Japanese Folktales and Horror

This week I read the book “Kwaidan” by Lafcadio Hearn, a compilation of Japanese ghost stories that were translated from old Japanese text. The existence of the creatures in the Japanese legendary folktales reflect a difference than that expressed in western horror or the gothic. Japanese horror tends to focus more on curses, involving the themes of revenge and grudges. The stories often involve haunted houses and spirits of an Onryou (wrathful ghost). In exchange, western horror are more aggressive and violent with regards to killers and monsters.

I have always enjoyed learning about legendary, mythical, and supernatural creatures. I believe that these creatures are essential and are what make the story interesting. When someone first thinks about a fictional creature or monster, most people think of European legends since many people in the world are familiar with Norse, Celtic, Slavic, and the most popular, Greek legends. There are many interesting legends around the world, but in my opinion most of them are overshadowed by the ones from Europe.

There are many legends and folktales in Asia, but Japan seems to have the most unique types of supernatural folktales. When I first became interested in myths and legends of Japan, I was surprised to find out the amount of creatures, monsters, and phantoms that were created in legends. I found it exciting and refreshing how each tale had a different story to tell. All creatures were categorized under the term “Youkai”, which means “apparition”. These creatures came in a variety of forms and behaviors; they ranged from harmless pranksters to ferocious monsters. I was already familiar with some of the creatures that the book mentioned including the famous Yuki Onna (snow woman), the Rokuro Kubi (the long necked woman), Jikininki (tree with human-faced fruits), and Mujina (Badger). Being familiar with these creatures helped me relate to the stories in the book easier.

While reading the book, I felt that the author found inspiration from an ancient traditional ceremony performed in the old times of Japan where the locals would gather around in a large circle, each holding their lit candle and telling a ghost story. After a person tells his or her story, the person would blow out the candle and this process would continue until the last person’s turn. The room would progressively get darker as each person blew out their candle, leaving the room in complete darkness. Traditions like this reflect the difference between the Western and Japanese cultures.