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B1 Intermediate US 62 Folder Collection
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Japan may be known as the Land of the Rising Sun, but it still has its fair share of horror hiding in the shadows
In this video, we'll be exploring some of the most unsettling urban legends and ghost stories that get shared around after sundown
Several of these entries are first or second hand accounts, while others are overviews of folkloric creatures and rituals
They were all found on the Japanese website 2chan and were translated into English by my fellow youtube Phantasmal Wretched
If there are other Japanese legends you'd like me to cover or even legends from a different country
Let me know which in the comment section
Now without further ado... Ikimasho!
This is an allegedly true story that happened to my friend in Japan
He told me this story a long time ago, and the exact location escapes my mind,
but he relayed this story to me with so much conviction that I can't help but believe he was telling me the truth
What I do know is this incident definitely resulted in two deaths, and he himself had to be questioned by police over and over
It all happened when my friend and six of his co-workers at his part-time job were driving in the Chugoku region,
the westernmost region of Japan's main island, Honshu
They were driving out to see a suspension bridge
The seven of them were split up into two cars
My friend was the driver of the second car and had four passengers with him in
In the first car, which was driving ahead of them, were the manager and a couple
Although they set off in the morning, due to the many stops they had to make along the way,
the sun was already setting by the time they made it to the bridge
The suspension bridge ran across a very deep valley in the middle of a mountain
As they approached it the sky began to drizzle and fog began swirling around them
There was an open space just in front of the bridge
If the weather had been good
they would have just parked their cars there and crossed the bridge by foot then they would have come back
The other side of the bridge was a dead end and the structure had simply been left there for sightseeing purposes
The moment the first car reached the open space, however, it came to an abrupt stop
Seeing this my friend hit the brakes and the second car came to a screeching halt about ten meters behind the first
"What are they doing?" my friend asked his co-workers in the second car
They had no clue as to why the manager had stopped...
For some time those in the second car just sat there looking on
A few minutes passed, and the first car made no attempt to move, so my friend reached for his door handle
He was going to hop out and see what was going on
Right at the same time, the couple who were in the back seat of the first car suddenly jumped out in unison
Something wasn't right about their expressions
Alarmed, my friend too got out of his car and tried to walk over to them and ask what had happened...
but the couple, with their hands joined,
started sprinting
and in a flash they climbed over the guardrail at the edge of the open space and threw themselves over the other side
down into the valley...
The four of them in the second car were completely astounded
They all rushed to the guardrail and looked down into the valley below
but because of all the fog they couldn't see anything at the bottom
None of them could believe what had just happened and they all stood there in a daze
Soon they remembered that the manager was still in the car and they rushed to check on him
The manager was still sat in the driver's seat, his hands grasping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles were white
Under his breath he kept muttering the same phrase over and over...
"Mustn't go, mustn't go, mustn't go"
He wouldn't respond to them. There was nothing else they could do but call the police
The authorities soon arrived on the scene and the delirious manager was taken away in an ambulance
As you can imagine the couple who jumped over the side of the mountain were later found dead at the bottom
the rest of the group had to endure a seemingly endless interrogation by the police
In the end, with no evidence of foul play and nothing to go on,
the police concluded that the pair had simply decided to end their lives together
My friend later paid a visit to the manager at the hospital. Fortunately he seemed to be back to normal
He asked him what happened that day at the suspension bridge. Why did he stop the car so suddenly?
The manager told him that as they drew near the bridge a girl dressed in an old fashioned kimono
appeared out of the fog in front of their vehicle...
The startled manager immediately hit the brakes
the girl wore her hair short and was dressed like somebody from a historical drama, or maybe even someone from the meiji period
Of course this creeped him out and he wondered if maybe she needed help
but before he could react he noticed that his car was now surrounded
by a whole group of children, all dressed in a similar fashion to the girl...
Being a superstitious man, the manager sensed that he was in danger and quickly began chanting a mantra
According to him the children who surrounded the car all joined their hands together and started singing
"Kagome, Kagome... the bird in the cage"
At the same time the manager heard the children's voices in his head saying
Come with us!
Come with us!
The manager gripped the steering wheel and began chanting "mustn't go!"
"mustn't go!"
