Japan ghost 1999

1999

Ghosts (Yurei)

If the soul of the dead is not purified, it can return to the land of the living in the guise of a ghost. Also, if a dead person is not delivered, through prayer, from personal emotions such as jealousy, envy or anger, the spirit can return in a ghostly guise. The ghost haunts the place where it lived and persecutes those responsible for his or her bitter fate. The ghost will remain until released from its suffering through the good offices of a living person who prays that the soul of the dead may ascend.During the Heian era (794-1185) it was believed that ghostly spirits floated above the living causing disease, plague and hunger. In the Kamakura era (1185-1333) a belief was reinforced that spirits turned into small animals, such as raccoons and foxes, that led people astray. Household objects, when a hundred years old, could become deities in the Muromachi period (1336-1573). These venerable objects were thought to possess special powers and were treated with care and respect. And in the Momoyama (1573-1600) and the Edo periods (1603-1868) there was a belief that if a man died of disease or in an epidemic, he turned into a monstrous demon.The despotic feudal regime which prevailed during the Edo period, combined with natural disasters that occurred at that time, added to the lore of evil and vengeful spirits and ghosts. At the close of the Edo era, edicts were passed forbidding the display of theatrical performances with the theme of frightening ghostly spirits, for fear of undermining the government.Most creatures in stories of unfortunate spirits were women. They were vengeful ghosts, and the greater the misery endured by the woman during her lifetime, the more threatening her ghostly spirits would be after her death. Cruelty to women is a recurring theme in Japanese lore and legend.Ghost stories were dramatized for puppet theaters in the early1700’s. Ghost stories then began to be enacted in various theaters including Sumizu theater of Osaka and Nakamura-za theater in Edo.Fig. 2: House of PlatesVengeful spirits became the central theme in the Kabuki theater at the end of the 18th century. Murder was presented on the stage in all its gory details, and female ghosts were distinctly portrayed. The scenes of crime and bloodshed presented were shocking and intended to arouse suspense and fear. Surprisingly, these plays were quite popular, and print artists reproduced many scenes of these Kabuki productions. An example of this theme is in one of the plays enacted at the Kabuki theater called the ‘The Rock That Weeps at Night.”“At Tokaido, on the road between Tokyo and Kyoto, there is a famous rock known as ‘The Rocks that Weeps at Night’. Lore tells of a pregnant woman travelling along this road at night to meet her husband. Bandits accosted her and she was barbarously murdered. Her blood spilled onto the rock, which became the habitation of her ghost. Legend has it that the rock weeps at night.”

eBay Express: Yuki Onna/Snow Woman Art * Japanese Ghost/Demon/Spirit

2001

2001

Japan ghost 1972

1972

Japan ghost

Japan ghost

Japan ghost 1980

1980

Japan ghost 1980

Japan ghost 1980

1994

Japan ghost 1989

Japan ghost 1989

Japan ghost 1980

Japan ghost 1980

1975

Yotsuya-Kaidan Ghost Story

 

Yasuko Ishitomi from Japan

"Mom. How can I protect myself from ghosts when I meet them?" my four-year-old daughter asked me.

These days she is interested in ghosts because she enjoyed watching horror films on TV during the Halloween season. Even though she is scared of them, she still watched from under a blanket. I could see only her eyes from the blanket.

There are many ghosts and ghost stories in the world, and each ghost story has the background of each culture. We can enjoy ghosts and ghost stories, and also enjoy cultural difference through them. Of course, Japan has many ghosts and ghost stories, and you can find our peculiar culture and odd imagination in them.

One of our famous ghost stories is the Yotsuya-Kaidan ghost story (the formal title is Tohkaidoh Yotsuya Kaidan), which was written in the Edo period, which lasted from 1603 to 1867. Japan had a closed-door policy, where craftsmen and merchants developed a unique and sophisticated culture. Townspeople of that period enjoyed their culture and amusement, including ghosts and ghost stories. I think they were curious about ghosts. They enjoyed Yotsuya-Kaidan very much, and this is the story.

