Shinto shrine.* [4]
The iron crownthat she wears is actually a tripod (
gotoku) (or trivet,* [12] a stand for setting cooking pots,
etc., above a heat source) which she wears in inverted,* [6]
slipping the iron ring over her head and sticking candles
on its three legs.* [4]
Ushi no toki mairi

from the Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki (1779) by Sekien
Toriyama* [1]
Ushi no toki mairi (Japanese: ) or ushi no

koku mairi () lit. ox-hour shrine-visit* [2]
refers to a prescribed method of laying a curse upon a target that is traditional to Japan, so-called because it is conducted during the hours of the Ox (between 1 and 3AM).
The practitionertypically a scorned woman* [3]* [4]
while dressed in white and crowning herself with an iron
ring set with three lit candles upright, hammers nails into
a sacred tree* [5]* [lower-alpha 1] of the Shinto shrine. In
the modern-day common conception, the nails are driven
through a straw egy* [lower-alpha 2] of the victim, impaled upon the tree behind it.* [4]* [6] The ritual must be
repeated seven days running, after which the curse is believed to succeed, causing death to the target,* [5] but being witnessed in the act is thought to nullify the spell.* [7]
The Kibune Shrine in Kyoto is famously associated with
the ritual.* [8]
A woman summoning a ykai through ushi no toki mairi, by

Katsushika Hokusai
It was believed that the spot struck on the straw doll

corresponded to the area of the body where the target would begin to experience illness or injury.* [4]* [10]
However, this straw doll or other form of egy was not a
denitive requisite in the ritual even relatively late in the
Edo Period. For instance, in Toriyama Sekien's Konjaku
Also variously called ushi no toki mde (), ushi Gazu Zoku Hyakki (1779, pictured top right) depicts the
42
18.2. HISTORY
43
woman holding a hammer but no doll, nor is the doll men- her rival, her man's kinsmen, then indiscriminately other
tioned in the caption.* [1] In this case, the nails are driven innocent parties, she lived on beyond the normal human
directly into the branches of the sacred tree.
life span, to prey on the samurai Watanabe no Tsuna at the
The props used are described somewhat dierently, de- Ichijo Modoribashi ()Turning Back bridge at
to
pending on the source. Nails of a particular size called the street crossing of Ichij and Horikawabridge, only
*
have
her
arm
severed
by
the
sword
Higekiri
().
[19]
gosun kugi (, ve inch nails) are prescribed
according to some authorities.* [9]* [13] She may hold in Tsuna kept the demon's arm, whose power was contained
Abe no Seimei,
her mouth a comb,* [13] or atorch of bamboo and pine by the Yinyang master ( onmyji)
via chanting the Ninn-ky sutra.* [18] In this variant of
*
roots lighted at both ends. [4] The proper witching houris, stricky speaking, the ushi no mitsu doki thechapter of the sword, the ceremony that the woman
undergoes at the Uji River to transmogrify into the demon
(2:00~2:30AM).* [1]
is described as follows:
In Sekien's or Hokusai's print (above), the woman performing the curse ritual is depicted with a black ox by
Secluding herself in a deserted spot, she diher side. Such a black ox, lying recumbent, is expected
vided her long hair into ve bunches and fashto appear on the seventh night of the ritual, and one must
ioned these bunches into horns. She daubed
stride or straddle over the animal to complete the task to
her face with vermilion and her body with
*
success, [14] but if one betrays fear at the ox's apparition
cinnabar, set on her head an iron tripod with
*
the potency of the charm is lost. [4]
burning brands [* * [lower-alpha 4]] attached to
its legs and held in her mouth another brand,
burning at both ends.
18.2 History
From Tsurugi no Maki* [12]* [20]* [21]
See also: Hashihime
In earlier times, the term simply referred to worshiping at
the shrine during the hours of the ox, and the curse connotation developed later. At the Kibune Shrine in Kyoto,
there was a tradition that if one prayed here on the ox
hour of the ox day of the ox month of the ox year" the
wish was likely to be granted, because it was during this
alignment of the hour, day, month, and year that the Kibune deity was believed to have made descent upon the
shrine. However, the shrine became known a cursing spot
in later development.* [15]
The Kibune Shrine became strongly associated with the
ox hour curse following the fame of the medieval legend of the Hashihime of Uji (The Princess of the
Bridge of Uji (ja)"). The legend is considered the prime
source of the later conception Ushi no toki mairi curse
ritual.* [15]* [16] According to legend, Hashihime in mortal life was the daughter of a certain nobleman, but consumed by jealousy, made a wish to become a kijin (an oni
demon) capable of destroying her love rival. After 7 days
at Kibune Shrine, she was nally given revelation by the
resident deityto bathe for thirty seven days in the rapids
of the Uji River.* [17] Note that even though Kibune
has later been seen as a mecca for the ritual, Hashihime
only learned the recipe here, and enacted it miles away
(Kibune is in the north of Kyoto, the Uji River is to the
south).
Thus in the Tsurugi no maki can be seen such elements

as the wearing of the tripod (here called kanawa ())
and propping lit torches (similar to candles in later tradition), but the woman painted her entire face and body
red, rather than remain in pure white garb.
Later during the Muromachi Period, this legend was
adapted by Zeami* [12] into the Noh play Kanawa or
The Iron Crown.* [20] The Noh play inherits essentially the same outt for the principal woman, who is commanded by the oracle to daub your face with red and
wear scarlet clothing,* [15]* [20] and uses neither a straw
doll or hammer,* [15] but has the yingyang master Seimei
creates two life-size straw egies of the man and his
new wife [with] their names [placed] insidein order to
perform the rites to excorcize Hashihime's demon.* [20]
Therefore, the later form of the ushi no mairi devleloped
afterwards, through the marriage of the use of dolls in the
Japanese esoteric art of onmyd with the shrine visitng
of the ox hour.
18.2.1 Curse using dolls in antiquity

Use of dolls in cursing ritual has been practiced since antiquity, with an reference in the Nihon shoki chronicle under the reign of Emperor Ymei, which relates relates that
in the year 587, Nakatomi no Katsumi no Muraji preparede gures of the Imperial Prince Hikobito (ja),.. and
[spellcast] them,but it did not work.* [22] However, this
record does not clarify if the dolls were poked by sharp
implements.
The earliest written text of the legend occurs in a lateKamakura Period variant text (Yashirobon codex* [18])
of The Tale of Heike, under the Tsurugi no maki (Book
of the Sword) chapter.* [19] According to it, Hashihime
was originally a mortal during the reign of Emperor Saga There are unearthed archeological relics shaped like hu(809 to 823),* [17] but after turning demon and killing man dolls suspected of being used in curses. Called
44
CHAPTER 18. USHI NO TOKI MAIRI
wooden puricatory gurines ( mokusei hi- 18.6.2 Citations

togatashiro), some have faces realistically drawn and ink,
and others with iron nails driven into the breast. One [1] Sekien (1779), quote:
such from the 8th century is held by the Nara National
*
*
Research Institute for Cultural Properties. [23] [24] An
ther from the Tatech site in Matsue, Shimane, a wooden
tag depcits a female gure, apparently a noblewoman

Translation: In the ushi doki mairi,
deducing from attire, and this doll had three wooden
[a woman] conceals a mirror in the bosom, lights three
pegs or nails driven into it, aiming at her breasts and her
candles around her head, visits the shrine in the ushi mitsu
heart.* [25]
hour (third quarter of the hour of the ox, 2:00~2:30 AM),
18.3 Miscellaneous
and drives nails into a sugi tree. The eeting jealousies of

a woman, brings ruin to the person and body. It is well
said the proverbcurse someone, dig a second grave [for
yourself]".
In Japanese law studies, attempts to commit murder [2] Nelson 1996, p. 143 gives shrine visitation at the hour
of the cow
through the ushi no mairi is often cited as thetextbook example of impossibility defense case crime [3] Joly 1912, pp. 41.* [26]* [27]
[4] Pfoundes 1875, pp. 1920, quoted in Hildburgh 1915,
65. Notes.. Magical Methods for Injuring Persons, p.118
18.4 Popular art

The lm Kanawa (1969) is based on the noh
play.* [28]
[5] Nelson 1996, pp. 1434, citing Ono, Susumu ()

(1974). .
[6] Gris 1876, p. 474
[7] Jurgis 1997, p.290 and footnote 72
18.5 See also

Shintai
kekkai ()
Ara-mitama and nigi-mitama
[8] Reader, Ian; Tanabe, George Joji (1998). Practically Religious: Worldly Benets and the Common Religion of
Japan. University of Hawaii Press. p. 140. ISBN
0824820908.
[9] , (Niimura, Izuru), ed. (1991), "
", (Kojien ( 4 ed.), , ISBN
978-4-00-080101-0
magic
[10] (Nihon kokugo daijiten) 2, ,

1972, p. 567
Voodoo doll
[11] Mitford 1870, pp. 139140
Rinki no hi no tama (ja), a Rakugo repertoire in

which the main character's life and lover both go on
ushi no toki mairi
[12] Kusano, Eisabur (1962), Stories behind noh and kabuki

plays, Tokyo News Service, p. 30
18.6 Footnotes
18.6.1
Explanatory notes
[1] sacred tree ( | shinboku)

[2] straw doll ( wara ningy)
[3] 2011, pp. 2645 states that she wears tall clogs with
only one support board () , even
though the accompanying illustration from a Utagawa
Toyohiro print clearly shows two supports.
[4] orto each of its leg, a torch made with pine wood is tied
and aredin Kusano 1962, p. 30
[13] (Komatsu, Kazuhiko)
quoted in: , (2000), :

:
(snippet)
(]): 173, ISBN 4947769025 http://books.google.co.

jp/books?id=SXY0AQAAIAAJ |url= missing title (help)
[14] , ; , , eds. (2004), ,
, p. 149
[15] 2011, pp. 2645
[16] Marvin, Stephen E. (2007). Heaven has a face, so does
hell: the art of the Noh mask 1. Floating World Editions.
p. 278. ISBN 1891640321.
18.7. REFERENCES
45
[17] Kato, Eileen (1970), Keene, Donald, ed., Twenty Plays of

the N Theatre (Columbia University Press): 193194
http://books.google.co.jp/books?id=Ea1vu0-3FiUC&
pg=PA193 |url= missing title (help) |chapter= ignored
(help)
[18] Selinger, Vyjayanthi R. (2013), Writing Margins: The
Textual Construction of Gender in Heian and Kamakura
Japan, BRILL, p. 130, ISBN 9004255338
[19] Kawashima, Terry (2001), Writing Margins: The Textual
Construction of Gender in Heian and Kamakura Japan,
Harvard Univ Asia Center, pp. 272, ISBN 0674005163
[20] Kato 1970
[21] Kato, quoted in Murguia 2013
[22] Aston, William George (1896). Nihongi: Chronicles of
Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 1. London:
Japan Society of London. p. 109-.
[23] , (Nagafuji, Yasushi) (2003),
: , , p. 22
[24] , (Umeya, Kiyoshi). " (noroi)" (pdf).
. 10 19. Retrieved April 2014.
[25] , (1990),
III,
, , , , ,
, pp. 375, 377 2 (2).pdf
[26] , (1934). "
1 . . pp. 133142.
".
[27] , (1998). "

