Ghosts and spirits in Japanese folklore

BigBossIchi

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Can some one lead me in the right direction to a complete look at Japanese folklore, it's ghosts, spirits, goblins and more. Especially the actual origin of the pale-faced, long haired ghosts that a so popular in their cinema history. Thx!
 
The site is nice. Obakemono Project
yuureijpeg-1.webp

Pale faced like her?
Ohkyo Maruyama, my favorite painter in the Edo, draw lots of ghost like the above, so I heard Japanese have the image of pale, long-haired and legless ghosts.
Daijoji temple offers a superb online museum about Ohkyo and his school's works. Worthwhile seeing them.
 
err....what's the Japanese term for ghost? I need it to search online.
 
ghost

  • Yuureiツ(窶禰窶氾ャツ)
  • Obakeツ(窶堋ィ窶ーツサ窶堋ッツ)
  • Bakemonoツ(窶ーツサ窶堋ッ窶「ツィツ)
  • Youkaiツ(窶播窶ーテカツ)
I hope those words will do.:-)
 
Well, long-haired ghosts are more like made-up stories rather than folklore. From anthropologic point of view, I found Kunio Yanagita (窶禿カ窶彡ツ坂?倪?冕)'s pioneering study much more interesting. He collected a lot of folk tales in rural areas (mainly Tohoku region) such as Kappa (窶ーテ坂?慊カ) and Yamamba (ナスR窶ーW), and tried to interpret them in the light of cultural or historical backgrounds. Most of these tales sound bizarre and illogical, but many of them are not totally made-up, but actually based on real stories. Grown up in rural areas in Japan and being familiar with those mountains and villages, I found Yanagita's stories very terrifying.

Kunio Yanagita - Wikipedia
 
窶愬椎?C窶慊ケナスl窶價窶ーテカ窶冖

The most well-known/classic Japanese ghost story is ナスl窶價窶ーテカ窶冖ツ(窶堙ヲ窶堙や?堙「窶堋ゥ窶堋「窶堋セ窶堙アツ)(Yotsuya Kwaidan)
This story of the poor woman "Oiwa" has been performed in movies, rakugo, kabuki many times for ages here.
The story was made based on what really happened in the Genroku era.
http://homepage2.nifty.com/e-tedukuri/yotuyakaidan.htm
窶堙懌?堋カツ 窶堋ア窶堙ュ窶堋「窶堙ヲツ〜ツ! >.<
 
Kyoko_desu said:
The most well-known/classic Japanese ghost story is ナスl窶價窶ーテカ窶冖ツ(窶堙ヲ窶堙や?堙「窶堋ゥ窶堋「窶堋セ窶堙アツ)(Yotsuya Kwaidan)
This story of the poor woman "Oiwa" has been performed in movies, rakugo, kabuki many times for ages here.
The story was made based on what really happened in the Genroku era.
http://homepage2.nifty.com/e-tedukuri/yotuyakaidan.htm
窶堙懌?堋カツ 窶堋ア窶堙ュ窶堋「窶堙ヲツ〜ツ! >.<

So the movie was made in 1959? It does look very scary, I think I'll check out the local Japanese video store here to see if they have a copy...
 
I've always found Kappa (窶ーテ坂?慊カ) to be a mystical creature. Does it actually harm human beings?
 
Have you ever tried Kappa-maki?

Yes, the one I put the link for was made a long time ago, but there are alot more movies of Yotsuya Kwaidan. The most recent one was made 2 years ago but the movie title was changed into "Warau Iemon" (Iemon is a name of Oiwa-san's husband.)
I hope you can find this newest one at the store or the rental video shop.


Here is a list of all the movies and anime of Yotsuya Kwaidan. (found it at Wikipedia)


