Fearsome Folklores : The Legend of Kuchisake-onna

  You cannot blame the Japanese for being scared to get out of their houses at night. Japan is famous for many good reasons, but you can't deny that the land is also popular for the number of ghosts in its folklore, including the dreadful Teke Teke. Out of all the apparitions of its legends, Kuchisake-onna is one of the most appalling ones.

 The legend of the Kuchisake-onna, which translates to "slit-mouthed lady", is a yokai that originated in the Heian period of Japan's history, roughly around 1200-800 years ago and gave its first re-appearance within the Gifu prefecture in the December of 1978 and eventually become a countrywide sensation. It reportedly even caused a slight panic. Asashi Shimbun, a famous Japanese newspaper, reported "kuchisake-onna" as a buzzword during the summer of 1979. It also stated that ninety-nine per cent of youngsters were familiar with the legend at one point.

 It was widely believed that the Kuchisake-onna appeared in front of people, mainly kids, at night. It became so frightful that parents and tutors even formed groups to accompany children back from school, and at times, even police patrolled the roads that the children used. As her tale unfolded across Japan, it took many variations. But, the grand story is that the Kuchisake-onna is an attractive young lady sporting a white facemask covering her mouth, appearing during the night and asking a passer-by if she looks pretty ("Watashi kirei?"). If they say no, she might kill them straight away or cut their faces like hers, usually with scissors.

 However, if the victim said yes, she would pull off the masks and ask, "how about now?" ("kore demo?"), revealing her bloody, gaping, grossly terrifying mouth. If the character says no at this point, she will kill them, slashing open their mouth. But, if the person says yes again (don't get riled up), they are still not safe. She would accompany them home and kill them right inside their own house.

 Many versions claim that the Kuchisake-onna had an unnatural pace, so breaking out for survival was impossible (quite natural for a Japanese phantom). However, in a few versions, the only escape was to reply with an uncertain answer like "so-so." this would confuse the ghost and give enough time for the victim to run away. In a few other versions, the Kuchisake-onna is fond of a sweet called bekko-ame. So if one threw these at her, she might get distracted, giving time for the victim to get away. While, in other versions, repeating "pomade" thrice would be enough to fend her off.

Appearance

 The Kuchisake-onna is a woman that returned as a ghost to take vengeance on the world after being mutilated. Her name comes from the deep, bloody slit which runs across her face, from ear to ear. She appears at night to lone travellers on the street, masking her bloody mouth with a cloth mask, a fan, or a handkerchief, carrying a sharp object, primarily a pair of scissors with her. She is customarily described as having black hair that is lengthy and straight, faded skin, and extremely beautiful if not for her scar.

Origins

 Legend says that, during the feudal period of japan, a youthful and charming girl lived with her husband, who was a samurai. But, she was unfaithful to her husband and kept cheating on her husband with younger men. The Samurai eventually came to know about this, and enraged, the Samurai raised his sword and slit her mouth from one ear to another and asked her, "Who will think you are beautiful now?".

 After the rash events, the poor lady died either from the injury she sustained or was traumatized by the humiliating event and committed suicide. She later turned into a vengeful spirit, doomed to the earth for eternity. As a vengeful spirit, she hid behind the bushes and attacked lone travellers during the night.

 Another variation of the story insists that her mouth was mutilated in the course of a dental procedure, intentionally by another lady who was jealous of her beauty. This ultimately ended in her death, and she ended up transforming into an Onryō. A few even say that there is a trinity of Kuchisake-onna sisters, wherein the primary one had her mouth accidentally slit during cosmetic surgery, the second one had hers slit in an accident, and the third lost her sanity from looking at her other sisters and slit her mouth herself.

 Her weapon varies with every version where, in some versions, she uses a pair of scissors, while in others, she uses a knife or a scythe.

Appearance in Modern Works.

 Kuchisake-onna has appeared in multiple films, manga, anime, and video games. The character appears in the 1994 animated movie Pom Poko, produced by Studio Ghibli, and later appeared in the 1996 movie Kuchisake-onna, directed by Tsuyoshi Ishii. She was also seen in the 1998 movie ring, directed by Hideo Nakata. In 2007, the film Carved: The Slit-mouthed woman, directed by Kōji Shiraishi, was launched. Carved 2: The Scissors Massacre and The Slit-Mouthed Woman: The Beginning joined the sequel in 2008. Kuchisake-onna also appeared in the 2012 movie Kuchisake-onna Returns and the webcomic Mob Psycho 100.