(berwindung der Kausalittslehre
durch die Lehre vom erlaubten Risiko)". 30
(4): 101127 (107111). ISSN 0286-1577.
[28] McDonald, Keiko I. (1994). Japanese Classical Theater in
Films. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. pp. 272. ISBN
0838635024.
18.7 References
Elisonas, Jurgis (1997), Edo and Paris: Urban Life and the State in the Early Modern
Era (Cornell University Press): 290, ISBN
080148183X http://books.google.co.jp/books?id=
-qOuykzxhKUC&pg=PA290 |url= missing title
(help) |chapter= ignored (help)
Gris, William Elliot (1876). The Mikado's Empire. Harper & Brothers. p. 474.
New Edition of 1883
Hildburgh, W. L. (1915). 65. Notes on
Some Japanese Magical Methods for Injuring
Persons. Man (Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland) 15: 116121.
doi:10.2307/2787870.
Joly, Hernri L. (1912).Bakemono. Transactions

and Proceedings of the Japan Society, London 9: 41
.
Mitford, A. B. (1870). Tales of Old Japan: No.
II The Loves of Gompachi and Komurasaki. The
Fortnightly. new series 8: 139.
Murguia, Salvador Jimenez (2013). The Cursing
Kit of Ushi no Koku Mairi. Preternature: Critical
and Historical Studies on the Preternatural 2 (1): 73
91. doi:10.5325/preternature.2.1.0073.
Nelson, John K. (1996). Freedom of Expression: The Very Modern Practice of Visiting a Shinto
Shrine(pdf). Japanese Journal of Religious Studies
23: 143144.
Nelson, John K. (2000). Enduring Identities:
The Guise of Shinto in Contemporary Japan.
University of Hawaii Press. p. 47. ISBN
0824822595.
Pfoundes, C. (1875). Fu-so Mimo Bukuro: A Budget
of Japanese Notes. Japan Mail. pp. 1920.
Japanese sources
, (2011),
, , pp. 2645, ISBN

4791618165
Chapter 19
Yotsuya Kaidan
day Tokyo) as a double-feature with the immensely popular Kanadehon Chushingura. Normally, with a Kabuki
double-feature, the rst play is staged in its entirety, followed by the second play. However, in the case of Yotsuya Kaidan it was decided to interweave the two dramas,
with a full staging on two days: the rst day started with
Kanadehon Chushingura from Act I to Act VI, followed
by Tkaid Yotsuya Kaidan from Act I to Act III. The following day started with the Onbo canal scene, followed
by Kanadehon Chushingura from Act VII to Act XI, then
came Act IV and Act V of Tkaid Yotsuya Kaidan to
conclude the program.* [2]
The play was incredibly successful, and forced the producers to schedule extra out-of-season performances to
meet demand. The story tapped into peoples fears by
bringing the ghosts of Japan out of the temples and aristocrats' mansions and into the home of common people,
the exact type of people who were the audience of his
theater.
19.2 Story
As the most-adapted Japanese ghost story, the details
of Yotsuya Kaidan have been altered over time, often
bearing little resemblance to the original kabuki play,
Utagawa Kuniyoshi's portrait of Oiwa.
and sometimes removing the ghostly element all together.
However, the base story usually remains the same and
Yotsuya Kaidan ( ), the story of Oiwa and recognizable.
Tamiya Iemon,* is a tale of betrayal, murder and ghostly
(Note: the following summary is of the original 1825
revenge. Arguably the most famous Japanese ghost story
Nakamuraza production. As such, it does not detail the
of all time, it has been adapted for lm over 30 times, and
numerous subplots and characters added to the story over
continues to be an inuence on Japanese horror today.
the intervening years.)
Written in 1825 by Tsuruya Nanboku IV as a kabuki play,
the original title was Tkaid Yotsuya Kaidan (
).* [1] It is now generally shortened, and loosely 19.2.1 Act 1
translates as Ghost Story of Yotsuya.*
Tamiya Iemon, a rnin, is having a heated exchange with
his father-in-law, Yotsuya Samon, concerning Samon's
daughter Oiwa. After it is suggested by Samon that Iemon
19.1 History
and his daughter should separate, the ronin becomes enraged and murders Samon. The next scene focuses on the
First staged in July 1825, Yotsuya Kaidan appeared at the character Naosuke who is sexually obsessed with Oiwa's
Nakamuraza Theater in Edo (the former name of present- sister, the prostitute Osode, despite her being already
46
19.3. HISTORICAL BASIS

married to another man, Sat Yomoshichi. As this scene
begins, Naosuke is at the local brothel making romantic advances toward Osode when Yomoshichi and the
brothel's owner, Takuetsu, enter. Unable to pay a fee demanded by Takuetsu, he is mocked by both Yomoshichi
and Osode and forcibly removed. Shortly thereafter an
intoxicated Naosuke murders Okuda Shzabur, his former master, whom he mistakes for Yomoshichi. This is
implied to occur at the precise time of the slaying of Samon. It is at this point that Iemon and Naosuke unite
and conspire to mislead Oiwa and Osode into believing
that they will exact revenge on the persons responsible
for their father's death. In return Osode agrees to marry
Naosuke.
47
19.2.4 Act 4
At the opening Naosuke is pressuring Osode to consummate their marriage, to which she seems oddly averse.
Yomoshichi appears and accuses Osode of adultery. Osode resigns herself to death in atonement and convinces
Naosuke and Yomoshichi that they should kill her. She
leaves a farewell note from which Naosuke learns that Osode was his younger sister. For the shame of this, as well
as for the killing of his former master, he commits suicide.
19.2.5 Act 5
Iemon, still haunted by the ghost of Oiwa, ees to an

isolated mountain retreat. There he rapidly descends
into madness as his dreams and reality begin to merge
19.2.2 Act 2
and Oiwa's haunting intensies. The act closes with
Yomoshichi slaying Iemon out of both vengeance and
Oume, the granddaughter of It Kihei, has fallen in love compassion.
with Iemon. However, believing herself to be less attractive than Oiwa, she doesn't think Iemon will ever want to
become her husband. Sympathizing with Oume's plight, 19.3 Historical basis
the Its scheme to have Oiwa disgured by sending her a
topical poison disguised as a facial cream. Oiwa, unbe- Nanboku incorporated two sensational and real-life murknown to her at the time, is instantly scarred by the cream ders into Yotsuya Kaidan, combining fact and ction in
when she applies it. Upon seeing his wife's ghastly new a manner that resonated with audiences. The rst incountenance, Iemon decides he can no longer remain with volved two servants who had murdered their respective
her. He asks Takuetsu to rape Oiwa so that he will have masters. They were caught and executed on the same day.
an honorable basis for divorce. Takuetsu cannot bring The second murder was from a samurai who discovered
himself to do this so, instead, he simply shows Oiwa her his concubine was having an aair with a servant. The
reection in a mirror. Realizing that she has been de- samurai had the faithless concubine and servant nailed to
ceived, Oiwa becomes hysterical and, picking up a sword, a wooden board and thrown into the Kanda River.
runs towards the door. Takuetsu moves to grab her but
Oiwa, attempting to evade him, accidentally punctures
her own throat with the sword's tip. As she lies bleeding
to death before a stunned Takuetsu, she curses Iemon's 19.4 Popularity
name. Not long after Iemon becomes engaged to Oume.
Act 2 closes with Iemon being tricked by Oiwa's ghost Yotsuya Kaidan's popularity is often accounted for by the
into slaying both Oume and her grandfather on the night way it t the mood of its time,* [1] as well as its use of
of the wedding.
universal themes. The Bunsei era was a time of social unrest, and the repressed position of women in society was
severe. The exchange of power for powerlessness was
something audiences could relate to. Oiwa went from a
delicate victim to a powerful avenger, while Iemon trans19.2.3 Act 3
forms from tormentor to tormented.
The remaining members of the It household are annihilated. Iemon kicks Oyumi, the mother of Oume, into the
Onb Canal and Omaki, the servant of Oyumi drowns by
accident. Naosuke arrives in disguise as Gonbei, an eel
vendor, and blackmails Iemon into handing over a valuable document. Iemon contemplates his prospects while
shing at the Onb canal. On the embankment above the
canal Iemon, Yomoshichi and Naosuke appear to fumble as they struggle for possession of a note which passes
from hand to hand in the darkness.
Also, Oiwa is much more direct in her vengeance than

Okiku, another popular kabuki ghost, and she is much
more brutal. This added level of violence thrilled audiences, who were seeking more and more violent forms of
entertainment.
In addition, the performance of Yotsuya Kaidan was lled
with fantastic special eects, with her ruined face projecting magnicently from an onstage lantern, and her
hair falling out in impossible amounts.
Yotsuya Kaidan paired the conventions of kizewamono
48
CHAPTER 19. YOTSUYA KAIDAN
raw life play, which looked at the lives of non-nobles, Sugamo, a neighborhood of Tokyo. The date of her death
and kaidanmono ghost play.* [1]
is listed as February 22, 1636.* [4] Several productions
of Yotsuya Kaidan, including television and movie adaptations, have reported mysterious accidents, injuries and
even deaths. Prior to staging an adaptation of Yotsuya
19.5 Ghost of Oiwa
Kaidan it is now a tradition for the principal actors and
the director to make a pilgrimage to Oiwa's grave and ask
her permission and blessing for their production.* [5] This
is considered especially important of the actor assuming
the role of Oiwa.
Sadako Yamamura from the lm Ring is a clear homage
to Oiwa. Her nal appearance is a direct adaptation of
Oiwa, including the cascading hair and drooping, malformed eye.* [6] Also in Ju-on when Hitomi is watching
the television, the television presenter is morphed into a
woman with one small eye and one large eye- possibly a
reference to Oiwa.
19.6 Yotsuya Kaidan and ukiyo-e

