Tag Archives: Japan

Hanako-San

Text:

Interviewee: Hanako-San’s story is an urban legend in Japan, widely spread among children. While I believe it began spreading among people in the mid-20th century, it has been passed down to this day.

Hanako-San is a young girl who wears a red skirt or dress. According to this tale, when you go to a lavatory at night, Hanako-San will haunt you when you are using it.

If you knock a closed toilet stall door three times, Hanako-San will appear. In some versions, it has been told that after Hanako-San’s appearing, if you look up, there will be a ghost looking at you. In other versions of the story, a hand—Hanako-San’s hand, will appear, and Hanako-San will kill you.

There are some versions of the story that have a good ending. For instance, in one version of the tale, when Hanako-San appears, she will play game with you. And this is typically a good ending.

Interviewer: Why is Hanako-San there (in the lavatory)? Any suspicions?

Interviewee: There are sayings about how Hanako-San became a ghost. Some people say she was threatened, frightened, and bullied, and so she hid in a school’s lavatory and died there. Some others say that Hanako-San’s death was caused by air raids in World War II, which makes sense given when the story was first told.

Context:

My interviewee learned Hanako-San’s story when listening to a Chinese podcast. The host of that podcast specializes in Japanese horror stories. My interviewee thinks of this story as a “typical childhood ghost story.” She also uses this legend as a way to learn about Japanese culture and society—their history (such as WWII being alluded to in this legend) and ideologies, etc.

Analysis:

  • Psychoanalytic interpretation: This urban legend can be interpreted using psychoanalytic theory. At its core, this legend functions as an externalization of repressed anxieties in Japanese society: fears that the Japanese society couldn’t openly confront, such as child mortality, wartime trauma, and school bullying.
  • Spatial symbolism: Toilet rooms are typically very small and confined. Their confinement targets people’s fear and mirrors their repressed anxiety.
  • Social issues / Wartime origin: Though this is only one variation of the story, the wartime origin (Hanako-San dying of WWII air raids) connects to Japan’s generational, collective trauma and guilt (this legend was first spread around 1950, not long after WWII). This embodies people’s way of processing this war, as well as the historical violence.

Kuchisake-Onna

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.

“If dust piles up it becomes a mountain”

AGE: 49

Date_of_performance: February 21, 2025

Language: Japanese

Nationality: Japanese

Occupation: Banker

Primary Language: Japanese

Residence: New York

Context: “If dust piles up it becomes a mountain”. E heard this phrase growing up in Japan from her parents and she incorporates it into her day-to-day life today. She interprets it as small things add up to a great result. She gave me the example of happiness, and how being thankful for small things everyday leads to overall happiness in one’s life

Text: 

Interviewer is I. Subject is Eri, E.

I: So what kind of Japanese proverbs do you know of or like?

E: There’s a lot of them I like but one of my favorites is the phrase, “if dust piles up it becomes a mountain”.

I: What does that mean?

E: It means that doing small things will add up to a great result. If you study a language for an hour a day, eventually you will be able to understand a lot of it.

I: I see, so something as small as dust can become a mountain if there is a lot of it. How do you relate this proverb in your day-to-day life?

E: I use it for happiness. I think about small things I’m thankful for everyday. And that makes me very happy overall, it adds to my happiness.

Analysis:

Thinking deeper about this, I think this proverb fits in with Japanese culture. Japanese people have always been hard-working, although there is a sense that they work themselves a little too much. The idea of doing something little by little to make a profound change could be incorporated into how Japanese people view work. Personally, I want to apply this to life with going to the gym. Although results are not immediate, being disciplined and going to the gym often can result in great benefits.

“A child is a parent’s mirror” – Japanese Proverb

Occupation: Student
Performance Date: 2/19/2023
Primary Language: Japanese

1. Text

Main piece: The informant shared a Japanese proverb that goes: “A child is a parent’s mirror”.

2. Context

Relationship to the piece:

Informant: “This one I heard it from my mom”

Interpretation:

Informant:

“I think it’s both [good and bad]”

“like if a child is nasty, then the parent is nasty”

“but if the child is well mannered usually the parent is too”

3. Analysis

This Japanese proverb is similar to proverbs in other cultures like the Korean proverb “If you plant beans you get beans” and the North American proverb “an apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”. This common comparison between parent and children across various cultures shows that people often judge parents by their children and vice versa. It also suggests that a child’s upbringing is very influential to their character. It seems to suggest that the parent-child bond is very strong and is difficult to break from. However, these proverbs come from traditional and conservative views of how families are structured and do not serve to explain all families. Therefore, the idea that children reflect their parents is not absolute but a cautionary message to parents raising children and children growing under the shadow of their parents to be better versions of themselves or break away from the mistakes or flaws of their parents.

“Trip seven times, get up eight times” – Japanese Proverb

Occupation: Student
Performance Date: 2/19
Primary Language: Japanese

1. Text

Main piece: Informant shared a Japanese proverb “七転び八起き”.

Original script: 七転び八起き

Phonetic: Nana korobi hachi oki

Transliteration: Seven falls eight get ups

Translation: Trip seven times, get up eight times.

Definition: Persevering, not giving up till succeeding; the ups and downs of life

2. Context

Relationship to the piece:

Informant:

“I read it in a book”

Meaning:

Informant:

“I never really understood what it was”

“I think it’s perseverance though”

3. Analysis

This Japanese proverb seems to say that life is falling seven times and getting up eight times. Even though you keep falling, if you keep getting up, you will end up on your feet. It also suggests that life is full of ups and downs, and is not easy. One must keep failing then trying again to stay afloat. It does have a positive connotation as the number of falls is less than the number of getting up. This outlook of accepting the struggle yet remaining hopeful is one way that Japanese people live their life. Although the meaning seems similar, this proverb is very different from its likes in the western culture like “failure is the father of success”, where failure is suggested to lead to success. Instead, the Japanese proverb tells the people that life is hard, and one must accept that and persevere, where getting up doesn’t mean success but does mean that one can keep on continuing forward. This shows how the Japanese proverb is more realistic and practical, while the North American proverb is more idealistic. This could be traced further back to the power dynamic differences between Japan and the US since the US is a superpower whereas Japan was defeated during WWII and has been forced to remove its military, renounce their emperor, and even be under control of the US for a period of time. As a superpower, the US has the confidence to use more idealistic proverbs while Japan after WWII has a much more stagnant and cynical outlook which leads to more realistic and pragmatic proverbs.