Next thing he knew the couple in the back seat behind him flew out of the car joined their hands with the children and
together they all started running towards the guardrails
"Of course the police didn't believe my story," the manager told my friend
"Well, I'm not even sure I believe it myself."
"You don't have to believe my managers experience," my friend told me
"But one thing's for certain..."
"That was indeed how that couple died, and I for one do believe him."
An interesting thing to point out is about the song 'Kagome' that the children were allegedly singing
Kagome is a children's game in which a group of children hold hands and walk in a circle around another child in the center
While doing so they chant the Kagome song
Everyone in Japan knows it
When the song stops the child in the middle tries to name the person standing directly behind them
the song itself has been a subject of much interest due to its mysterious lyrics and ominous tune
and several disturbing theories exist about it
One theory states that in olden times it wasn't uncommon for poor families to sell their children in order to survive
According to the theory they would use the Kagome game as a type of ritual to decide which child should be sold
At the end when the players finished singing the line 'who stands behind you now'
whichever child stood behind the person at the center would be the one to go
Since this was considered the will of the gods nobody could dispute the decision
I'm not sure how well-known this one is but it's one that's always tickled my fancy
The bath game, sometimes known as daruma-san, is a game that dates back a long way
The game itself carries with it huge risk, but also the potential for huge reward
According to legend, by conducting a simple ritual you can summon an entity known as daruma-san who will play a game of cat-and-mouse with you
The reward for winning is that you'll be blessed with amazing fortune
This one's not for the light hearted amongst you though
as a lot of bad things can happen to you if you decide to play the game
including death
Here are the rules:
To play, you'll need a bathroom with a bathtub
Only one person can play this game at a time, but don't worry... You won't really be playing alone
Step 1: wait until night time, just before bed
Step 2: fill up your bath with water and turn off all the lights
Step 3: take off your clothes and get into the bath. Make sure your body is facing the faucet
Step 4: close your eyes and begin to wash your hair
Step 5: as you wash your hair repeat the phrase
"Daruma san fell down. Daruma san fell down"
Make sure to keep repeating this the whole time you wash
Under no circumstances should you open your eyes...
Step 6: if everything's gone according to plan your head will be filled with the mental image of a woman standing in the bathtub
In this mental image she'll slip and fall face-first onto the tap, gouging out her right eye
She'll die in the process
Step seven: if after this mental image you feel a presence in the water behind you
do not turn around or open your eyes
Instead, ask aloud "Why did you fall?"
Step 8: there'll be no answer to your question. Just let it linger in the air for a moment
Then, with your eyes still firmly shut, step out of the bath and dry yourself off
This can be dangerous, so be careful not to slip as you get out
Step 9: you can now open your eyes
Head to your bedroom. It's time for bed
Do not turn on the bathroom lights. Do not drain the bath water until morning
Do not re-enter the bathroom after you leave and make sure to close the door behind you
Step 10: go to sleep
The ritual is now complete
As soon as you wake up in the morning the game will begin
The ghostly figure of daruma-san will follow you all day
You can tell who she is by her stained white clothes, her long black hair, and the fact that she's missing her right eye
Her left one is open and bloodshot
Throughout the day you'll occasionally feel her presence creeping up behind you. When you do, quickly look over your right shoulder
When you turn to look you probably won't see her
As the day goes on though, she'll get closer and closer
Do not let her touch you
If you sense that she's getting too close, shout "Tomare!" Meaning "stop!"
Shout this while swinging your arm in a chopping motion
Then... run. You've just stalled her and bought yourself some time. Put as much distance between you and her as possible
Use this Tomare command sparingly though. It'll become less effective with every use, so only say it when you really feel the need to
The game will only end when you manage to catch a glimpse of Daruma over your right shoulder
When you finally do see her, immediately shout "Kita!" meaning "I cut you loose!"
say this while swinging your arm like before
If you manage to do that before midnight
congratulations, you've won the bath game, and good fortune should be yours... for a time at least
Should you fail to spot her by midnight and cut her loose though, then I'm afraid you've lost the bath camera
Daruma will never stop following you
You can run as much as you like, but she'll always be close behind, and
eventually you'll need to sleep, giving her the opportunity to catch you either in person or in your dreams
When she catches you, well, that's the end...