Being a popular Kabuki play, Yotsuya Kaidan soon became a popular subject for ukiyo-e artists as well.* [6] In
1826, the same year the play opened at Sumiza Theater in
Osaka, Shunkosai Hokushu produced The Ghost of Oiwa.
She is recognizable by her drooping eyes and partial baldness.
An unusual image featuring a still-living Oiwa was depicted as one of the New Forms of Thirty-Six Ghosts by
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi.
Hokusai's image of Oiwa emerging from the Lantern.
Katsushika Hokusai created perhaps the most iconic image of Oiwa, in his series One Hundred Ghost Stories, in
which he drew the face of her angry spirit merged with a
temple lantern. Shunkosai Hokuei made a visual quotation of Hokusai's design in the illustration above, including Iemon as he turns to meet the apparition, drawing
his sword.* [6] The lantern scene is a favorite, also being
carved into netsuke.* [7] This image of Oiwa appears to
give Akari Ichijou a cup of tea in her victory pose in the
arcade game The Last Blade.
Oiwa is an onry, a ghost who seeks vengeance. Her

strong passion for revenge allows her to bridge the gap
back to Earth. She shares most of the common traits
of this style of Japanese ghost, including the white dress
representing the burial kimono she would have worn, the
long, ragged hair and white/indigo face that marks a ghost Utagawa Kuniyoshi illustrated the scene at Hebiyama,
in kabuki theater.
showing a still-lantern-headed Oiwa coming for Iemon,
There are specic traits to Oiwa that set her apart physi- surrounded by snakes and smoke.
cally from other onryo. Most famous is her left eye, which
droops down her face due to poison given her by Iemon.
This feature is exaggerated in kabuki performances to 19.7 Film adaptations
give Oiwa a distinct appearance. She is often shown as
partially bald, another eect of the poison. In a spectac- The rst lm adaptation was made in 1912, and it was
ular scene in the kabuki play, the living Oiwa sits before lmed some 18 times between 1913 and 1937. A notable
a mirror and combs her hair, which comes falling out due adaptation was Shimpan Yotsuya Kaidan by It Daisuke,
to the poison. This scene is a subversion of erotically- one of the foremost Japanese directors of his time. A
charged hair combing scenes in kabuki love plays.* [3] 1949 adaptation, Yotsuya Kaidan I & II, by Kinoshita
The hair piles up to tremendous heights, achieved by a Keisuke removed the ghostly elements and presented
stage hand who sits under the stage and pushes more and Oiwa as an apparition of her husband's guilty psyche.* [8]
more hair up through the oor while Oiwa is combing.
The Shintoho studio produced several versions, includOiwa is supposedly buried at a temple, Myogyo-ji, in ing Yotsuya Kaidan ( Yotsuya Kaidan), a 1956
19.10. REFERENCES
black and white lm by Masaki Mri, and Nobuo Nakagawa's 1959 Tokaido Yotsuya kaidan, which is often considered the nest screen adaptation of the story.
Toho produced a version in 1966 directed by Shir Toyoda and starring Tatsuya Nakadai that was released as
Illusion of Blood abroad. In 1994, Kinji Fukasaku returned to the Kabuki roots and combined the stories of
Chshingura and Yotsuya Kaidan into the single Crest of
Betrayal.* [8]
There have also been adaptations on television. Story 1 of
the j-drama Kaidan Hyaku Shosetsu was a version of Yotsuya Kaidan,* [9] and episodes 1-4 of Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales, a 2006 anime TV series, were also a
retelling of the story.
49
19.10 References
[1] Kennelly, Paul. Realism in Kabuki of the early nineteenth century. A case study. Proceedings of the Pacic
Rim Conference in Transcultural Aesthetics: 157.
[2] Yotsuya Kaidan. Retrieved July 6, 2006.
[3] Brazell, Karen (1998). Traditional Japanese Theater: An
Anthology of Plays. James T. Araki (trans.). Columbia
University Press. ISBN 0-231-10872-9.
[4] Yotsuya Kaidan. Retrieved February 22, 2006.
[5] Plutschow, Herbert E. (1990). Chaos and Cosmos: Ritual
in Early and Medieval Japanese Literature. BRILL. ISBN
90-04-08628-5.
By tradition, production crews adapting the story for lm

or stage visit Oiwa's gravesite in Myogyoji Temple in
Sugamo, Toshima-ku, Tokyo to pay their respects, as an
urban legend states that injuries and fatalities will befall
the cast if they do not.
[6] Sumpter, Sara L. (2006). From scrolls to prints to

moving pictures: iconographic ghost imagery from premodern Japan to the contemporary horror lm (PDF).
Retrieved 2010-12-04.
19.8 See also
[8] Yotsuya-Kaidan on Film. Wild Realm Review. Retrieved July 28, 2006.
Botan Doro
Bancho Sarayashiki
Kaidan
Onry
Obake
Yrei
Japanese mythology
Japanese Horror
Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales: an anime which
animates the story.
Vengeful ghost
19.9 Notes
1. ^ Iemon is sometimes romanized as Iyemon, due to Hepburn's old romanization
system that rendered e as ye. This romanization gives a more archaic feel to the
name (and also makes it less likely to be
misread by Westerners as Lemon).
2. ^ Yotsuya is a neighborhood in the
southeastern section of Tokyo's Shinjuku
ward.
[7] Bush, Laurence C. (2001). Asian Horror Encyclopedia.

Writers Club Press. ISBN 0-595-20181-4.
[9] Kaidan Hyaku Shosetsu [] :: jdorama.com

George Braziller, Inc., 1986, ISBN 0-8076-1126-3
Araki, James T., Traditional Japanese Theater:
An Anthology of Plays, USA, Columbia University
Press, 1998
Iwasaka, Michiko, Ghosts and the Japanese: Cultural Experience in Japanese Death Legends, USA,
Utah State University Press 1994, ISBN 0-87421179-4
Ross, Catrien, Supernatural and Mysterious Japan,
Tokyo, Japan, Tuttle Publishing, 1996, ISBN 4900737-37-2
Yotsuya Kaidan. Retrieved July 6, 2006.
Yotsuya Kaidan. Retrieved February 22, 2006.
Yotsuya-Kaidan, A Japanese Ghost Story. TOPICS online magazine. Retrieved February 22, 2006.
Yotsuya-Kaidan on Film. Wild Realm Review.
Retrieved July 28, 2006.
19.11 External links

Kaidan Hyaku Shosetsu (Story 1) (2002) at
JDorama
Chushingura gaiden yotsuya kaidan (1994) at the
50
CHAPTER 19. YOTSUYA KAIDAN
Masho no natsu - 'Yotsuya kaidan' yori (1981) at the

Yotsuya kaidan - Oiwa no borei (1969)
Yotsuya kaidan (1966)
Database
at the
Kaidan Oiwa no borei (1961) at the Internet Movie

Database
Tkaid Yotsuya kaidan (1959)
Movie Database
at the Internet

Database

Database
Shinpan Yotsuya kaidan (1928)

Movie Database
at the Internet
&
online texts of Yotsuya Kaidan
by Tanaka Kotaro at Aozora Bunko.(Japanese)
Chapter 20
Yuki-onna
A Yuki-onna from Hyakkai-Zukan
Yuki Onna (, snow woman) is a spirit or ykai in

Japanese folklore. She is a popular gure in Japanese litA Yuki-onna from Gazu Hyakki Yak by Toriyama Sekien
erature, manga, and animation.
She may also go by such names as yuki-musume snow
girl,* [1] yuki-onagosnow wench, yukijorsnow harlot,* [1] yuki anesasnow sis'", yuki-ombasnow granny
or snow nanny,* [2] yukinbasnow hag(Ehime),* [2]
yukifuri-baba(?) snowfall hag* [1](Nagano).* [2]
across the snow, leaving no footprints (in fact, some tales

say she has no feet, a feature of many Japanese ghosts),
and she can transform into a cloud of mist or snow if
threatened.
20.1 Appearance
20.2 Behaviour
Yuki-onna appears on snowy nights as a tall, beautiful

woman with long black hair and blue lips. Her inhumanly pale or even transparent skin makes her blend into
the snowy landscape (as famously described in Lafcadio
Hearn's Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things).
She sometimes wears a white kimono,* [3] but other legends describe her as nude, with only her face and hair
standing out against the snow.* [4] Despite her inhuman
beauty, her eyes can strike terror into mortals. She oats
Some legends say the Yuki-onna, being associated with

winter and snowstorms, is the spirit of someone who perished in the snow.* [5] She is at the same time beautiful
and serene, yet ruthless in killing unsuspecting mortals.
Until the 18th century, she was almost uniformly portrayed as evil. Today, however, stories often color her
as more human, emphasizing her ghost-like nature and
ephemeral beauty.* [6]
In many stories, Yuki-onna appears to travelers trapped
51
52
CHAPTER 20. YUKI-ONNA
in snowstorms, and uses her icy breath to leave them as

frost-coated corpses. Other legends say she leads them
astray so they simply die of exposure. Other times, she
manifests holding a child. When a well-intentioned soul
takes the childfrom her, they are frozen in place.* [3]
Parents searching for lost children are particularly susceptible to this tactic. Other legends make Yuki-onna
much more aggressive. In these stories, she often invades
homes, blowing in the door with a gust of wind to kill
residents in their sleep (some legends require her to be
invited inside rst).
not age.
One night, after the children were asleep, Minokichi said
to Oyuki: Whenever I see you, I am reminded of a
mysterious incident that happened to me. When I was
young, I met a beautiful young lady like you. I do not
know if it was a dream or if she was a Yuki-onna...
After nishing his story, Oyuki suddenly stood up, and

said That woman you met was me! I told you that I
would kill you if you ever told anyone about that incident.
However, I can't kill you because of our children. Take
care of our children... " Then she melted and disappeared.
What Yuki-onna is after varies from tale to tale. Some- No one saw her again.
times she is simply satised to see a victim die. Other
times, she is more vampiric, draining her victims' blood
orlife force.She occasionally takes on a succubus-like
manner, preying on weak-willed men to drain or freeze 20.3 In popular culture
them through sex or a kiss.* [3]
In Kwaidan, a 1964 Japanese anthology ghost lm.
Like the snow and winter weather she represents, Yukionna has a softer side. She sometimes lets would-be vic Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, a 1990 Ameritims go for various reasons. In one popular Yuki-onna
can horror anthology lm, features the story, Lover's
legend, for example, she sets a young boy free because
Vow, which is based on Lafcadio Hearn's Yukiof his beauty and age. She makes him promise never to
Onnastory. Instead of a Snow Woman, however,
speak of her, but later in life, he tells the story to his wife
the protagonist's wife is secretly a Gargoyle.
who reveals herself to be the snow woman. She reviles
him for breaking his promise, but spares him again, this
In The Snow Woman (Kaidan yukijorou), a 1968
time out of concern for their children (but if he dares misJapanese lm.
treat their children, she will return with no mercy. Luckily for him, he is a loving father). In some versions, she
In Nurarihyon no Mago, a Yuki Onna is a type of
chose not to kill him because he told her, which she did
youkai who hails from the Tono region. One of
not treat as a broken promise (technically, Yuki-Onna
the most prominent members of the main characherself is not a human, and thus did not count).* [6] In a
ter Rikuo Nura's Hyakki Yak is a Yuki Onna, who
similar legend, Yuki-onna melts away once her husband
usually accompanies him at school undercover using
discovers her true nature. However, she departs to the
the name Tsurara Oikawa.
afterlife afterward the same way.
20.2.1
Lafcadio Hearn's version
A long time ago, there lived two woodcutters, Minokichi

and Mosaku. Minokichi was young and Mosaku was very
old.
One winter day, they could not come back home because
of a snowstorm. They found a hut in the mountain and decided to sleep there. On this particular evening, Mosaku
woke up and found a beautiful lady with white clothes.
She breathed on old Mosaku and he was frozen to death.
She then approached Minokichi to breathe on him, but
stared at him for a while, and said, I thought I was going to kill you, the same as that old man, but I will not,
because you are young and beautiful. You must not tell
anyone about this incident. If you tell anyone about me,
I will kill you.
Several years later, Minokichi met a beautiful young lady,
named Oyuki (yuki =snow) and married her. She was
a good wife. Minokichi and Oyuki had several children
and lived happily for many years. Mysteriously, she did
In a segment of Akira Kurosawa's 1990 lm

Dreams, a team of mountain climbers gets caught
in a blizzard. After the other men lose consciousness, the last conscious man encounters a beautiful
woman, possibly Yuki Onna but never directly referenced as such, who attempts to lure him to sleep
and death.
In Vampire Princess Miyu, the character Reiha is a
Yuki Onna.
In the Bleach anime, a Zanpakuto spirit named Sode
no Shirayuki (the sword is owned by Rukia Kuchiki)
is depicted as a Yuki Onna with near total mastery
of ice.
In Rosario + Vampire, the character Mizore Shirayuki is a teenage Yuki Onna* [7] described as a
snow fairy.* [8]
In Akazukin ChaCha, Teacher Oyuki, Banana class's
substitute teacher is a Yuki Onna.
20.4. SEE ALSO

While clearly stated to be an alien princess, Oyuki
from Urusei Yatsura is based on yuki-onna.
In Dororon Enma-kun, the character Yukiko-Hime
is a Yuki Onna.
53
In Final Fantasy VII, Snow - a woman living alone in
Great Glacier, who leaves behind Alexander Materia
if defeated, is most probably based on Yuki-Onna.
In Inu x Boku SS, Nobara Yukinokouji (Renshou
Sorinozuka's secret service agent) is a Yuki Onna.
In Shinobi 3D, the rst boss is Yuki Onna.

