Yes, Asian culture is particularly macabre when it comes to horror stories, especially Japanese urban legends. It is for this reason that today we bring you some of the most popular and told stories from Japan. Not all of them are terrifying, but some earn their place because of the particular details that they come to possess. Join us in Supercurioso on this tour.
Top 5 Japanese Urban Legends
One of the aspects that most characterizes the Japanese culture They are the horror and fantasy stories that are passed from generation to generation. Many of the legends have even been the source of ideas for some of the biggest blockbuster movies in Hollywood.
However, for sure there is no way to define if these types of stories are real or not, as is the case with all legends and myths. What is definitive is that they are unique stories, with a high level of detail, which generates fear and respect among the most believing population. Next, we will show you the most particular of Japan.
1. Yuki-onna, among the most popular Japanese urban stories
yuki onna is a beautiful woman who appears in the mountains during the coldest nights. This woman is said to have incomparable beauty: fair skin, long black hair, and wears a white kimono. Also, as is common in Japanese urban legends, this spirit does not have feet, so she appears to be floating, giving her a more terrifying appearance.
Yuki-onna seems to appear to travelers floating above the snow. This spirit diverts men from their path until they get lost and die of cold. He also usually gets into the car of his victims and with his icy breath freezes them and takes their lives.
It is also said to blow down entrances to homes with its powerful icy blasts, freezing residents instantly. Other versions relate that Yuki-onna kidnaps young children in order to attract her parents. When they find her son in the lap of the spirit, they are immediately frozen, thus showing the more malevolent side of her.
Is it revenge that drives this spirit to act this way? Apparently not, just Yuki-onna takes great pleasure in seeing her victims die.. Other versions explain that he does it to keep their souls or to have more strength. Be that as it may, it is better to walk in the Japanese mountains with great caution.
2. Rokurokubi, one of the most feared Japanese urban legends
Rokurokubi is a female monster who is a beautiful woman by day, but when night falls he transforms and his true grotesque and demonic appearance comes out. The main characteristic of this monster is its long neck, but when we say long, we mean that it is extremely long, flexible and highly durable.
Apparently this woman in life had the terrible habit of spying on her neighbors, for which she was condemned to be a lost soul. The Rokurokubi usually comes out at night to scare and feed on the energy and blood of human beings, especially those who in one way or another broke the precepts of Buddhism.
Nonetheless, the Rokurokubi aren’t all evil. Some come to want their life in the day as human beings, having to carry the weight of their yōkai nature. However, it is not a general rule, since there are others who cannot even remember their curse and believe that they live a normal life. That is, they do their acts while they are asleep.
They have the ability to lengthen their neck, which can be moved throughout the length of the house where they are inhabited. In this way, they can commit their misdeeds that range from absorbing the life of living beings, scaring them or consuming the oil of the lamps.
It is said that women who have this evil nature, they live the memories through their dreams where they have a different point of view of some room. On the other hand, those who have this curse are destined to suffer in love, since their lovers are scared when they discover what they really are.
Legend has it that these creatures die if they are unable to return to their bodies before dawn. Therefore, one way to kill them is to get rid of their body or hide them to make it difficult for them to return.
3. Yama-uba, a very dark legend
Yama-uba is an old woman whose appearance looks like that of a witch. This spirit usually appears in a tattered kimono, long, white and unkempt hair and a very large mouth that occupies almost his entire face. Although it is also said that this woman can change her appearance to attract and capture her victims, whom she of course kills for revenge.
Apparently this legend goes back to the times when famine hit the Japanese very hard. Faced with this situation, many of them took the elderly out of their homes and took them to the woods to later abandon them forever, that way they would have one less mouth to feed.
4. Kuchisake-onna, one of the best Japanese urban legends
Her name in particular means “woman with the slit mouth”, or very similar. Kuchisake-onna is one of the most told legends, although its origin has not been clarified over time, quite the contrary. However, she is one of the most well-known female demons.
In essence, they tell the story of a woman who was savagely mutilated in life at the hands of her husband who returned as an evil spirit. On the other hand, there is also a version that narrates a woman who was found with a cut in her mouth after suffering a car accident.
Per se, Legend has it that this woman makes her appearances wearing a surgical mask. This detail in particular is not very strange in the Asian region, since in the culture of Japan it is very common to avoid colds or illnesses.
It is said that the Kuchisake-onna’s main targets are children, who she stops to ask if they find her attractive. Depending on the answer, the woman will react one way or another. In that sense, if the young man answers no, she will proceed to decapitate you with scissors. But if she, on the other hand, answers yes, she will take off her mask and show her severed mouth, and then ask the same question again.
Likewise, all endings remain tragic. At that point, if you answer no, it will cut you in half. Instead, if she tells him again that she is attractive, she will smile kindly and give you a cut from ear to ear to make you look like her.
5. Teke Teke, a legend of the most curious
One of the most curious and popular Japanese urban legends of terror is that of Teke Teke. It tells the story of a young student who was the victim of an accident on the train tracks, where she lost half of her body.
The origin of its name is due to the fact that, when it moves or crawls, it produces a particular sound by moving its shoulders and hands that sounds like: tek…tek…tek. Don’t be fooled by the fact that half of his body is missing, as Teke Teke has great speed and perseverance to chase you down. Her goal will be to reach you and make you suffer the same as her: split you in half. That way, you can avoid your feeling of loneliness and you will have a companion.
What do you think of these Japanese urban legends? Have they scared you? Or are they particularly curious? What is certain is that the Japanese population has a great gift for creating horror stories, so entertainment is guaranteed. Leave us in the comments if you know of any other legends!