Don't try to play this game more than once
On the second playthrough she'll start at the same distance
you caught sight of her last time, and you won't have enough time in the morning to get away
My old high school was ancient, around a hundred and twenty years old
It had had so many renovations in the past that its layout was a total mess
Even though it was a one-story building it had a staircase that led up from one end of the corridor to the ceiling, and inaccessible doors embedded into the walls for reasons lost the time...
The oddest of all of these incongruencies though was the watch cabin
From the outside it looked like a normal country house
Inside was a sleeping area big enough to fit 8 tatami mats, an old-style telephone, and a small kitchen area
I never knew why it was known as the watch cabin though, until the night of this incident...
My home was far from my school, so I'd sometimes stay overnight at a friend's house who lived more locally
One day though, I couldn't find anyone who could let me sleep over at their place
So I decided to spend the night in the disused watch cabin
Another person (a friend of mine) was going to stay there with me
We were in high spirits as we spread our futons on the floor, feeling like we were on a mini school field trip or something
We were talking and eating our dinner when,
unexpectedly, the old telephone started ringing
It made us both jump
Nobody was supposed to know we were here
I picked up the receiver
On the other end of the line was a school janitor
He was checking in on us
He said he was worried because we were staying at the watch cabin by ourselves
How he knew we were staying there was beyond us
Whichever janitor it was he must have seen us sneak in or something
He told us not to mess around too much and so on, the usual spiel
Just as I was about to hang up the phone he says "oh,"
"one last thing. Make sure to close the curtains on the west side of the cabin. You got that?"
Without thinking too much I said "sure" and hung up the old phone
When I thought about his words in more detail, however, they didn't make much sense to me
I didn't remember there being anything notable on the west side
"What's he talking about?" we asked each other as my friend and I looked out the west side window
What we saw there was a sinister looking old well encircled by a hemp rope, like the kind you might see at a shrine
Now up until that moment neither of us had ever noticed it because it was hidden away in a secluded spot,
wedged in-between the school building and the cabin
I felt a shiver run along my spine as soon as I laid eyes on it
"I don't know what it is about that well, but it's kind of creepy, isn't it?" I said to my friend
She agreed with me
We went to bed after rearranging our futon so they were side-by-side,
making sure they were closer now than before,
both of us feeling a little unsettled
I fell asleep quickly
I don't know how long I was asleep for but I awoke with chills around my shoulders
I looked around and noticed my friend was missing
The cabin itself didn't have a toilet, so I assumed she had gone to the teachers boarding house to do her business
I waited and waited, but she still hadn't returned
I opened the door and looked outside but there was no sign of her. I felt uneasy as I went back inside
Without thinking I opened the curtains on the west side of the cabin
There,
outside, I could see my friend standing in only her underwear beside the old well
Her hands were groped around her waist
It looked as though she was trying to pee
At first I felt a little shocked, but then closed the curtains and tried to go back to sleep
Still, I felt that something was off about the way she was moving
I stood up opened the curtains again and looked out
I almost screamed when I realized what she was actually doing
She wasn't groping her waist. She was trying to tie a rope around it. I just watched on in complete disbelief
When she had finished tying the rope around her waist
she bent down and began tying the other end to a large stone by her feet
I became so scared I couldn't utter a single word. Couldn't move!
The next thing I saw was a pale white hand come slithering out of the well
At first the hand was moving as if it was searching for something, and then stopped as it found the rope on the ground
My friend stood there with her head bent down, almost like she was in a trance, still and unresponsive
The white hands slowly began to tug on the rope
attempting to pull the stone into the well... to drag my friend down into it!
I was paralyzed with fear
It was then that my ears were filled with a shrill ringing which pierced the silence
It was the old telephone
Immediately I came to my senses and felt my body become lighter
before I knew it I was out of the door and running for the well
I grabbed ahold of my zombified friend and dragged her back inside the cabin, shouting her name over and over
She soon regained her senses - and began sobbing heavily
Relief washed over me and I began sobbing with her
We both knew we needed help so I grabbed the old telephone and brought the receiver to my ear
There was no dial tone at all. The telephone wasn't working...