In MythQuest, a 1990s Canadian TV show, Yuki
Onna is featured in Episode 4 Minokichi.
The manga Jigoku Sensei Nube features a yuki-onna
named Yukime who falls in love with and eventually
marries the titular character.
In Ranma , she is responsible for a snow blizzard
and is accompanied by a Snow Monster Guardian.
Also portrayed both as a child bearing a ute and a
female adult.
In The Girl Who Leapt Through Space, two characters mistake Itsuki Kannagi to be a Yuki-Onna because their space vessels frost as they pass near hers.
In Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, Yuki-Onna is herself
In Yu-Gi-Oh!, there are two cards based on a YukiOnna; Mischief of the Yokaiand Yuki-onna
of the Ghostrick.
In "The Causal Angel" by Hannu Rajaniemi, YukiOnna appears as a witch in a zoku Realm, as a symbol for the pellegrini.
American progressive metal band Symphony X has

a song entitled Lady of the Snow, based on the
character Yuki-Onna.* [9] It can be found on the album Twilight in Olympus.
In "Yume Nikki", one of the eects Madotsuki can

collect turns her into a Yuki-Onna, and will make it
start to snow.
In the InuYasha anime, a Yuki Onna serves as

the episode antagonist of Season 5, Episode 2
(Epi#101), The Snow from Seven Years Past.
In "Megami Tensei", the demon called Yuki Jyorou

is based on Yuki Onna and in "Shin Megami Tensei:
Strange Journey" she is referred to as a type of
Yuki Onna
. Yuki Onna is also a demon in the "Shin
Megami Tensei: Devil Children" spin o series.
In BlazBlue, a popular ghting game, one of the

main characters, Jin Kisaragi's weapon of choice is
a nihont called Yukianesa, which allows him to use
ice attacks.
In the 7th Touhou Project game, Perfect Cherry Blossom, the stage one boss Letty Whiterock is a Yukionna.
In Demashita! Powerpu Girls Z, she made an appearance in Episode 9Fuzzy in Lovewhen Fuzzy
Lumpkins mistook her for Ms. Bellum.
In Yu Yu Hakusho, the character Yukina (Hiei's
younger sister) was born in an Snow Women onlyvillage.
In One Piece, Monet (Caesar Clown's assistant) is
nicknamed Yuki-onna by her use of the Snow Snow
Fruit.
In the Pokmon franchise, Froslass is based on the
Yuki-onna. The controversial Pokmon Jynx is also
based, in part in Yuki-onna. Like Yuki-onna, Jynx
has ice-manipulation and no feet.
In "Hakkenden: Eight Dogs of the East", Yuki-hime

is a yuki-onna.
20.4 See also

Ghosts in Mesopotamian religions
Jack Frost
Selkie
Shirahime-Syo
The Snow Queen (tale)
White Lady (ghost)
Yama-uba (mountain crone")
Yeti (cryptid)
Yurei
Crane Wife
Swan maiden
54
20.5 References
[1] Konno 1981, cited by Hirakawa, Sukehiro ()
(1992), :
(Koizumi Yakumo: kais
to kenky) (snippet), Kodansha, p. 227, quote:"
..
[2] Furuhashi 1992
[3] Yuki-onna at japanese1-2-3.com
[4] Seki, Seigo Seki (1963), Folktales of Japan, p. 81, University of Chicago, ISBN 0-226-74614-3
[5] Smith, Richard Gordon, The Snow Ghost Chapter
XLIX of Ancient Tales and Folk-lore of Japan at sacredtexts.com
[6] Kwaidan - Yuki-onna (Snow Woman) at www.sarudama.
com
[7] " SQ. seasonII
" [Jump Square Rosario + Vampire season II]
(in Japanese). Jumpsq.shueisha.co.jp. Retrieved 201402-21.
[8] Rosario+Vampire, Vol. 5. Viz Media. Retrieved
March 26, 2013.
[9] Miller, Thomas et al. Symphony X FAQ. Symphony
X Ocial Website. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
Furuhashi, Nobutaka () (1992), "

", in Isamu Yoshinari()ed., Nihon 'Shinwa
Densetsu' Sran (),
, Shinjinbutsu Orai
sha (), pp. 276277, ISBN 978-4404-02011-6
Konno, Ensuke ( ) (1981),
(Nihon kaidansh ykai hen), Gendai
Kyoiku bunko, Shakai Shisho sha, pp. 4, ASIN

B000J98U1S, ISBN 978-4-390-11055-6
20.6 External references

Yuki Onnna The Snow Woman at hyakumonogatari.com (English).
An article that references Yuki Onna in the movies
Japanzine By Jon Wilks
CHAPTER 20. YUKI-ONNA
Chapter 21
Yrei
Yrei () are gures in Japanese folklore, analogous
to Western legends of ghosts. The name consists of two
kanji, (y), meaning faintor dimand (rei),
meaning soulor spirit.Alternative names include
(Brei) meaning ruined or departed spirit,
(Shiry) meaning dead spirit, or the more encompassing
(Ykai) or (Obake).
Ukiyo-e artist Maruyama kyo created the rst known

example of the now-traditional yrei, in his painting The
Ghost of Oyuki.
Like their Chinese and Western counterparts, they are

thought to be spirits kept from a peaceful afterlife.
White clothing: Yrei are usually dressed in white,

signifying the white burial kimono used in Edo period funeral rituals. In Shinto, white is a color of
ritual purity, traditionally reserved for priests and
the dead. This kimono can either be a katabira
(a plain, white, unlined kimono) or a kyokatabira
(a white katabira inscribed with Buddhist sutras).
They sometimes have a hitaikakushi (lit.,forehead
cover), which is a small white triangular piece of
cloth tied around the head.
Today, the appearance of yrei is somewhat uniform, instantly signalling the ghostly nature of the gure, and assuring that it is culturally authentic.
21.1 Japanese afterlife

According to traditional Japanese beliefs, all humans have
a spirit or soul called a (reikon). When a person dies,
the reikon leaves the body and enters a form of purgatory,
where it waits for the proper funeral and post-funeral rites
to be performed, so that it may join its ancestors. If this
is done correctly, the reikon is believed to be a protector
of the living family and to return yearly in August during
the Obon Festival to receive thanks.
Black hair: Hair of a yrei is often long, black

and disheveled, which some believe to be a trademark carried over from kabuki theater, where wigs
are used for all actors. This is a misconception:
Japanese women traditionally grew their hair long
and wore it pinned up, and it was let down for the
funeral and burial.
However, if the person dies in a sudden or violent manner such as murder or suicide, if the proper rites have
not been performed, or if they are inuenced by powerful emotions such as a desire for revenge, love, jealousy,
hatred or sorrow, the reikon is thought to transform into a
yrei, which can then bridge the gap back to the physical
world.
Hands and feet: A yrei's hands dangle lifelessly

from the wrists, which are held outstretched with the
elbows near the body. They typically lack legs and
feet, oating in the air. These features originated in
Edo period ukiyo-e prints, and were quickly copied
over to kabuki. In kabuki, this lack of legs and feet
is often represented by using a very long kimono
or even hoisting the actor into the air by a series of
ropes and pulleys.
The yrei then exists on Earth until it can be laid to rest,

either by performing the missing rituals, or resolving the
emotional conict that still ties it to the physical plane.
If the rituals are not completed or the conict left unresolved, the yrei will persist in its haunting.
Hitodama: Yrei are frequently depicted as being

accompanied by a pair of oating ames or will o'
the wisps (hitodama in Japanese) in eerie colors such
as blue, green, or purple. These ghostly ames are
separate parts of the ghost rather than independent
spirits.
21.2 Appearance
In the late 17th century, a game called Hyakumonogatari
Kaidankai became popular, and kaidan increasingly became a subject for theater, literature and other arts. At
this time, they began to gain certain attributes to distinguish themselves from living humans, making it easier to
spot yrei characters.
21.3 Classications
55
56
21.3.1
CHAPTER 21. YREI
Yrei
While all Japanese ghosts are called yrei, within that category there are several specic types of phantom, classied mainly by the manner they died or their reason for
returning to Earth.
21.3.4 Obake
Yrei often fall under the general umbrella term of obake,
derived from the verb bakeru, meaningto change"; thus
obake are preternatural beings who have undergone some
sort of change, from the natural realm to the supernatural.
One of Japan's earliest and foremost folklorists, Kunio

Onry: Vengeful ghosts who come back from Yanagita, made a clear distinction between yrei and
purgatory for a wrong done to them during their life- obake in his seminal Yokaidangi (; Lectures
time.
on Monsters). He claimed that yrei haunt a particular
person, while obake haunt a particular place, but when
Ubume: A mother ghost who died in childbirth, or looking at typical kaidan, this does not appear to be true.
died leaving young children behind. This yrei re- Yrei such as Okiku haunt a particular place in Okiku's
turns to care for her children, often bringing them case, the well where she died and continue to do so long
sweets.
after the person who killed them has died.
Gory: Vengeful ghosts of the aristocratic class, especially those who were martyred.
21.4 Hauntings
Funayrei: The ghosts of those who died at sea.

