Japanese Ghost Stories: Spirits, Hauntings, and Paranormal Phenomena

by Catrien Ross

  But first there is the problem of Oiwa. The girl’s grandfather persuades Iyemon to give the delicate Oiwa what he claims to be a health tonic. Iyemon knows what this really means—that the tonic is, in reality, a virulent poison—but his desire and greed hold sway. One night, he puts the “medicine” into Oiwa’s food. Before she dies in agony, Oiwa is shown her face in a mirror. The poison has dreadfully disfigured the right side of her lovely face. Her ensuing rage and resentment are the violent emotions which will fuel her vengeance as a ghost.

  Iyemon’s wickedness continues. Aware that his servant knows of his crime, Iyemon accuses the man of stealing a family heirloom, using this as a pretext for murdering him. He then nails the bodies of Oiwa and the servant to two sides of a wooden door, which he throws into a nearby river. Now he can receive his new bride. In the play, as the wedding celebration begins, Iyemon approaches the girl and lifts her headdress, only to look into the horrific visage of Oiwa. The startled bridegroom draws his sword, slashing off the bride’s head. He then runs to tell her grandfather, but blocking his path is his murdered servant. Iyemon strikes out again, only to find that he has cut off the head of his neighbor.

  In another version, the ghost of Oiwa begins to haunt the new lovers night after night, wailing and howling in ghostly misery. Unable to stand the torment of this vengeful apparition any longer, the samurai one evening rushes out into the yard, sword in hand. There, standing before him, is the figure of his murdered wife, her twisted face visible in the moonlight. Crazed, the samurai advances and strikes her dead. At last, he has gotten rid of Oiwa, once and for all. Yet, as he rolls the body over in triumph, he screams with a terrible terror. At his feet lies the still-warm corpse of his new wife.

  The kabuki play shows Iyemon being relentlessly pursued by Oiwa. Her twisted face appears everywhere, even in a lantern which sways over his head. There is no escape from her ghost. One day he goes fishing in the river and hooks a large board. Predictably, it is the wooden door with the bodies of Oiwa and the servant nailed to it. Completely broken, Iyemon retreats to a mountain cottage. But even here there is no peace. Around him, vines and ropes come alive as writhing snakes. Flowers seem like accusing eyes. Smoke turns into strands of Oiwa’s hair. Iyemon, by now, welcomes his own death, which finally comes at the hands of Oiwa’s brother.

  But while Iyemon’s other victims might have been avenged, Oiwa’s ghost seems unappeased. In modern Japan, for example, legend has it that there are many odd happenings whenever a movie is made about her life. As a ghost story Yotsuya Kaidan remains enormously popular, still performed today on stage and in film. Japanese people look forward to the special version which is aired at midnight each August during Obon. And so far, it is said, every movie production has encountered a series of inexplicable problems both on and off the set. For instance, there was the film that disappeared, the series of fires, and the several mysterious mechanical failures. These goings-on always stopped as soon as the cast, the film crew, and especially the actors and actresses visited Oiwa’s shrine in Yotsuya to pay respects.

  Despite several troubling occurrences on the set, one director reportedly dismissed it all as superstitious nonsense—until he fell and broke both his legs. And the actor Peter Alexander’s imitation of Oiwa was said to be so effective that coactors and friends warned him about appeasing her spirit. The writer Denny Sargent recalls being invited to Alexander’s home one evening to witness the havoc wreaked in the room, with several large potted plants uprooted and a folding screen thrown over and ripped in numerous places. Yet there were no signs of forced entry or even the slightest wind to explain the damage. A journey to Oiwa’s shrine restored peace to this actor’s life, and there has been no similar trouble since. But although she can be very scary for adults who meet her on a dark, Tokyo street, Oiwa is believed able to protect women and children. Her grave in Sugamo and her shrine in Yotsuya are constantly filled with devotional offerings of candles and flowers. There is also supposed to be an unknown woman who has spent her entire life taking care of Oiwa’s grave. And so in Tokyo today the Oiwa mystery remains, a haunting reminder of a love gone wrong.