We examined it, only to find that the telephone was only a shell
We hadn't noticed before but there were no machine parts inside it, let alone a telephone line
By all accounts, it should have never worked in the first place
It was only at a later date that we heard the story surrounding that old well
When the school first opened, students kept ending their lives by throwing themselves down the well
The school tried to bury the well, but everyone who worked on burying it started perishing one after another
In the end the school simply decided to give up on burying the well and instead renovated the school building itself
extending it in a way that enclosed the well and made it more or less hidden
Still, occasionally people would come and throw themselves down it
That's why they built the watch cabin
The school station the watchman inside to keep an eye on people to make sure nobody ever went near that well
Thing is, in the end, even the watchman threw himself into it
Since that day the watch cabin had remained empty
How did the telephone ring that night to warn us about closing the curtains?
Better question, who was the man who I spoke to on the phone?
I sometimes wonder if it was the old watchman still standing guard after all those years...
I was out hiking alone in Oita Prefecture one afternoon
Time got the better of me, and before I knew it the sun was already beginning to set
It would already be pitch-black by the time I made it halfway to my car
Rather than risk wandering around blindly in the wilderness
I decided it would be a better idea to stay the night at a hotel in one of the nearby towns
There was one a new nearby on the other side of a short high bridge that ran over a small valley
The valley itself was deep and sharp, sheer drops along both sides, and one specific spot along
It is relatively famous in the area for being a hot spot for jumpers
People who want to end their lives in a way that is both painless and guaranteed. This is of course tragic
but there are several places like this across the country
Perhaps you've heard of Aokigahara
Every so often the bodies of jumpers would be found at the bottom of the sheer drop
It's funny... They'd always be found in the exact same spot in the valley, meaning that they all jumped from the exact same spot above
That specific point on that specific side of the valley must have held some sort of deep significance that was lost on me
You'd have thought they would have jumped from the bridge itself
so as to not hit the jagged rocks on their way down
But this jumping spot was actually a half-mile or so away from the bridge
Perhaps that place was particularly beautiful or mentioned in some famous haiku or book or something. I never gave it much thought
Anyway, I was hastily making my way through the foliage trying to reach the bridge before it got too dark to see where I was
going
I came to a clearing in the trees and lo and behold I saw the bridge ahead of me
Thank God, I thought, I'm exhausted! This hike was a really bad idea
But wait...
Something wasn't quite right
I'd crossed this bridge maybe two times in the past and I always remembered there being some sort of small shrine by the bridgehead
just a small monument to ward off bad spirits and protect all those who crossed the bridge
The kind you find all over Japan in various places
I mean it was possible the shrine had just been removed
and the bridge sure looked identical to the one I crossed in the past, and I was sure it was meant to be around here
somewhere
Still, it just didn't feel the same... not without the shrine
They must have built a second bridge, I theorised
Maybe this town was becoming more popular with tourists, or maybe this one led to a different town altogether
I decided to wander around a little longer just to check if this was the right bridge or not
I didn't want to cross it only to find out it led to a different town
I walked along the edge of the valley staying out of the trees to make the most of the remaining sunlight
After about a half-mile of walking I came across another bridge
This one had the familiar shrine I remembered at the base of the entrance
Tired from the day's journey I hurriedly made my way over the bridge to the small town on the other side
I stumbled into a guest house and asked the host for a room
To tired to say anything
other than please and thank you, I zombie walked to my bed for the night and fell into a deep sleep
The next morning I woke feeling refreshed ready to make my way back to my car, now sure that I knew the quickest route back
At the breakfast table I got to chatting with the host of the guest house
"Business must be going well these days, huh?" I said to him
"Hmm, what makes you say that?" he asked
"The bridge's. You've built a second one across the valley. I figured it was because you're getting more tourists."
The host looked at me with a serious expression, his eyes large and I'm blinking
"You saw a second bridge?" He asked me
"Well, yeah, about a half-mile or so from the one I crossed.
You haven't seen it before?"
"Oh, I've seen it, but not really seen it. You haven't either."
I looked at him bewildered. What sort of cryptic thing to say was that?
"What do you mean?" I asked him
"It's not really there, the second one. It's a fake bridge, an illusion...