These ghosts are sometimes depicted as scaly shYrei do not wander at random, but generally stay near a
like humanoids and some may even have a form simspecic location, such as where they were killed or where
ilar to that of a mermaid or merman.
their body lies, or follow a specic person, such as their
Zashiki-warashi: The ghosts of children, often mis- murderer, or a beloved. They usually appear between 2
and 3 a.m, the witching hour for Japan, when the veils
chievous rather than dangerous.
between the world of the dead and the world of the living
Samurai Ghosts: Veterans of the Genpei War who are at their thinnest.
fell in battle. Warrior Ghosts almost exclusively ap- Yrei will continue to haunt that particular person or
pear in Noh Theater. Unlike most other yrei, these place until their purpose is fullled, and they can move on
ghosts are usually shown with legs.
to the afterlife. However, some particularly strong yrei,
specically onry who are consumed by vengeance, con Seductress Ghosts: The ghost of a woman or man tinue to haunt long after their killers have been brought
who initiates a post-death love aair with a living to justice.
human, as seen in Botan Dr.
21.3.2
Buddhist ghosts
There are two types of ghosts specic to Buddhism, both

being examples of unfulllled earthly hungers being carried on after death. They are dierent from other classications of yrei due to their wholly religious nature.
Gaki
21.4.1 Famous hauntings

Some famous locations that are said to be haunted by
yrei are the well of Himeji Castle, haunted by the ghost
of Okiku, and Aokigahara, the forest at the bottom of
Mt. Fuji, which is a popular location for suicide. A particularly powerful onry, Oiwa, is said to be able to bring
vengeance on any actress portraying her part in a theater
or lm adaptation.
Jikininki
21.3.3
Ikiry
21.5 Exorcism
The easiest way to exorcise a yrei is to help it fulll

its purpose. When the reason for the strong emotion
binding the spirit to Earth is gone, the yrei is satised
and can move on. Traditionally, this is accomplished by
family members enacting revenge upon the yrei's slayer,
or when the ghost consummates its passion/love with its
The most famous example of an ikiryo is Rokujo no intended lover, or when its remains are discovered and
Miyasundokoro, from the novel The Tale of Genji.
given a proper burial with all rites performed.
In Japanese folklore, not only the dead are able to manifest their reikon for a haunting. Living creatures possessed by extraordinary jealousy or rage can release their
spirit as an ikiry , a living ghost that can enact its
will while still alive.

The emotions of the onry are particularly strong, and
they are the least likely to be pacied by these methods.
On occasion, Buddhist priests and mountain ascetics were
hired to perform services on those whose unusual or unfortunate deaths could result in their transition into a
vengeful ghost, a practice similar to exorcism. Sometimes these ghosts would be deied in order to placate
their spirits.
Like many monsters of Japanese folklore, malicious yrei
are repelled by ofuda (), holy Shinto writings containing the name of a kami. The ofuda must generally
be placed on the yrei's forehead to banish the spirit, although they can be attached to a house's entry ways to
prevent the yrei from entering.
21.6 See also

Bancho Sarayashiki
Botan Doro
Hungry ghost
Inoue Enryo
Japanese mythology
Japanese Urban Legends
J-Horror
Kaidan
Kayako Saeki
Sadako Yamamura
Yokai
Yotsuya Kaidan
Yrei zaka
21.7 References
ISBN 0-87421-179-4
Ghoul Power - Onryou in the Movies Japanzine By
Jon Wilks
Tales of Ghostly Japan Japanzine By Zack Davisson
Japanese Ghosts Haunted Times by Tim Screech
Yrei-ga gallery at Zenshoan Temple
57
Information on The Kaidan Suite, a musical interpretation of Japanese ghost stories by the Kitsune
Ensemble.
Hyakumonogatari.com Translated yurei stories
from Hyakumonogatari.com
21.8 External links

What is the White Kimono Japanese Ghosts Wear?
58
CHAPTER 21. YREI
Tukioka yositosi's Yrei
Chapter 22
Yrei-zu
fer to spirit beings. Other terms include: obake (
), ykai (), brei (), and shiry ().
There is a long tradition of belief in the supernatural in
Japan stemming from a variety of inuences. Imported
sources include Buddhism, Taoism and Chinese folklore.
The most notable inuence, however, is Shint, a native
Japanese animistic religion which presupposes that our
physical world is inhabited by eight million omnipresent
spirits.* [3]
Japanese ghosts are essentially spirits on leavefrom
hell in order to complete an outstanding mission.* [4] The
souls (reikon - ) of those who die violently, do not
receive proper funerary rites, or die while consumed by
a desire for vengeance, do not pass peacefully to join the
spirits of their ancestors in the afterlife. Instead, their
reikon souls are transformed into ayurei souls, which can
travel back to the physical world.* [5] According to Buddhist belief, the journey from the world of the living
(konoyo - ) to that of the dead (anoyo -
) takes 49 days, and it is in this limbo-like phase that
they can attend to unresolved issues.* [6] There is a close
relationship between the degree of an individuals suffering in life and the severity of their actions in the afterlife.* [7] While their intentions are not always evil, the
results of their actions are almost always damaging for
the humans involved.* [4] Belief held that a ghost could
only receive release through the prayers of a living individual that his/her soul be allowed to pass into the underworld.* [3]
Yrei by Sawaki Sshi (1737)
Yrei-zu () are a genre of Japanese art consisting

of painted or woodblock print images of ghosts, demons
and other supernatural beings. They are considered to be
a subgenre of fzokuga, pictures of manners and customs.* [1] These types of art works reached the peak
of their popularity in Japan in the mid- to late 19th century.* [2]
22.2 Historical background
Images of supernatural beings, as well as gory and

grotesque scenes exist on Japanese painted scrolls going
back to the medieval period. This tradition continued
through the centuries, providing a foundation for yreizu, as well as for violent chimidoro-e (bloody pictures
- ) and muzan-e (cruel pictures-
) which were to become popular in Edo Japan.* [8] Al22.1 Yrei
though there are prior examples, yrei-zu reached the pinnacle of their popularity in the mid- through late 19th
Literally translatable as faint (y - ) spirit (rei - ), century,* [2] along with ghost themed kabuki plays and
yrei is just one of several Japanese words used to re- ghost tales (kaidan - ).* [1] Scholars link the per59
60
CHAPTER 22. YREI-ZU

theatre.* [3] As kabuki began to ourish throughout the
later 1700s, so too did the number of dramas based on
ghost stories, particularly those involving vengeful female ghosts returning to punish their wrong-doers.* [3]
Kabuki, like ukiyo-e, was a populist art form, which aimed
to satisfy the dramatic tastes of a proletarian clientele: the rising working and middle classes in Edo
(present-day Tokyo).* [12] Kabuki and ukiyo-e shared a
close kinship, as woodblock artists attempted to tap into
the publics ever-increasing appetite for tales of the
bizarre and thrilling,and share the kabuki audience demographic.* [1] As Sarah Fensom notes, that prints of
the macabre, the supernatural and the grotesque were so
frequently designed and distributed is for the most part
a greater reection of 19th century Japanese tastes than
of the agenda of the artists.* [13] Artists produced images of ghosts as well as of actors in ghost roles, eecting
a conation of three prevailing trends in ukiyo-e of the
period: depictions of the female form (bijin-ga), depictions of supernatural or macabre themes, and depictions
of celebrated actors (kabuki-e or shibai-e).
22.4 Censorship
Shimobe Fudesuke and the Ghost of the Woman in the Waterfall
by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (c. 1865)
sistent popularity* [9] of the occult to theunsettled social conditionsprevailing during the late Edo,* [2] which
included the oppressive Tokugawa regime, the beginnings of westernization, and a number of natural disasters. * [10]* [11]
22.3 Yrei-zu and theatre
In an attempt to return Japan to its feudal, agrarian roots,

the Tokugawa regime in 1842 instituted the Temp Reforms (Temp no kaikaku - ), a collection of
laws governing many aspects of everyday life. In addition
to the economy, the military, agriculture and religion, the
Reforms reached into the world of art.* [14] The intent
of the Reforms was essentially to valorize frugality and
loyalty,* [15] thus ostentatious or morally dubious images
such as depictions of geisha, oiran courtesans and kabuki
actors were banned.* [16] According to an 1842 decree
aimed at print publishers: To make woodblock prints
of Kabuki actors, courtesans and geisha is detrimental to
public morals. Henceforth the publication of new works
[of this kind] as well as the sale of previously procured
stocks is strictly forbidden. In future you are to select designs that are based on loyalty and lial piety and which
serve to educate women and children, and you must insure that they are not luxurious.* [15]
Given this climate of censorship, some artists used the

yrei-zu genreto symbolically and humorously disguise
criticism of the social and political maladies of the day
by having fantastic creatures appear as substitutes for real
people, especially the ruling elite.* [16] Such critiques
led the government to subsequently ban both yrei-zu and
ghost plays.* [3] The Temp Reforms were ultimately unsuccessful,* [17] and the strict regulation of art works was
Yoshitoshi ryakuga by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1882)
no longer enforced after 1845, once the shogunal advisor
who had initiated the Reforms left the government.* [18]
Japan has long had a vibrant folkloric tradition of ghost As long as the rules remained nominally in eect, some
stories, and in the early eighteenth century these began artists invoked clever word- and picture-play to circumto be dramatized for the n stage and bunraku puppet vent censorship.* [15]
22.6. NOTABLE EDO EXAMPLES
22.5 Yrei-zu physical characteristics
61
often accompanied by hitodama (), green, blue
or purple oating ames
transparent or semi-transparent
By nature, they:* [23]
are nocturnal
avoid running water
appear in true ghostly guise when reected in a mirror or water surface
22.6 Notable Edo examples

22.6.1 The Ghost of Oyuki
Kohada Koheiji by Hokusai (date unknown)
The ghosts featured in Edo period ukiyo-e come in various forms. They can appear as animal creatures both real
and imagined, such as foxes, cats, dragons and demons.
They can also be the discontent spirits of male warriors.* [19] Most of the ghosts featured, however, tend to
be female,specically,as Donald Richie notes,dissatised females.* [20]
The earliest yrei-zu is considered to be by Maruyama

kyo ( ), founder of the Maruyama school
and one of the most signicant artists of the 18th century.* [24] The Ghost of Oyuki (Oyuki no maboroshi -
) is a silk scroll painting dating to the second
half of the 18th century * [25] In Maruyamas naturalistic style,* [26] it depicts a faintly coloured female ghost
whose body tapers into transparency. It has been described as an image of haunting beauty.* [27] According to a scroll box inscription by a one-time owner,
the subject of the painting is Maruyamas lover,* [28]
a geisha who died young.* [27] Her ghost is said to have
visited the artist in a dream and inspired him to paint her
portrait.* [27]
The subjects in yrei-zu typically correspond to a very 22.6.2 Other Edo artists
specic set of physical characteristics:* [21]* [22]
All of the pre-eminent ukiyo-e artists of the later Edo
long, straight black hair, which is often unkempt
period produced yrei-zu, including Kunisada, Hokusai
*
[29] and Utagawa Kuniyoshi, whodesigned the largest
white or pale-coloured kimono akin to the plain number of prints portraying ghosts as well as other
white katabira () or kykatabira () fu- strange, unusual and fantastic creatures.* [16]
nerary kimono
Another major producer of yrei-zu was Tsukioka Yoshi long, owing sleeves
toshi who reputedly had personal encounters with ghosts
in 1865 and 1880. In 1865 he produced the series One
some are depicted with a triangular hitaikakushi (
Hundred Ghost Stories of China and Japan (Wakan hyaku
) forehead cloth also associated with Japanese fumonogatari), his rst series to feature ghosts. The orignerary tradition
inal series, which was based on a popular game of the
period involving ghost stories, included one hundred im a thin, fragile frame
ages; however, only twenty-six were published.* [30] His
outstretched arms, sometimes waving or beckoning nal print series, New Forms of 36 Ghosts (Shinkei sanjrokuten), was so freakishly popular,according to
hands hanging limply from the wrists
Sarah Fensom,that the blocks from which it was printed
no body below the waist
wore out.* [8]
62
22.7 Contemporary examples

