Ghosts on the shore
November 28, 2018 2:13 PM Subscribe
"In Japan, ghost stories are not to be scoffed at, but provide deep insights into the fuzzy boundary between life and death": essay by Christopher Harding in Aeon.
Japanese ghost stories previously.
Japanese ghost stories previously.
Interesting article. We live in Japan for part of the year, but for months at a time the house is shuttered. When we return the very first thing we do is open the family Buddhist altar, and say hello to my father-in-law (he died in 1999 before my kids were born). My wife and kids actually talk to him. I am a bit more shy.
He's not a ghost, but he does return to Tsuruga every August for Obon, as do the rest of the dead. Coming from a Western perspective, you might think "they don't really believe that, do they?" But yes, the dead do come back.
posted by JamesBay at 4:10 PM on November 28, 2018 [10 favorites]
He's not a ghost, but he does return to Tsuruga every August for Obon, as do the rest of the dead. Coming from a Western perspective, you might think "they don't really believe that, do they?" But yes, the dead do come back.
posted by JamesBay at 4:10 PM on November 28, 2018 [10 favorites]
I recently bought a whole lot of ghost-story books from the local used bookstore, including this gem that I've been reading for a week or so: Obake: Ghost Stories in Hawaii, by Glen Grant. I've always loved local ghost stories, and Grant's book is a treasure trove. It's been so interesting to learn about Japanese ghosts as they now appear in a Hawaiian context, with all the cultural intermixing that goes along with it, and the stories themselves are completely, deeply engaging and enjoyable as stories. Highly recommend it, and I'm going to have to check out any others mentioned here.
posted by limeonaire at 6:31 PM on November 28, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by limeonaire at 6:31 PM on November 28, 2018 [3 favorites]
Some of the best-known of these ghosts are ubume: women who have died in childbirth. One classic tale has a woman wordlessly buying sweets in a shop, dropping a dried-up leaf into the payment jar. Perplexed, the shopkeeper follows her home – to a graveyard, where she disappears over a patch of earth. The sound of crying can be heard underneath. Digging up the soil, the body of the woman is found, clasping a living baby for whom she has been seeking out sustenance.
That one supposedly happened in Kyoto and the candy shop is still open.
posted by sukeban at 11:13 PM on November 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
That one supposedly happened in Kyoto and the candy shop is still open.
posted by sukeban at 11:13 PM on November 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
Uber (and similar eg Grab) isn't allowed to operate in Japan, or else there'd be updates to the good old taxis-ferrying-ghost-passengers in Japan like in other parts of Asia, I expect...
posted by cendawanita at 12:30 AM on November 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by cendawanita at 12:30 AM on November 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
Somewhat relatedly, this morning it's been popping on NHK's twitter feed that the UNESCO has recognised 10 Japanese rituals of visiting deities (like namahage) as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
posted by sukeban at 12:41 AM on November 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by sukeban at 12:41 AM on November 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
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I'm also reminded of Miyuki Miyabe's fairly recent collection of themed ghost stories, Apparitions: Ghosts of Old Edo. Like the article, I think she tries to tie ghost stories to a particular social scene, only it's mostly work conditions ~200 years ago. Good stuff.
posted by Wobbuffet at 2:47 PM on November 28, 2018 [2 favorites]