  Another favorite tale is Bancho Sarayashiki, about a plate-counting ghost called Okiku. This story has many versions. Sometimes Okiku is a servant falsely accused of breaking a plate by a jealous wife. Or she is the daughter of the owner of the plates, and is thrown into a well for breaking one of them. Or she is the object of lust of a samurai who uses the number of plates as an excuse for murdering her and throwing her body down a well. The hapless Okiku returns as a ghost pathetically counting the plates, which should number ten: one plate, two plates, three plates, four plates, five plates, six plates, seven plates, eight plates, nine plates. The ghost then sobs frantically before she begins counting again, a pattern repeated over and over in her desperation to find the missing tenth plate. In one story a friend of the family who heard about the haunting waited at night until Okiku started counting. When she reached nine and before she could sob, he jumped out and shouted “TEN!” With this he frees the ghost from her obsession and puts her to rest.

  A poignant rendering of the Okiku story is written by Kido Okamoto. Here Okiku is a servant in the house of Aoyama Harima, a samurai who boasts a precious heirloom in his set of ten Korean dishes. It was believed that if all ten dishes were broken, then the Aoyama family would meet total ruin.

  Aoyama is in love with his servant, and has promised her marriage, but Okiku remains doubtful of his sincerity. She decides to test his love by deliberately breaking one dish and saying it was an accident. The Aoyama family also deemed that whoever broke one of the precious plates would be put to death, but Aoyama refused to kill Okiku. The family’s old retainer, Judayu, however, learns that a servant had witnessed Okiku smashing the plate against a pillar and informs Aoyama, who questions her again. Okiku admits she did it to test his love for her. Aoyama is furious and prepares to kill her. When asked by two other servants to spare her life, Aoyama explains that it is not just a matter of broken plates. He orders them to bring several other plates, which he himself breaks. He then unsheathes his sword and kills Okiku. Thereafter the blue light of her hito dama is seen hovering above the well in the garden. The fortunes of the Aoyama family go from bad to worse until at last the day comes when Aoyama is forced to commit suicide. Before dying he takes a stroll in the garden where he encounters the hito dama and also the ghost of Okiku. Asking her to show her face he sees that it is beautiful and calm, bearing no grudge against him. Taking strength from this he calls for his two oldest servants, the faithful Judayu and Gonji, offering them money and the chance to find a new master. Gonji refuses and decides to commit seppuku, after Aoyama. Judayu opts to become a monk. And Aoyama kills himself and joins the spirit of Okiku in eternity.

  TUTTLE CLASSICS

  LITERATURE (* = for sale in Japan only)

  ABE, Kobo 安部公房

  The Face of Another 他人の顔 ISBN 978-4-8053-0120-3 *

  Friend 友達 ISBN 978-4-8053-0648-2*

  Inter Ice Age 4 第四間氷期 ISBN 978-4-8053-0268-2*

  The Ruined Map 燃えつきた地図 ISBN 978-4-8053-0654-3*

  Secret Rendezvous 密会 ISBN 978-4-8053-0472-3*

  The Woman in the Dunes 砂の女 ISBN 978-4-8053-0900-1*

  AKUTAGAWA, Ryunosuke 芥川龍之介

  Japanese Short Stories 芥川龍之介短編集 ISBN 978-4-8053-0464-8*

  Kappa 河童 ISBN 978-4-8053-0901-8*

  Rashomon and Other Stories 羅生門 ISBN 978-4-8053-0882-0

  DAZAI, Osamu 太宰治

  Crackling Mountain and Other Stories 太宰治短編集 ISBN 978-0-8048-3342-4; 978-4-8053-1018-2*

  No Longer Human 人間失格 ISBN 978-4-8053-1017-5*

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sp; Foreign Studies 留学 ISBN 978-0-8048-1626-7*