Many travellers have asked me about it
Well the ones that chose to cross the real bridge anyway
You've no doubt heard all the stories of people ending their lives by jumping from the cliffside
Well the people in this town know they're not jumping on purpose
They're stepping onto the wrong bridge by accident, the one that doesn't exist
As soon as they set foot on it, their bodies fall right through and they go tumbling over the side of the mountain
That's why the people are always found in the exact same spot
We've put signs up at the start of the second bridge warning people not to step onto it and that it's just a vision
Every time we plant a sign though it just mysteriously vanishes
We don't have an explanation for it... for any of it for that matter
In the end we gave up trying to put warning signs by the second bridge
Instead we built a shrine by the first
That way we thought we might be able to help a few superstitious souls pick the right bridge to cross
Are you alright? You've gone quite pale..."
With that I paid for my breakfast and rushed out of the guest house without a sound
In hindsight, I wish I'd thank the old host
after all, I had a lot to thank him for
I walked back out of town, making damn sure to cross the same bridge as the evening before
I made it back to my car and never returned to that town again
If you too happen to find yourself in Oita Prefecture and come across a bridge spanning a deep valley, check before you cross it
Pick the left bridge going into town and the right bridge when you leave
And make damn sure there's a shrine at the entrance
In Japanese folklore Kurokami-sama is both the name of an entity and a ritual
According to legend Kurokami-sama is a creature that wanders Japan, though the vast majority of sightings are from the Kanto region
particularly Tokyo
Its name describes its appearance with Kuro meaning black and kami meaning hair
It remains unclear whether Kurokami is an Onryo (namely a vengeful female spirit characterized by long black hair and white clothes)
or whether it's simply just a mass of black hair
The ritual involving kurokami-sama can be performed by anyone who feels like they've been the victim of bullying or power harassment
Though performing the ritual isn't without its risks
It should only be conducted by people looking to cause serious harm to those who have treated them unfairly
The sole purpose of the ritual is revenge
Begin by pulling out a strand of your own hair
Now, holding that strand, recite the name of the person or people who have wronged you, along with an explanation of what they've done
Finish by saying "may these wrongs be avenged"
Finally, go up to a high place
Say the words
"Kurokami-sama, please avenge my wrongs," and release the strand of hair so that it falls from the great height
The ritual is now complete. Simple right?
Over the course of the coming days and weeks those who have wronged you will meet with tragedy in one form or another
Their families may break apart and they may lose their job or all their savings
They may even lose their minds or fall victim to a terminal disease
Any other number of great misfortunes could befall them
With this ritual though comes one simple rule:
Once you've performed the ritual you can never tell another soul about it
If you share the details of the ritual or how to perform it afterwards, even just in passing,
those who wronged you will begin to see their lives improve while yours will become worse and worse
This could result in your demise or disappearance
At least one woman is known to have vanished altogether after divulging how to perform the ritual
Apparently her whereabouts remains unknown
Kurokami-sama punishes those who abuse their power
As for encountering the Kurokami entity itself on the street
Well, if you're a decent person you should be okay
If you've done anything untoward in the past though, such as treating people badly for no good reason,
Well, you might not be so lucky
Hey guys, Lazy here, and thank you very much for listening
I'm currently speaking to you from Japan, hence the subject matter for this video. Yeah
I'm here in a sannomiya kobe in a hotel room
so if the audio sounds a little different than usual that explains why I'm here visiting my girlfriend and you know
I figured I might as well make a video about something Japanese. So hey presto. Here we go. I
Hope you enjoyed it. And if you did, let me know and maybe I can turn this into a series and who knows maybe
Maybe something will come of this
Anyway, a huge champ had to Anthony Savin us for making the thumbnail for this video a link to all his artwork can be found
Down in the description along with the link to my patreon page
Speaking of patreon a huge shout out to all of my supporters who helped keep this channel running, especially my biggest supporters
Madison Reinhardt Kelly rocker
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Joshua Lindsey
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Marley right. Thank you guys so much for your support
Well that about wraps things up for this episode guys
Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for the next video because I'll be back very very soon
Until then guys, you all stay spooky and remember
the best things happen
in the dark
Sayonara
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B1 Intermediate US

5 Terrifying Japanese Urban Legends from 2CHAN | Allegedly TRUE Folklore Stories from Japan

62 Folder Collection
Gabby published on July 22, 2020

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