Although patently no longer as pervasive as during the late
Edo period, yrei-zu and contemporary variations continue to be produced by Japanese artists in various media.
One prominent example is the nihonga painter Fuyuko
Matsui (b. 1974), whose ghostly images are described
as beautiful and eerie,* [31] dark [and] Gothic,
and disturbing and mesmerizing.* [32] Matsui has
identied a goal of her works as imparting a condition that maintains sanity while being close to madness.
*
[32] Matsui
s colour on silk hanging scrollNyctalopia
(2005) is particularly reminiscent of classic yrei-zu such
as Maruyamas The Ghost of Oyuki.* [33]
Another artist whose works echo yrei-zu is Hisashi Tenmyouya (b. 1966). Between 2004 and 2005, Tenmyouya
completed a series of acrylic on wood paintings entitled
New Version of Six Ghost Stories (). The six
images are reworkings of famous Japanese ghost stories,
such as Tokaido Yotsuya Ghost Story and Kohata Koheiji
Ghost Story, which were rendered in woodblocks by Edo
artists.* [34]
Also creating contemporary yrei-zu in a traditional
style is American-born, Japanese-resident artist Matthew
Meyer. His Japanese Ykai series is collected in his illustrated book The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons.
According to Meyer, the intention of his paintings isto
recreate the feeling of old Japanese woodblock prints
while adding a contemporary illustrative touch.* [35]
CHAPTER 22. YREI-ZU
[7] Jordan 1985, 27

[8] Fensom 2012
[9] Bell 2004, 140
[10] See Addis 1985, 178; Rubin 2000; Harris 2010, 156;
Schaap 1998, 17
[11] In addition to oods and earthquakes, Japan was blighted
by a series of droughts which led to twenty periods of
famine between 1675 and 1837 (Dolan and Worden 1994)
[12] Addis 1985, 179
[13] 2013
[14] Encyclopedia Britannica, Temp Reforms
[15] The Fitzwilliam Museum
[16] Harris 2010, 156
[17] Encyclopaedia Britannica, Temp Reforms
[18] Jesse 2012, 95
[19] Fensom 2013
[20] 1983, 6
[21] Jordan 1985, 25
[22] Davisson 2012
[23] Richie 1983, 6
[24] Encyclopaedia Britannica, Maruyama kyo
The inuence of yrei-zu is also evident in the manga [25] Jordan suggests the painting was produced when
Maruyama was in his mid-forties(1985, 33n), which
of Shigeru Mizuki (b. 1922) and Hiroshi Shiibashi (b.
would make it c. 1778; however, Stevenson states that it
1980), both of whom are renowned for their works dealwas completed for the shogun in or around 1760 (1983,
ing with traditional Japanese aspects of the supernatural.
10), and yet another source believes it to date from 1750
(Chin Music Press).
22.8 See also

Edo period in popular culture
[26] Apocryphally, Maruyama once painted such a realistic

ghost image that it came to life and terried him. The
incident is immortalized in a painting by Taiso Yoshitoshi
(1839-1892) entitled 'Yoshitoshi Ryakuga'. (Art History
Reference)
Satori (folklore)
[27] Jordan 1985, 26
List of legendary creatures from Japan
[28] Stevenson suggests that in the absence of the subject,

Maruyamas dying aunt acted as his model (1983, 10)
22.9 Notes
[29] See the 1831 series One Hundred [Ghost] Tales (Hyaku
monogatari)
[30] Chiappa, J. Noel and Levine, Jason M. 2009
[1] Schaap 1998, 17
[31] Japan Echo
[2] Addis 1985, 178
[32] Liddell
[3] Rubin 2000
[33] See image at http://www.matsuifuyuko.com/works-e/

index.html
[4] Richie 1983, 7

[5] Monstrous.com
[34] See images at http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~{}tenmyoya/

paintings/0_paintings.html
[6] Iwasaki and Toelken 1994, 15
[35] http://matthewmeyer.net/
22.10. REFERENCES
22.10 References
Addis, Stephen. Conclusion: The Supernatural in
Japanese Art.In Japanese Ghosts and Demons: Art
of the Supernatural, edited by Stephen Addis, 177179. New York: George Braziller Inc., 1985.
Art History Reference. Maruyama Okyo (17331795).Accessed September 14, 2013. http://
arthistoryreference.com/a1/54567.htm
Bell, David. Ukiyo-e Explained. Kent, UK: Global
Oriental, 2004.
Chiappa, J. Noel and Levine, Jason M. Yoshitoshi's 'One Hundred Ghost Stories of China and
Japan(1865).Yoshitoshi.net. 2009. Accessed
September 17, 2013. http://www.yoshitoshi.net/
series/100ghosts.html
Chin Music Press.The Ghost of Oyuki.Accessed
September 13, 2013. http://store.chinmusicpress.
com/product/the-ghost-of-oyuki-chapbook
Davisson, Zack. What is the White Kimono
Japanese Ghosts Wear?" April 2012. Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai.
Accessed September
2013. http://hyakumonogatari.com/2012/04/04/
what-is-the-white-kimono-japanese-ghosts-wear/
Dolan, Ronald E. and Worden, Robert L., editors.
Japan: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the
Library of Congress, 1994. Accessed September
16, 2013. http://countrystudies.us/japan/21.htm
Encyclopdia Britannica. Maruyama kyo.
Encyclopdia Britannica Inc. 2013. Accessed
September 14, 2013. http://www.britannica.com/
EBchecked/topic/367211/Maruyama-Okyo
Encyclopdia Britannica. Temp Reforms.
Encyclopdia Britannica Inc. 2013. Accessed
September 17, 2013. http://www.britannica.com/
EBchecked/topic/586929/Tempo-reforms
Fensom, Sarah E. Lucid Dreams & Nightmares.Art & Antiques Worldwide Media, LLC.
October 2012. Accessed September 17, 2013.
http://www.artandantiquesmag.com/2012/10/
japanese-woodblock-prints/
Harris, Frederick. Ukiyo-e: The Art of the Japanese
Print. Tokyo: Tuttle, 2010.
Iwasaki, Michiko and Barre Toelken. Ghosts and
the Japanese Cultural Experience in Japanese Death
Legends. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press,
1994.
63
Japan Echo.Beauty and the Ghosts: Young Painter
Takes Japan's Art World by Storm.June 22, 2006.
Web Japan. Accessed September 14, 2013. http:
//web-japan.org/trends/arts/art060622.html
Jesse, Bernd. The Golden Age of the Utagawa School: Utagawa Kunisada and Utagawa Kuniyoshi.In Samurai Stars of the Stage and Beautiful Women: Kunisada and Kuniyoshi Masters of the
Color Woodblock Print, edited by Stiftung Museum
Kunstpalat, Gunda Luyken and Beat Wismer, 93101. Dsseldorf: Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2012.
Jordan, Brenda. Yrei: Tales of Female Ghosts.
In Japanese Ghosts and Demons: Art of the Supernatural, edited by Stephen Addis, 25-33. New York:
George Braziller Inc., 1985.
Liddell, C.B. Nihonga to Nihonga: Young, Fresh
and Traditional Artists.Japan Times. March 9,
2006. Accessed September 14, 2013. http://www.
japantimes.co.jp/culture/2006/03/09/culture/
young-fresh-and-traditional-japanese-artists/#.
UjUVUNJJ6s0
Meyer, Matthew. Artwork: Japanese Yokai.
Matthew Meyer.
2012.
Accessed September 16, 2013. http://matthewmeyer.net/artwork/
japanese-mythology/
Monstrous.com.
Japanese Ghosts.2011.
Accessed September 17, 2013.
http://ghosts.
monstrous.com/japanese_ghosts/all_pages.htm
Richie, Donald. The Japanese Ghost.In Yoshitoshis Thirty-six Ghosts, edited by John Stevenson,
6-9. New York: Blue Tiger, 1983.
Rubin, Norman A.Ghosts, Demons and Spirits in
Japanese Lore.Asianart.com. Accessed Sept. 9,
2013. http://www.asianart.com/articles/rubin/
Stevenson, John. Yoshitoshis Thirty-six Ghosts.
New York: Blue Tiger, 1983.
Schaap, Robert. Heroes and Ghosts: Japanese Prints
by Kuniyoshi 1797-1861. Leiden: Hotei Publishing,
1998.
Tenmyouya, Hisashi. " [Tenmyouya Hisashi].Accessed September 15, 2013.
http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~{}tenmyoya/biography/
biography.html
The Fitzwilliam Museum. Luxury and Censorship.Fitzwilliam Museum Kunisada and
Kabuki Web Site. Accessed September 17, 2013.
http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/gallery/japan/
gallery/info%20kun.htm
64
22.11 External links

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnveMIhKnSA
- link to YouTube video of interview with Mizuki
Shigeru on Japan's ghosts
CHAPTER 22. YREI-ZU
Female Ghost by Kunisada (1852)
65
66
CHAPTER 22. YREI-ZU
22.12 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

