Kuchisake-Onna

Text:

When you are walking on a street in Japan, you will likely encounter a woman who wears a white mask that covers her face, white clothes, and a white cap or hat. She is Kunchisae-Onna.
If you ever encounter her on the road, she will ask you,
“Am I beautiful?”

If you answer “Yes,” she will take off her mask, and you will see that there is a huge scar on her face.

After having you see the scar, she will ask you again,

“Am I beautiful?”

If you answer “Yes”—she will use a pair of scissors to cut you to death.

If you answer “No”—she will use a pair of scissors to cut you to death, too!

This story was so widespread that it once evoked a national fear in Japan. Press were even writing to the public in order to clear the air.

People also say that there are some ways to “counter” the deadly consequences when encountering Kuchisake-Onna. For example, you can answer “it’s okay”, “meh” or just not answer or say something nonsensical (like “tires” or “candy”), and she’ll let you off the hook.

Context:

The interviewee learned this folktale when listening to a Chinese podcast (name of the podcast: VG 聊天室). She uses this piece of folklore as a way to understand Japanese society. The interviewee thinks this legend reveals Japanese women’s social anxiety and anxiety about their appearance. She also thinks Kunchisae-Onna’s behavior represents her vanity.

Analysis:

• The Scar and Cultural Anxiety: from a psychoanalytic perspective, the scar of Kunchisae-Onna represents a repressed cultural anxiety about beauty and fitting in Japanese societal beauty standards.
• Female Rage: The fact that Kuchisake-Onna kills regardless of how you answer—whether you say “yes” or “no”—is a manifestation of female rage. Specifically, it is Kunchisae-Onna’s rage for the societal beauty standards and her impossibility of fitting in. The public’s fear of Kunchisae-Onna, and finding ways to “escape” the deadly consequences, is representative of the social fear of female rage. Kunchisae-Onna is not a monster, but she is portrayed as a monstrous, mad person and somebody to be cautious of—this speaks to the social fear of female rage.
• National Anxiety: The fact that this legend spread nationally, widely enough, that it required press intervention itself speaks to how effectively the legend tapped into pre-existing, widely shared anxieties among Japanese individuals.