About three hundred years ago (in the Edo period), a master-less samurai Iemon and his wife Iwa lived in Yotsuya in ancient Tokyo. Even though Iemon didn't have a job, Iwa was happy because she was carrying a baby. However, Iemon was depressed due to unemployment.

One day Iemon met a man who told him that he would look for job (a master) for Iemon, on the condition that Iemon would marry his granddaughter after he got a job. Iemon accepted the man's offer and decided to kill Iwa together with the man. Iemon killed his wife, Iwa. Iemon was not happy after he carried out the plan because he was tormented by Iwa's ghost. It appeared everywhere around him. And he would be…..

Every summer, several theater and movie versions of Yotsuya-Kaidan story are shown in Japan. The actors and crew visit Iwa's grave before they play the story because many Japanese believe that strange, terrifying things will happen if the actors and crew don't do that.

We call them evil consequences. I've heard about some of them; for example, an actress from Iwa was killed in a car accident; the stage ceiling lights suddenly fell on the stage and injured actors; one of the crew committed suicide …etc, but I don't know if these were true or not. I think visiting her grave is a kind of a ritual, so they do this, even if they don't believe in the evil consequences.

While I saw my daughter's eyes looking out from the blanket, I remembered my elementary school days, when I read many ghost stories and watched ghost movies a lot. I think she is curious about ghosts just like me.

It is good for the right hemisphere of her brain to imagine, but I should say to her, "Please don't forget to use the left-side of your brain to stop too much imagination about ghosts. It is one of the best ways to protect you from ghosts." Maybe this doesn't work for her right now though.

Japan ghost 1991

Japanese ghost 1991

Japan ghost 1993

Ghost Japanese 1989

Japanese Graveyard Ghost

This picture was taken in Seto-city, Aichi prefecture. It looks like the upper body and face floating directly above a tombstone. This picture was taken by Mr. Mizuno in September of 1985. The new construction site to the left of the picture was once part of the graveyard on the right and perhaps some angry spirit was unhappy about having his earthly remains disturbed. It is now believed to simply be a trick of the eye, as it looks remarkably similar in both color and texture to other nearby tombstones in the area.

Japanese ghost

Ghost Japan 1990

Obake

Obake From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

obakemono", are the traditional ghosts, goblins and monsters from Japanese folklore; the term is virtually the same as "yōkai", and includes traditional goblins and monsters, and "yūrei", spirits of the human dead. The term obake derives from the Japanese verb bakeru, meaning "to change"; thus obake are preternatural beings who have undergone some sort of change, from the natural realm to the supernatural.Obake can range from animals (kitsune, tanuki, mujina) that are thought to have shapeshifting powers, to mythological creatures, to inanimate objects that have come to life (called "tsukumogami"). Popular examples of obake are the kappa, a water-dwelling imp who drowns humans and animals if he can get his hands on them; the tengu, a long-nosed mountain goblin skilled at martial arts and having the wings and sometimes beak of a bird; kasa-obake, an umbrella that has come to life; and kitsune, foxes, the masters of shapeshifting.Obake also constitutes Yurei, the spirits of dead humans who have died in a great fit of rage or sorrow. Their spirit lingers on in the physical world, until their last desire has been fulfilled. This can range from obtaining revenge upon those that killed them, to ensuring that their children are properly cared for, as seen in the many tales of ubume.Stories and legends of these Japanese apparitions have also been imported to other languages and cultures, such as the Hawaiian Pidgin of native Hawaiians. In Hawaii, some of the original lore concerning obake has been altered or misunderstood; the most common example is the mujina, originally a tanuki-like shapeshifter, which has been confused in Hawaii for the noppera-bō, a faceless human apparition. The source of this confusion was a story by Lafcadio Hearn called "Mujina". Hearn neglected to explain the reasoning behind his title: in Japan, mujina are often known to shapeshift into the faceless noppera-bō.Obake in Popular CultureVarious kinds of obake are encountered in folklore and folklore-inspired art and literature, particularly manga and Japanese horror. The man to whom most of the credit should go for keeping youkai and obake in the popular imagination (at least in Japan) is Shigeru Mizuki, the manga creator of such series as Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro and Sanpei no Kappa. With the exception of Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro, however, Mizuki's works have yet to be translated into English.In the English-speaking world, knowledge of obake is slowly, but surely, developing a dedicated following. Hawaiian folklorist Glen Grant was known for his "Obake Files", a series of reports he developed about supernatural incidents in Hawaii; the grand bulk of these incidents and reports were of Japanese origin or concerned obake. Additionally, Mexican-American folklorist and author Alfred Avila included "La Japonesa", a story about a nekomusume, in his collection Mexican Ghost Tales of the Southwest.