22.12.1
Text
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Treybien, Alphachimpbot, D.h, Brittany Ka, TomorrowTime, STBotD, Cnilep, Squalk25, Azukimonaka, AlleborgoBot, K.h.w.m, Android
Mouse Bot 3, Randy Kryn, Henry Merrivale, Kokuran, PipepBot, Mafuyu, Alexbot, Krinndnz, DumZiBoT, Addbot, Moocowsrule, Middayexpress, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Bunnyhop11, AnomieBOT, Ciphers, Xufanc, Xqbot, Anna Frodesiak, Slicrider, Kiyoweap, Thejfh1999,
ClueBot NG, El Monterrey, ZappaOMati, Cerabot, MaybeMaybeMaybe, Ireallylikekravmaga, Cyan samurai and Anonymous: 35
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David Gerard, Andycjp, Fg2, Marsian, Dark Shikari, Grenavitar, LordAmeth, Woohookitty, GlaucusAtlanticus, Shikai shaw, Marudubshinki, Rjwilmsi, MightyAtom, SmackBot, Nihonjoe, Hmains, Bluebot, Nbarth, Whipsandchains, Dekkappai, J Milburn, CmdrObot,
Cydebot, Treybien, Dugwiki, Cnilep, Torsodog, Trivialist, Nblschool, WikHead, Addbot, Mps, Middayexpress, Yobot, Anonymous from
the 21st century, Jezhotwells, EmausBot, , Helpful Pixie Bot, Tpoort, YFdyh-bot, MaybeMaybeMaybe, Obhor and Anonymous: 8
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Samw, Andrew Gray, Shawn in Montreal, 1ForTheMoney, FrescoBot, BG19bot, Sianljones and Anonymous: 1
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Falcon8765, Cnilep, AlleborgoBot, SieBot, Flyer22, Fratrep, Martarius, ClueBot, Mafuyu, Lysis rationale, Niceguyedc, John Nevard, King
Rhyono, Aitias, Bradv, Wanupi, Addbot, Willking1979, Favonian, Lightbot, Ettrig, Reenem, AnomieBOT, , Xufanc, Xqbot,
Kyuuketsuki kurai, AbigailAbernathy, HannesP, Ayiaearel, Bellerophon, Jabrona, LucienBOT, Seibun, Freebirds, LittleWink, Mileyangel321, EmausBot, Ballofstring, , Thine Antique Pen, L Kensington, Carmichael, Anarchial rayen, Lee Metta, ClueBot NG,
Nakamura Mondo, Snotbot, Ethereal Cheese, Wipedmaybe1, Widr, Kinaro, BG19bot, IluvatarBot, Dustinlull, MrBill3, Mmehuli, Happenstancial, Tomie Kawakami, Vid03, Cwobeel, Jamesvmm, Soggoth, MaybeMaybeMaybe, LordSouljaBoy, Deneb1996, FrozenIcicle96,
Housedeer, Archeryftw and Anonymous: 207
22.12. TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES
67
Mujina Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mujina?oldid=645580364 Contributors: Shii, Ahoerstemeier, Amcaja, Marshman, Nnh,

Gtrmp, Andycjp, Apostrophe, Grutness, Dominic, Cuchullain, Rjwilmsi, Sango123, JRice, Mitsukai, Gdrbot, Splintercellguy, Rtkat3,
Karasutengu, CambridgeBayWeather, K.C. Tang, SmackBot, Unknown Dragon, Underbar dk, Lisapollison, Soulkeeper, Kotengu, Xeno,
Exairetos, Faizhaider, Soulbot, ***Ria777, Cyktsui, TomorrowTime, AlleborgoBot, GirasoleDE, Sango4ever, IPAddressConict, Muro
Bot, Addbot, DOI bot, Luckas-bot, Yobot, AnomieBOT, Citation bot, Citation bot 1, Updatehelper, Alph Bot, John of Reading, ZroBot,
Thayora, Kevin Gorman, WNYY98, CitationCleanerBot, BattyBot, New questions, MaybeMaybeMaybe, Monkbot and Anonymous: 13
Ochimusha Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochimusha?oldid=620515173 Contributors: Fredbecker, Sfan00 IMG and BG19bot
Onry Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onry%C5%8D?oldid=638410934 Contributors: Michael Hardy, Emperor, Amcaja, Scott,
Emperorbma, Nnh, Arm, Aphaia, Whakum, Fg2, CALR, Grutness, TheParanoidOne, Jonniewilks, ReyBrujo, Ringbang, Angr, Rjwilmsi,
Lockley, TheIncredibleEdibleOompaLoompa, Mitsukai, Petrvs, Gdrbot, Bgwhite, Surge79uwf, George Leung, MightyAtom, GeeJo,
Katieh5584, SmackBot, Commander Keane bot, Manifestation, Haguremetaru, Cydebot, Noonleroo, Luizalves, Thijs!bot, WhiteCrane,
Nick Number, Jarkeld, Zahakiel, Kruegerrands, TomorrowTime, EarthRise33, VolkovBot, Kyriosity, TXiKiBoT, Cnilep, Jack Krauser,
Calliopejen1, Annlanding, Randy Kryn, Martarius, Ribbon Salminen, NiciVampireHeart, YuusukeLoveless, Serpentnight, Addbot, Luckasbot, Valerio79, AnomieBOT, Xufanc, SassoBot, LucienBOT, Endofskull, Welshsocialist, HRoestBot, Kiyoweap, El Mayimbe, EmausBot,
GoingBatty, AvicBot, Thayora, Tfabbo, ClueBot NG, Ethereal Cheese, Dream of Nyx, Chitt66, Helpful Pixie Bot, BG19bot, PhnomPencil, ALyttle, Duende-Poetry, BattyBot, Hmainsbot1, Caoimhequi, SFK2, MaybeMaybeMaybe, EvergreenFir, Mvhaha, Virgil1234,
Carmzgela, Simple splainer, Lion0414, Cameron1228, 09mcguinnessjor, Rudrarupmitra, MississippiSouth, CosmicAmerica, Petersoapes
and Anonymous: 50
Shirime Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirime?oldid=645635582 Contributors: Krzysiu, Gilliam, JoshuaZ, Dlohcierekim, Lenticel, BigHairRef, Cnilep, Gr8opinionater, DumZiBoT, Addbot, Happysmack, DSisyphBot, ClueBot NG, CanJP, MaybeMaybeMaybe and
Anonymous: 5
Shiry Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiry%C5%8D?oldid=589691093 Contributors: Rjwilmsi, Yobot, New questions, MrNiceGuy1113, Bardspopes2345 and Riddleh
Ubume Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubume?oldid=580766264 Contributors: MightyAtom, SmackBot, Shikino, Bluebot,
Thijs!bot, Kotengu, R'n'B, PC78, Cnilep, Muro Bot, Dudedubba, Addbot, Shinkansen Fan, AnomieBOT, ArthurBot, Anonymous from the
21st century, River-run, Haaninjo, Bxj, Arekusu, Crown Prince, Duende-Poetry, Khazar2, MaybeMaybeMaybe and Anonymous: 8
Ushi no toki mairi Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ushi%20no%20toki%20mairi?oldid=620505417 Contributors: BD2412,
Rjwilmsi, Bgwhite, SchreiberBike, Editor2020, AnomieBOT, Michitaro, Kiyoweap and BattyBot
Yotsuya Kaidan Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yotsuya%20Kaidan?oldid=645259626 Contributors: Scott, Nnh, David Gerard,
BalthCat, Andycjp, Fg2, Rich Farmbrough, Dark Shikari, LordAmeth, Woohookitty, Etacar11, Armagebedar, Psi edit, BD2412, MikeDockery, Mitsukai, MightyAtom, The Storm Surfer, Snek01, Joel7687, That Guy, From That Show!, SmackBot, Malkinann, Bluebot,
Germandemat, Saxbryn, Lenoxus, Adambiswanger1, J Milburn, Elyu, Mika1h, Outriggr, Myasuda, Riverdanceman, Cydebot, Treybien,
Barticus88, Hit bull, win steak, Modus Operandi, MER-C, Magioladitis, .nix, CommonsDelinker, Thedisappearingman, PC78, Doctor
Sunshine, TomorrowTime, Tweisbach, Marjil.smith, Cnilep, Ink Runner, Fruitariannnwf607, SpikeToronto, DumZiBoT, Staticshakedown,
Bilsonius, Arandia, Addbot, CarsracBot, Luckas-bot, Ciphers, Xufanc, LilHelpa, Xqbot, Jun Kayama, KazakhstanNice94, Shadowjams,
Michitaro, Unnecessary stu, Trappist the monk, EmausBot, GoingBatty, ZroBot, Thayora, ClueBot NG, Daninkyoto, Helpful Pixie Bot,
DoctorKubla, DinnerDude, MaybeMaybeMaybe, Mysterious Island and Anonymous: 50
Yuki-onna Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuki-onna?oldid=646017677 Contributors: Ubiquity, DopeshJustin, Angela, Amcaja,
Vroman, WhisperToMe, Zoicon5, JonathanDP81, Nnh, Yas, Pinnecco, Andycjp, Kusunose, Joyous!, Florian Blaschke, Apostrophe, Nsaa,
CyberSkull, Jonniewilks, Shimeru, Hijiri88, Bkkbrad, AnmaFinotera, Mitsukai, Chobot, Gdrbot, Surge79uwf, YurikBot, Rtkat3, MightyAtom, Grave Winds Fell, DragonNJMB, Welsh, Shiroi Hane, Nikkimaria, Wissenschaft, Rconroy, Fram, Allens, Borisbaran, SmackBot,
Shikino, Kintetsubualo, Colonies Chris, Eellee, Underbar dk, Evilgidgit, Fractyl, John, TheFarix, Sameboat, StrangerAtaru, Mishatx,
Urutapu, Cyrus XIII, Thijs!bot, Missvain, Lividore, AlmostReadytoFly, Cynwolfe, Exairetos, Msml, TKWizard, BambookidX, Dereklofn, Boob, Shiradine, Zahakiel, Erkan Yilmaz, PC78, TomorrowTime, Jjmorabrenes, Bnynms, VolkovBot, Octamo, Heavenwargod,
MassiveDamage, Cnilep, The Devil's Advocate, Azukimonaka, Mlvlatina, Neo Zeus, Fuddle, Hao-sama, Martarius, Mafuyu, PixelBot,
LonerXL, BOTarate, El bot de la dieta, Samurai Cerberus, XLinkBot, Serpentnight, Addbot, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Nallimbot, Shinkansen
Fan, AnomieBOT, Materialscientist, Xqbot, Anonymous from the 21st century, GrouchoBot, Ookmiueru, SassoBot, LordLiberation, Kiyoweap, Faded.roses, Pegase6969, ZroBot, FinalRapture, Syrio, DASHBotAV, ClueBot NG, Dream of Nyx, Shosetsuka, Helpful Pixie Bot,
Byteme90k, WestTxTapper, AngusWOOF, Duende-Poetry, spy On, AuthorCheyenneMoon, U-95, Kaileena Shahdee, Noblaum, Diddysama6, Mogism, MaybeMaybeMaybe, Madotsukii, Yamaneko22, Mist24, BethNaught, , Callumojo, Risu86 and Anonymous: 159
Yrei Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C5%ABrei?oldid=640272430 Contributors: Nanshu, Amcaja, Scott, Emperorbma, Jni,
Gwalla, DocWatson42, Andycjp, Toytoy, ClockworkLunch, Joyous!, Aknorals, Smalljim, Jonniewilks, Shadowolf, Shimeru, Hijiri88,
Angr, Aatox, Esper Ranger, TheIncredibleEdibleOompaLoompa, Ian Pitchford, Mitsukai, Gdrbot, Traianus, MightyAtom, Badagnani,
12Shark, SmackBot, Shikino, Nihonjoe, Kintetsubualo, Ziiv, Snowy150, Evilgidgit, Underpope, Hu12, TheFarix, Nehrams2020,
Hikui87, CmdrObot, Tim Long, ShelfSkewed, Iokseng, Aihtdikh, Cydebot, Treybien, Thijs!bot, Hit bull, win steak, Repli cant, Nekotripp,
Nick Number, Jj137, RainbowCrane, Exairetos, Ferritecore, Dshallard, Jigokudani, R'n'B, PC78, Nohansen, Naniwako, TomorrowTime,
Tweisbach, MMTD, Joeinwap, ACSE, Aymatth2, Cnilep, Insane Burner, ClueBot, Boing! said Zebedee, Ngebendi, Triple-Quadruple 2.0,
Halloween74, YuusukeLoveless, Addbot, Moocowsrule, Legobot, Middayexpress, TaBOT-zerem, Amirobot, AnomieBOT, Ciphers, Xufanc, Xqbot, Anna Frodesiak, J04n, Hyju, Ecelius, Elockid, , Diannaa, M. Adiputra, Mz7, L Kensington, ChuispastonBot, Arekusu,
EdoBot, ClueBot NG, Ethereal Cheese, Helpful Pixie Bot, BG19bot, TheShadowCrow, ChrisGualtieri, Curiouskitten, MaybeMaybeMaybe,
, TerryAlex and Anonymous: 82
Yrei-zu Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C5%ABrei-zu?oldid=639017921 Contributors: DocWatson42, Tikuko, Dthomsen8,
Yobot, Citation bot, Tadashie and Sianljones
22.12.2
Images
File:A_woman_makes_a_cursing_ritual_ceremony.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/A_woman_

makes_a_cursing_ritual_ceremony.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: [1] Original artist: Katsushika Hokusai ()
68
CHAPTER 22. YREI-ZU
File:Amaterasu_cave_wide.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Amaterasu_cave_wide.jpg License:

Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Book_collection.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Book_collection.jpg License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Buson_Nopperabo.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Buson_Nopperabo.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: scanned from ISBN 4-5829-2057-8. Original artist: Yosa Buson (, Japanese, *1716, 1784)
File:Commons-logo.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original
artist: ?
File:Edit-clear.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f2/Edit-clear.svg License: Public domain Contributors: The
Tango! Desktop Project. Original artist:
The people from the Tango! project. And according to the meta-data in the le, specically:Andreas Nilsson, and Jakub Steiner (although
minimally).
File:Female_Ghost.JPG Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Female_Ghost.JPG License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: Utagawa Kunisada
File:Flag_of_Japan.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original
artist: ?
File:Funazu_-_Yoshitoshi_ryakuga_-_Walters_95350.jpg
Source:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/
36/Funazu_-_Yoshitoshi_ryakuga_-_Walters_95350.jpg License:
Public domain Contributors:
Walters Art Museum:
<a
href='http://thewalters.org/' data-x-rel='nofollow'><img alt='Nuvola lesystems folder home.svg' src='//upload.wikimedia.
org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Nuvola_filesystems_folder_home.svg/20px-Nuvola_filesystems_folder_home.svg.png'
width='20'
height='20'
srcset='//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Nuvola_filesystems_folder_home.
svg/30px-Nuvola_filesystems_folder_home.svg.png
1.5x,
//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Nuvola_
filesystems_folder_home.svg/40px-Nuvola_filesystems_folder_home.svg.png
2x'
data-le-width='128'
data-le-height='128'
/></a> Home page <a href='http://art.thewalters.org/detail/32308' data-x-rel='nofollow'><img alt='Information icon.svg'
src='//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Information_icon.svg/20px-Information_icon.svg.png'
width='20'
height='20' srcset='//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Information_icon.svg/30px-Information_icon.svg.png 1.5x,
//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Information_icon.svg/40px-Information_icon.svg.png 2x' data-le-width='620'
data-le-height='620' /></a> Info about artwork Original artist: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
File:Hellish_Love_coverart.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/dc/Hellish_Love_coverart.jpg License: Fair use
Contributors:
http://www.rareflix.com/images/covers/5060014390097.jpg Original artist: ?
File:Hokuei_oiwa_lantern.gif Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b2/Hokuei_oiwa_lantern.gif License: PD-US Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Hokusai_Kohada_Koheiji.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Hokusai_Kohada_Koheiji.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: scanned from ISBN 4-3360-4636-0. Original artist: Katsushika Hokusai ()
File:Hokusai_Onryo.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Hokusai_Onryo.jpg License: Public domain
Contributors: scanned from ISBN 4-3360-4341-8. Original artist: Katsushika Hokusai ()
File:Hokusai_Sarayashiki.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Hokusai_Sarayashiki.jpg License: Public
domain Contributors: [1] Original artist: Hokusai
File:Japan-myth-stub.gif Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Japan-myth-stub.gif License: Public domain
Contributors:
Oni netsuke front.jpg Original artist:
redirect'>deerstop</a>.
<a href='//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Deerstop' title='User:Deerstop' class='mw-
File:Kuchisake-onna_conversation_diagram.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Kuchisake-onna_

conversation_diagram.svg License: CC BY-SA 4.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Benjamin Mako Hill
File:Kunisada_seals.JPG Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Kunisada_seals.JPG License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Contributors: Own work Original artist: Sianljones
File:Kunisada_signature.JPG Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Kunisada_signature.JPG License: CC
BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Sianljones
File:Kunisada_title.JPG Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Kunisada_title.JPG License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Contributors: Own work Original artist: Sianljones
File:Kuniyoshi_oiwa.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Kuniyoshi_oiwa.jpg License: Public domain
Contributors: English Wikipedia Original artist: Kuniyoshi
File:Kyosai_Funayurei.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Kyosai_Funayurei.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: scanned from 4-309-61382-9. Original artist: Kawanabe Kysai (, Japanse, *1831, 1889)
File:Masasumi_Rikonbyo.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Masasumi_Rikonbyo.jpg License: Public
domain Contributors: scanned from ISBN 978-4-336-05055-7. Original artist: (Japanese)
File:Oyuki.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6b/Oyuki.jpg License: PD-US Contributors:
Found at: http://eee.uci.edu/clients/sbklein/GHOSTS/html/edoghosts/pages/oyuki.html Original artist:
Maruyama kyo (1733-1795)
File:Peony_lantern.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f1/Peony_lantern.jpg License: PD-US Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
22.12. TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES
69
File:Question_book-new.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/99/Question_book-new.svg License: Cc-by-sa-3.0

Contributors:
Created from scratch in Adobe Illustrator. Based on Image:Question book.png created by User:Equazcion Original artist:
Tkgd2007
File:Ryoan_Mujina.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Ryoan_Mujina.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: scanned from ISBN 978-4-256-80466-7. Original artist: Terajima Ryan (, Japanese, *1654, ?)
File:SekienFunayurei.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/SekienFunayurei.jpg License: Public domain
Contributors: scanned from ISBN 4-336-03386-2. Original artist: Toriyama Sekien (, Japanese, *1712, 1788)
File:SekienHitodama.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/SekienHitodama.jpg License: Public domain
Contributors: scanned from ISBN 4-336-03386-2. Original artist: Toriyama Sekien (, Japanese, *1712, 1788)
File:SekienIkiryo.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/SekienIkiryo.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: www.linet.gr.jp/.../ikiryou.jpg, the source URL Original artist: Toriyama Sekien (, Japanese, *1712, 1788)
File:SekienMujina.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/SekienMujina.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: scanned from ISBN 4-336-03386-2. Original artist: Toriyama Sekien (, Japanese, *1712, 1788)
File:SekienShiryo.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/SekienShiryo.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: source URL Original artist: Toriyama Sekien (, Japanese, *1712, 1788)
File:SekienUshi-no-tokimairi.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/SekienUshi-no-tokimairi.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: scanned from ISBN 4-336-03386-2. Original artist: Toriyama Sekien (, Japanese, *1712,
1788)
File:SekienYukionna.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/SekienYukionna.jpg License: Public domain
Contributors: scanned from ISBN 4-0440-5101-1. Original artist: Toriyama Sekien
File:Shimobe_Fudesuke_and_the_Ghost_of_the_Woman_in_the_Waterfall_LACMA_M.84.31.442.jpg
Source:
http:
//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Shimobe_Fudesuke_and_the_Ghost_of_the_Woman_in_the_Waterfall_LACMA_M.
84.31.442.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:
Image: http://collections.lacma.org/sites/default/files/remote_images/piction/ma-31817497-O3.jpg Original artist: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
(Japan, 1839-1892)
File:Shunkosai_Hokuei_Obake.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Shunkosai_Hokuei_Obake.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
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File:Sorori_wandering_soul.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Sorori_wandering_soul.jpg License:
Public domain Contributors: scanned from ISBN 978-4-00-302572-7. Original artist: Unknown
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File:Suushi_Inugami.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Suushi_Inugami.jpg License: Public domain
Contributors: scanned from ISBN 4-3360-4187-3. Original artist: Sawaki Suushi (, Japanese, *1707, 1772)
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File:Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Text_document_
with_red_question_mark.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Created by bdesham with Inkscape; based upon Text-x-generic.svg
from the Tango project. Original artist: Benjamin D. Esham (bdesham)
File:Torii_of_Itsukushima.png Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Torii_of_Itsukushima.png License: CCBY-SA-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Toriyama_Ubume.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fc/Toriyama_Ubume.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Tosa_bakemonoehon_Funayurei.jpg Source:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Tosa_bakemonoehon_
Funayurei.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Anoyo Ykai Onmyoji(, Japanese book) Original
artist: Unknown
File:Tukioka_yositosi-yuurei.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Tukioka_yositosi-yuurei.jpg License:
Public domain Contributors: Original artist: 1839-1892
File:Utamaro_Yama-uba_and_Kintaro_3.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Utamaro_Yama-uba_
and_Kintaro_3.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Wikiquote-logo.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg License: Public domain
Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
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22.12.3
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Ghosts of Japan

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Contents

Ningy Jruri version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Okamoto Kido version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Okiku and Ukiyo-e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Inuences on Japanese culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Otogi Boko version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Inuences and references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

From the view of folkloristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Theories on their true identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Similar legends outside Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Ghost of Oyuki

Regional near-death spirits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Similar activity or phenomena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10.3 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11.1 The modern urban legend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11.2 In popular culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11.2.1 Live action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11.2.2 Manga and anime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11.2.3 Other appearances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11.3 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11.5 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

12.3 Sightings in Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

12.4 Other uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

12.5 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13.2 Modern Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13.3 In popular culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

14.1 Origin of onry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

14.2 Onry vengeance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

14.2.1 Examples of onry vengeance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

14.3 Physical appearance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

14.5.1 Explanatory notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

14.7 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

15.2 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

16.3 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

17.1 Ubume in folklore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

17.2 Ubume in literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

17.3 Ubume in art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

17.6 Suggested reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

17.7 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

18 Ushi no toki mairi

18.2.1 Curse using dolls in antiquity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

18.4 Popular art

18.5 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

18.6.1 Explanatory notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

19.3 Historical basis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

19.5 Ghost of Oiwa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

19.6 Yotsuya Kaidan and ukiyo-e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

19.7 Film adaptations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

19.8 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

20.2.1 Lafcadio Hearn's version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

20.3 In popular culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

20.4 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

20.6 External references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

21.1 Japanese afterlife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

21.3.2 Buddhist ghosts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

21.4.1 Famous hauntings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

21.6 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

21.8 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

22.2 Historical background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

22.3 Yrei-zu and theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

22.5 Yrei-zu physical characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

22.6.1 The Ghost of Oyuki . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

22.6.2 Other Edo artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .