Yurei Attack!: The Japanese Ghost Survival Guide

by Hiroko Yoda

  Surviving an Encounter

  Simple: tell less than 100 stories! At the peak of Hyaku Monogatari’s popularity in the mid-Nineteenth century, participants customarily stopped at 99 stories, spending whatever remained of the night hours chatting and waiting for sunrise. This was in large part an attempt to make the game more appealing for those who liked scary stories but didn’t want to run into any actual spooks.

  The 1666 story collection "Otogiboko” describes a terrifying winter session of Hyaku Monogatari. Five men gathered and completed the game; suddenly, amidst the snow swirling outside their window countless tiny lights began to glow like fireflies. The strange phosphorescent particles entered the room and began to converge in a corner, forming a sphere whose surface turned smooth like that of a mirror. Almost as soon as it manifested, the sphere shattered with a sound so unsettling to human ears that it knocked the men senseless. They were revived by family members, but there was no sign of lights or fragments. The event remains unexplained.

  Hokusai’s portryal of a Hyakumonogatari session gone horribly wrong... Or right? (Woodblock print, circa 1780.)

  ______________________

  †† As gathering one hundred lanterns is quite a task, candles alone are permissible as well.

  ‡‡ This is the oldest known version of the game; later generations dropped the requirement for blue clothing, so this can be considered optional.

  Dangerous Games: 32

  JAPANESE CURSES

  Dangerous Games: 32

  JAPANESE CURSES

  Name in Japanese: 丑の刻参り

  a.k.a. Ushinokoku-mairi (transliteration) “A Shrine-Visit at the Hour of the Ox” (translation); “Japanese voodoo doll”; “Japanese poppet”

  Type of Activity: Curse

  First Described: Wooden dolls with nail marks have been dated to at least A.D. 700s

  Peak of Interest: Still going strong, among a certain set

  Things You’ll Need: A straw doll; White robes; Seven “gosun-kugi” (large iron nails); Three candles; A “gotoku” (iron brazier); White facial powder or paint; A tree; A full moon; A heart full of anger

  Result of Playing: Horrible things happening to target

  Threat Level: Just how angry are you?

  Claim to Fame

  Cultures and religions around the world describe methods of targeting individuals for harm or misfortune. Some of the most famous in the Western world include so-called voodoo dolls and “jinxes” from African-American folk religion, the “evil eye” curses of some African, European, and Mediterranean cultures, and the “hexes” of the Pennsylvania Dutch.

  The Japanese have the Ushinokoku-mairi. The term literally means “Visiting the Shrine at the Hour of the Ox,” the latter being an archaic measure of time that corresponds to the period from 1 to 3 in the morning. Synonymous with curses in Japan, it is perfect for those who want to bring the wrath of the supernatural down on a cheating mate, perceived enemy, duplicitous friend, etc., etc., without all the hassle of dying and becoming a yurei themselves.

  The ritual is complicated. Its origins date back well over a millennium. The very first individual to carry it out was a woman infuriated at her philandering husband, guided by a Shinto priest who divined its particulars in a strange dream. (Incidentally, this woman was so successful at her task that she transformed into a yokai. She is known as “Hashi-Hime,” the Bridge Princess, for her penchant of ambushing victims on bridges. (For more information about her, see Yokai Attack!)

  Here’s how it works.

  First! Make Your Own Curse-Doll!

  1) Divide straw into two bundles, one slightly thinner than the other.

  2) Thread the thinner bundle through the other to form a cross shape.

  3) Use thread to tie off the ends of the thinner bundle to form “hands.”

  4) Separate the thicker bundle into two parts and tie each off to form “feet.”

  5) You’re ready for action.

  Next! Preparing a Curse the Old-Fashioned Way

  1) Wash your hair carefully to remove all oil. (This isn’t a bad idea to do from time to time, even if you aren’t cursing someone.)

  2) Don an all-white kimono. Dangle a mirror on your chest like a necklace. Clench a comb in your teeth. Wear one-toothed geta sandals.

  3) Invert gotoku brazier, set and light candles on each of its three feet, and place atop your head like a crown. (If you can’t find a brazier, you can tie a length of cloth around your head and slide a single candle in on either side. Don’t forget to light them. And watch that squeaky-clean hair.)

  4) Take up the wooden mallet in one hand, and the curse-doll you prepared above in the other. Don’t forget to bring the nails along.

  5) Run like heck to the nearest shrine known for accepting curses (such as Kifune Shrine, in Kyoto).

  6) Once on shrine grounds, remove the geta and go barefoot.

  7) Await the Hour of the Ox (which lasts from 1am to 3 am.) (Tip! If you don’t feel like loitering around with a curse-doll and mallet in broad daylight, wait until just before the Hour of the Ox to make your sprint over.)

  8) At the Hour of the Ox, pound the doll to a tree with one of the iron nails. Make sure nobody sees what you are doing. As you pound the nail into the doll, feel free to curse the individual aloud (sample curses: “You idiot!” “You two-timing cheater!” “You toilet-seat-leaver-upper!”)

  9) Return every night at the same time for six additional days (seven in total), in full regalia, and pound an additional nail into the doll. Don’t hesitate to elaborate on the curses during these times.

  10) Voila! The curse is complete.

  Tips

  Pounding nails into various parts of the doll will affect the corresponding body parts of the curse-ee. (Is that a word?) For example, nailing the leg will cause leg problems; the chest, heart problems; the crotch, uh, crotch problems... Avoid driving a spike into the doll’s head unless you truly want the individual dead.

  Another rule of thumb: try to avoid hitting spots on the doll that correspond to the chakras of the human body. Hitting the doll’s shoulder chakra, for example, could well have the effect of curing the victim’s stiff neck.

  Trivia

  Kyoto’s Jishu Jinja, located in the shadow of world-famous Kiyomizudera Temple, is famed for making — and breaking — ties between lovers. Today, it’s mainly visited by singles in search of a husband or wife. But in times of old, a certain large tree behind the main shrine building was one of the city’s most popular ushinokoku-mairi spots. You most probably won’t see any dolls there, but you can see the holes left in the tree’s trunk from countless curse-ceremonies conducted over the ages.

  Compu-Curses

  For those too busy to actually weave their own curse-dolls and gather the necessary items, a variety of websites offer convenient pre-prepared curse kits containing all of the basic implements one needs to carry out their dirty deed. Some sites even helpfully offer to conduct the curse themselves, complete with video so that you can gloat over the proceedings at your leisure. Prices start at around ¥10,000 (US $115) for a starter kit. Note: sending said DVD to the intended victim can potentially get you in serious trouble with the law. While few in the modern era truly believe preparing a curse-doll can actually cause physical harm, the psychological effects on the target are another matter altogether. In certain cases, cursing someone can be seen as a criminal threat, as you can see below.

  Surviving a Curse

  Let’s take a look at a real-life criminal case involving a curse.

  Akita Prefecture, 1954. When young Yoshie Tanaka collapsed from sudden chest pains, her boyfriend Tetsuya Yamamoto filed a report with his local police department. Claiming that she was the victim of a curse, he explained that his former girlfriend, a woman by the name of Kiyoko Hotta, was taking out her frustrations on Tanaka to repay Yamamoto for having dumped Kiyoko several months prior. The police duly conducted an investigation. Discovering a nail-studded straw doll in her pos
session, they arrested Hotta for suspicion of making threats. Upon her arrest, Hotta’s physical complaints completely disappeared and she returned to perfect health. Doctors believe she merely suffered from believing in the curse – in other words, the placebo effect. But the actual truth may never be known.

  Dangerous Games: 33

  KOKKURI SAN

  Dangerous Games: 33

  KOKKURI SAN

  Name in Japanese: 狐狗狸さん

  a.k.a. Japanese Table-Turning; Japanese Ouija; Japanese Séances

  Type of Game: Parlor game

  Origin: 1884

  Peaks of Interest: Meiji era (Late 1800s) Showa era (Mid- 1970s)

  Things You’ll Need: (Meiji era version) 3 bamboo or wooden sticks roughly 16 inches (40cm) each; Round rice-pot lid; Cloth (preferably white); (Showa era version) White paper; Ten-yen coin

  Type of Phenomena: Spirit communication; Spirit possession

  Threat Level: Depends on who you contact

  Claim to Fame

  A form of spiritual divination that enjoyed two booms of popularity in Japan, once in the late 1800s and again in the 1970s. In its earliest form, it involved a makeshift device used in a manner similar to 19th century table-tilting séances; in its later incarnation, it reappeared in a form reminiscent of the Western style Ouija board.

  Before we get into the nitty-gritty of Kokkuri-san, we have to discuss its roots in Spiritualism, an occult-religious movement that swept the world in the late 19th century and still exists today, albeit much reduced in scope.

  The story begins in March of 1848, when a series of strange occurrences in the town of Hydesville, New York captivated the United States. A pair of teenage sisters, Maggie and Kate Fox, managed to convince their family, friends, and a growing circle of strangers that they had the ability to contact the spirit world. Simply via the expedient of snapping their fingers, the girls seemed to be able to compel an invisible spirit to respond to their questions by rapping — not of the MC-and-DJ variety, but rather by making a knocking sound. Conjuring up one-if-for-yes and two-if-for-no style responses to questions from their neighbors, the girls claimed the spirit was that of a man who had been murdered decades earlier by the home’s prior owner.

  Before long, their older sister stepped in as their manager, arranging sensational (and lucrative) public séances that swept the mass media. Within a few years, the idea that nearly anyone could initiate direct contact with the spirits of the departed gave rise to a new religious movement dubbed Spiritualism. At its peak in 1897, some eight million people subscribed to Spiritualist beliefs; a séance was even held in the White House, attended by no less than Abraham Lincoln.

  Chief among Spiritualism’s tools for contacting the world beyond was a parlor game called “Table-Turning,” also known as “Table-Tipping” or “Table-Rapping.” This involves a group of people sitting around a table with their fingers resting along the top edge. The leader of the séance verbally asks for spirits to make contact. In response, the table may vibrate, pivot, or rise and drop. Traditionally, the “spirits” communicated answers to questions by shaking or dropping the table as letters of the alphabet were called out. The practice originated in the United States and eventually spread to other countries.

  Table-turning reached Japanese shores in 1884. That is the date famed paranormal researcher Inoue Enryo theorized that it was introduced via the port of Shimoda by a group of foreign sailors, who played the game to while away the hours as their ship was repaired from storm damage. Unable to understand or even pronounce the words “Table Turning,” locals dubbed the game “Kokkuri,” perhaps taken from the onomatopoeia for a nodding motion.

  Kokkuri-san (as it came to be affectionately known) spread like wildfire throughout Japan. Before long, fans of the game re-christened the word with three characters: fox§§ (ko = 狐), dog (ku = 狗), and tanuki (ri = 狸), animals believed to possesses a host of spooky supernatural powers. (See Yokai Attack! for a detailed run-down of the tricks these wily rascals like to play on humans.)

  Within a few years, Kokkuri-san exploded into a full-fledged pop-cultural phenomenon. Kokkuri literature attempted to explain the “science” behind the game by using theories such as “human electricity.” Specialty shops stocked and sold the necessary equipment. There were even Kokkuri schools, which purported to teach novices how to play. The craze peaked in the late 1880s, but never disappeared from the collective consciousness.

  Nearly a century later, a new version of Kokkuri-san would sweep the nation once again. The 1970s saw a worldwide resurgence of interest in things supernatural, and Japan was no exception. Horror films such as “The Exorcist,” “The Omen,” and “The Shining” drew sellout crowds. Paranormally-themed manga and magazines filled bookstore shelves. Psychics such as Uri Geller captivated audiences in live and televised performances. Against this backdrop, perhaps it shouldn’t be any surprise that Kokkuri-san re-emerged to enchant legions of schoolchildren (and undoubtedly more than a few adults) throughout Japan. It is the quintessential late-night slumber party activity, a modern version of parlor games like the Hyaku Monogatari (see p.136).

  How to Play

  There are two different ways of playing Kokkuri-san. See the list of materials at top.

  1) Original method (Meiji era: 1880s). This version of the game is considered archaic and is not widely practiced anymore.

  The three bamboo sticks are arranged in a free-standing tripod. The rice-pot lid is balanced atop them and covered with the sheet of cloth.

  The participants kneel on the floor facing the device with the fingers of one hand gently resting along its edge. A leader asks questions of the spirits; if one is contacted, it is addressed with simple yes-or-no questions to which it responds by causing vibrations, clattering, or lifting of one of the legs. Traditionally, questions proceeded along the lines of whether any of the participants or their friends might suffer misfortunes, changes in the weather (“raise a leg if it will rain tomorrow”), and the like.

  2) Modern method (Showa era: 1970s). You will need to prepare a Kokkuri-san sheet. This is a piece of paper marked with a Torii gate symbol at top, flanked by the Japanese words for “yes” and “no,” with the letters of the Japanese alphabet in columns beneath. (You can write it out by hand yourself.) This is placed atop a table, and a ten-yen coin is placed atop the torii symbol. The participants — usually no more than three — each place a finger lightly atop the coin.

  The leader initiates contact by saying “Kokkuri-san, kokkuri-san, if you are here please indicate ‘yes.’” Success results in the coin moving from the torii mark to the “yes” mark, at which point it can be queried to spell out a response. (The system is generally identical to that of a Ouija board and its accompanying planchette pointer.)

  Trivia

  There is a totally unfounded rumor that warlord Oda Nobunaga engaged in a version of Kokkuri-san, but given that he died in 1581, this is undoubtedly wishful thinking.

  The Attack

  The alleged danger of activities such as these is that the spirits one encounters may not be willing to go gentle into that good night, either forcing the participants to continue playing against their will or (worstcase scenario here) possessing them body and soul.

  Surviving an Encounter

  The conventional wisdom on avoiding problems with Kokkuri-san is as follows.

  1) Never abandon a Kokkuri-san session in the middle. See rule 5.

  2) Participants must remain in contact with the coin no matter how fast it moves.

  3) The Kokkuri sheet must be shredded and discarded at the end of a session.

  4) The ten-yen coin must be spent within the day.

  5) Sessions must be ended with a proper show of respect: “Thank you for coming. Please return now.” If the coin does not move back to the torii mark, repeat the request until it does. See rule 1.

  Simply scrumpling it up like this is not enough!! It needs to be torn to pieces!!

  __________
____________

  §§ Foxes.... Fox sisters. Coincidence? Or sign of strange powers at play?

  Dangerous Games: 34

  HANGONKO

  Dangerous Games: 34

  HANGONKO

  Name in Japanese: 返魂香

  a.k.a. Soul-summoning incense: (Transliteration); Hangon Incense; Hankonko (alternate reading of kanji); Hankon Incense; Fan Hung Hisang (in Chinese); Wizard-incense (Lafcadio Hearn’s interpretation)

  Used for: Summoning of the dead

  First Described: 16th century

  Peak of Interest: Unknown, but really, it’s a timeless sort of desire

  Things You’ll Need: Hangon Incense an incense burner, a specific dead person you want to contact

  Result of Use: The ability to see a deceased loved one

  Threat Level: Low physically; potentially quite high psychologically

  Claim to Fame

  Although the power of making visible the forms of the dead has been claimed for one sort of incense only, the burning of any kind of incense is supposed to summon viewless spirits in multitude. - Lafcadio Hearn, In Ghostly Japan, 1899

  Hangonko is a legendary form of incense supposedly hailing from the distant borders of Western China, capable of summoning a dead soul back to the world of the living for a brief time when burned.