  The Golden Country 黄金の国 ISBN 978-0-8048-3337-0*

  A Life of Jesus イエスの生涯 ISBN 978-4-8053-0668-0*

  Scandal スキャンダル ISBN 978-4-8053-0620-8*

  The Sea and Poison 海と毒薬 ISBN 978-4-8053-0330-6*

  Stained Glass Elegies 短編集 ISBN 978-4-8053-0624-6*

  Volcano 火山 ISBN 978-4-8053-0664-2*

  When I Whistle 口笛を吹くとき ISBN 978-4-8053-0627-7*

  HEARN, Lafcadio ラフカディオ・ハーン

  Glimpses of Umfamiliar Japan 知られざる日本の面影 ISBN 978-4-8053-1025-0

  In Ghostly Japan 霊の日本 ISBN 978-0-8048-3661-6; 978-4-8053-0749-6*

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  KAWABATA, Yasunari 川端康成

  Beauty and Sadness 美しさと哀しみと ISBN 978-4-8053-0394-8 *

  The Izu Dancer and Other Stories 伊豆の踊り子 ISBN 978-4-8053-0744-1*

  The Master of Go 名人 ISBN 978-4-8053-0673-4*

  The Old Capital 古都 ISBN 978-4-8053-0972-8*

  The Palm-of-the-Hand Stories 掌の小説 ISBN 978-4-8053-0653-6*

  Snow Country 雪国 ISBN 978-4-8053-0635-2*

  Thousand Cranes 千羽鶴 ISBN 978-4-8053-0971-1*

  MISHIMA, Yukio 三島由紀夫

  After the Banquet 宴のあと ISBN 978-4-8053-0968-1*

  Confessions of a Mask 仮面の告白 ISBN 978-4-8053-0232-3*

  Death in Midsummer and Other Stories 真夏の死 ISBN 978-4-8053-0617-8*

  The Decay of the Angel 天人五衰 ISBN 978-4-8053-0385-6 *

  Five Modern Noh Plays 近代能楽集 ISBN 978-4-8053-1032-8*

  Madame de Sade サド侯爵夫人 ISBN 978-4-8053-0659-8*

  Runaway Horses 奔馬 ISBN 978-4-8053-0969-8*

  The Samurai Ethics and Modern Japan 葉隠入門 ISBN 978-4-8053-0645-1*

  Spring Snow 春の雪 ISBN 978-4-8053-0970-4*

  The Temple of the Golden Pavilion 金閣寺 ISBN 978-4-8053-0637-6*

  Mishima : a Biography (by John Nathan) 三島由紀夫伝 ISBN 978-4-8053-0639-0*

  MORI, Ogai 森鴎外

  Vita Sexualis ヰタ・セクスアリス ISBN 978-0-8048-1048-7

  Wild Geese 雁 ISBN 978-4-8053-0884-4

  NAGAI, Kafu 永井荷風

  Geisha in Rivalry 腕くらべ ISBN 978-0-8048-3324-0

  NATSUME, Soseki 夏目漱石

  And Then それから ISBN 978-0-8048-1537-6; 978-4-8053-0615-4*

  Botchan 坊ちゃん ISBN 978-0-8048-3703-3; 978-4-8053-0802-8*

  Grass on the Wayside 道草 ISBN 978-4-8053-0258-3*

  The Heredity of Taste 趣味の遺伝 ISBN 978-4-8053-0766-3*

  I am a Cat 吾輩は猫である ISBN 978-0-8048-3265-6; 978-4-8053-1027-7*

  Inside My Grass Doors 硝子戸の中 ISBN 978-0-8048-3312-7*

  Kokoro こころ ISBN 978-4-8053-0746-5*

  Light and Darkness 明暗 ISBN 978-4-8053-0652-9*

  The Miner 坑夫 ISBN 978-4-8053-0616-1*

  My Individualism and the Philosophical Foundations of Literature

  私の個人主義、文芸の哲学的基礎 ISBN 978-0-8048-3603-6; 978-4-8053-0767-0*

  Spring Miscellany 永日小品 ISBN 978-0-8048-3326-4*

  Ten Nights of Dream, Hearing Things, The Heredity of Taste 夢十夜、他 ISBN 978-4-8053-0658-1*

  The Three-Cornered World 草枕 ISBN 978-0-8048-0201-9*

  To The Spring Equinox and Beyond 彼岸過迄 ISBN 978-0-8048-3328-8; 978-4-8053-0741-0*

  The 210th Day 二百十日 ISBN 978-0-8048-3320-2*