窶ーf窶ーテヲツ催ャ窶「i
* ナスl窶價窶ーテカ窶冖ツ(窶楼ツ・ナ津」窶「テ陳)ツ(1949窶扼ツ ナ?テ??愿つ:窶禿倪?ーツコナ鍛窶ーテョ ヒ?俄?ーE窶ーq窶禿・ツ:ツ湘」ナ陳エナ陳ェツ、窶堋ィナ?テ「ツ:窶彡窶吮??ナ陳ヲ窶佚」ツ)
* ナスl窶價窶ーテカ窶冖ツ(1956窶扼ツ ナ?テ??愿つ:窶禿鯛?藩慊青ウナステキ ヒ?俄?ーE窶ーq窶禿・ツ:ナステ。ナスR窶「xナスOヒ弸ツ、窶堋ィナ?テ「ツ:窶佛?窶拵ツ静ァナ鍛ナスqツ)
* 窶愬椎?C窶慊ケナスl窶價窶ーテカ窶冖ツ(1959窶扼ツ ナ?テ??愿つ:ナスO窶ケテキナ陳、ナスナクツ ヒ?俄?ーE窶ーq窶禿・ツ:窶卍キ窶價ツ静ャヒ?ェ窶「vツ、窶堋ィナ?テ「ツ:窶吮??窶彡ツ康ナスqツ)
* 窶愬椎?C窶慊ケナスl窶價窶ーテカ窶冖ツ(1959窶扼ツ ナ?テ??愿つ:窶吮??ツ静ャツ信窶「vツ ヒ?俄?ーE窶ーq窶禿・ツ:窶弖窶冦窶禿篠、窶堋ィナ?テ「ツ:ナステ。ツ絶┐窶ーテ??凖ηスqツ)
* ナスl窶價窶ーテカ窶冖ツ(1965窶扼ツ ナ?テ??愿つ:窶鏑窶彡ナスlヒ弸ツ ヒ?俄?ーE窶ーq窶禿・ツ:窶吮?。窶佚」窶傳窶禿ョツ、窶堋ィナ?テ「ツ:窶ーツェ窶彡テ、ツ敕、ツサナスqツ)
* 窶吮?ーツ臣窶伉?ナ?O窶彖 ナスl窶價窶ーテカ窶冖ツ(1994窶扼ツ ナ?テ??愿つ:ツ深ツ催ャ窶ケテ凪?愿アツ ヒ?俄?ーE窶ーq窶禿・ツ:ツ債イ窶慊。ツ浩ナスsツ、窶堋ィナ?テ「ツ:ツ坂?壺?ーツェ窶伉≫?ケIツ)
* ナ。o窶堋、ヒ?俄?ーE窶ーq窶禿・ツ(2004窶扼ツ ナ?テ??愿つ:テ・ツ青静ャツ幸窶悩ツ ヒ?俄?ーE窶ーq窶禿・ツ:窶懌?壺?佚イナステオ窶督セツ、窶堋ィナ?テ「ツ:ツ渉ャツ静。ツ)
...


ニ但ニ男ニ陳?催ャ窶「i
* ニ但ニ男ニ陳≫?敕 窶愬椎?C窶慊ケツ・ナスl窶價窶ーテカ窶冖ツ(1981窶扼ツ ナ?テ??愿つ:テ?V窶彡窶板イナスツ。ツ、窶佚・窶凖仰康ツ青カツ ナ津ェ窶堙ィツ:ヒ?ェ窶板エツ催問?凖・ツ絶?ヲツ)
* 窶ーテカ ツ〜ayakashiツ〜ツ「ナスl窶價窶ーテカ窶冖ツ」ツ(2006窶扼ツ ナ?テ??愿つ:ツ債。窶佚イ窶廸窶冕ツ ヒ?俄?ーE窶ーq窶禿・ツ:窶「ツス窶彡ツ広窶督セツ、窶堋ィナ?テ「ツ:ツ渉ャナスRテ、ツ昶?敕シツ(ツ青コ窶堙娯?堙敖)ツ)


https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9D%B1%E6%B5%B7%E9%81%93%E5%9B%9B%E8%B0%B7%E6%80%AA%E8%AB%87#.E6.98.A0.E7.94.BB.E4.BD.9C.E5.93.81
ツ?ェlink for Yotsuya Kwaidan Wikipedia page



Now about kappa, I heard they catch people and eat their butt holes, ahahahaha! How can someone eat a "hole"?
Well, other well-known thing about kappa is their another favorite food is a cucumber. That's why maki-zushi with a cucumber in it is called kappa-maki.
 
Ah.. that's why it's called Kappa-maki! I've always wonder why they name a sushi after Kappa..

Thanks for the movie info btw kyoko!
 
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For folklore, I believe I have read this.

-> Creaturs that can change shape.
-> Like a racoons that can change shape at night
-> Frogs seem part of much folklore
 
You could pick up a copy of the book "Ghosts of Okinawa ". Although it focuses strictly on Okinawa, and not the rest of Japan.
 
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