The Japanese Ghost Story of Okiku

Ghost Stories are a popular subject of Japanese woodblock prints. The ghost story of Okiku, an unfortunate servant maid, is one of the best known and was transformed into a Kabuki play and numerous novels.Bancho SarayashikiIn the kabuki play Bancho Sarayashiki, Okiku is a maid at the mansion of the Japanese samurai Tessan Aoyama. The samurai wants to seduce the cute girl but she rejects his advances. Aoyama uses a trick. He hides one of ten valuable Dutch plates and threatens Okiku to make public that she had stolen the plate unless she agrees to become his mistress. In her desperation Okiku throws herself into the well and drowns.Okiku's ghost comes out every night, counting from one to nine and then breaks out into a terrible howling and sobbing. Finally Aoyama goes insane by the daily apparitions at night.Different Versions of the Ghost Story of OkikuThere are different versions of the ghost story of Okiku. What they all have in common is the description of her ghost coming out of the well and counting from one to nine and then breaking out into a heart-rendering sobbing.In another version, Okiku really breaks a plate and is killed by her master and her corpse is thrown into the well.In yet another version, it is the wife of Aoyama, who breaks the plate. To hide her guilt, she throws the broken plate into the well and accuses Okiku of having it stolen. In this version she is also killed by her master for punishment and thrown into the well.There is also an alternate version for the end of the story. To stop the nightly sobbing, a friend of the family of Aoyama is hired. He is hiding at the well during the night and after Okiku had counted from one to nine, he is stepping forward shouting loudly "ten". From then on the ghost of Okiku was never seen again.One of the tourist attractions on Himeji Castle is Okiku's well. In the Himeji version, Okiku was a servant of Aoyama, a retainer who planned a plot against his lord. Okiku overheard the plot and reported it to her lover, a loyal warrior. The plot was averted. When Aoyama found out that Okiku had been the cause for his failure, he decided to kill her. So he accused her of having stolen one of ten valuable dishes. She was tortured to death and thrown into the well.Okiku's well on Himeji Castle is in competition with another location of the well, the garden of the Canadian embassy in Tokyo - established on land bought from the Aoyama family. Looks like there are at least as many locations of the well of the poor girl as there are different versions of her story.All the variations of the ghost story of Okiku have an extremely wrongful and cruel treatment of a poor girl of the lower classes in common. But different from the ghost story of Yotsuya, revenge towards the tormenter is not the big Leitmotiv (apart from one variation of the story).Shinkei Sanju-roku Kai Sen - 36 New GhostsAmong the artists designing ghost subjects, Yoshitoshi Tsukioka (1839-1892) should be mentioned in first place. Yoshitoshi strongly believed in the existence of ghosts and was convinced that he had personally seen supernatural apparitions in his life.The print of The Ghost of Okiku at the Dish Mansion was part of the series Shinkei Sanju-roku Kai Sen. It was Yoshitoshi's last series before his death (together with one One Hundred Aspects of the Moon) and was published from 1889 to 1892. The series can be found under different English translations like New Selection of 36 Apparitions or Thirty-six New Ghosts.Towards the end of his life, the subjects of Yoshitoshi's prints were predominantly chosen from Japan's rich cultural tradition and history. It was an appeal of the artist to his countrymen not to give up their traditional values in exchange for the Western modernization that had begun in the Meiji period.