List of reportedly haunted locations in Japan

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This is a list of reportedly haunted locations in Japan.

Contents

Tokyo

Aokigahara Forest Aokigahara Forest (10863465773).jpg
Aokigahara Forest
Sunshine 60 in 2004 Sunshine 60 1 Ikebukuro Tokyo 21 May 2004.jpg
Sunshine 60 in 2004
Sunshine 60
Built on the site of the former Sugamo Prison, where seven Japanese war criminals (including former Prime Minister Hideki Tojo) were hung in 1948. Soviet spy Richard Sorge was also hung in the prison in 1944. Since the prison's dismantlement and Sunshine 60's completion, there have been claims of supernatural sightings in and around the building. [1] [2]
Masakado’s grave  [ ja ]
Purportedly the resting place of Taira no Masakado, a rebellious Heian period warlord. There have been cases where construction workers disturbing the grave had accidents, with some dying as a result. [3] [4]
Oiwa Shrine
Believed to be the former home of a woman who was murdered by her husband. [1]
Hachiōji Castle
An abandoned castle site. Visitors to the ruins claim to hear the screams of women. [5] [6]
Prudential Tower
In 1982, a fire in the building killed 33 people, making people believe it to be haunted. [7] [8]
Akasaka Mansion hotel
A woman claimed she was dragged across her room by an unseen force. [9]
Doryodo Ruins
Two bodies were allegedly found on the site, a body of an elderly woman in 1963 and a young college student in 1973. The temple was demolished in 1985. Visitors have claimed to hear the screams of the two murder victims. [9] [10]

Kyoto

Kiyotaki Tunnel Kiyotaki Tunnel.jpg
Kiyotaki Tunnel
Kiyotaki Tunnel
One of the most famous haunted locations in Kyoto. [11] [ page needed ]
Midoro Pond
A spirit of a young girl is believed to haunt the pond. [12] [ page needed ]

Yamanashi

Aokigahara
One of the most popular suicide sites in Japan, [13] [14] reputed to be haunted by the yūrei of those died there. [15] [16]
Oiran Buchi
According to a legend during the Warring States period, there was a gold mine in the area. The 55 prostitutes working there were killed to prevent them from sharing information about the gold. [17] [18]

Other

Okiku Well in Himeji Castle Okiku Well in Himeji Castle 3.jpg
Okiku Well in Himeji Castle
Himeji Castle
Believed to be haunted by Banchō Sarayashiki. [6]
Mount Osore
Believed to be a gateway to the underworld. [19] [ page needed ]
Gridley Tunnel
Located on a naval base in Yokosuka, Japan. Between midnight and 1:00 am on rainy nights, a samurai appears to solo explorers. [20]
Maruoka Castle
According to legend, in 1576, a widow named Oshizu agreed to become hitobashira if her son became samurai for the lord. However, the lord was later transferred, and the promise was broken, so Oshizu flooded the castle’s moat every April. [6]
Ryokufuso Inn
Allegedly home to a zashiki-warashi. Some guests have claimed they were touched by invisible fingers as they slept. Others have claimed to have seen ghostly white balls floating in the air. [21]

See also

Related Research Articles

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A haunted house, spook house or ghost house in ghostlore is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were otherwise connected with the property. Parapsychologists often attribute haunting to the spirits of the dead who have suffered from violent or tragic events in the building's past such as murder, accidental death, or suicide.

<i>Yūrei</i> Figures in Japanese folklore similar to ghosts

Yūrei are figures in Japanese folklore analogous to the Western model of ghosts. The name consists of two kanji, (), meaning "faint" or "dim" and (rei), meaning "soul" or "spirit". Alternative names include Bōrei (亡霊), meaning ruined or departed spirit, Shiryō (死霊), meaning dead spirit, or the more encompassing Yōkai (妖怪) or Obake (お化け). Like their Chinese, Korean, and Western counterparts, they are thought to be spirits barred from a peaceful afterlife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taira no Masakado</span> Heian period provincial magnate and samurai in eastern Japan

Taira no Masakado was a Heian period provincial magnate (gōzoku) and samurai based in eastern Japan, notable for leading the first recorded uprising against the central government in Kyōto.

<i>Onryō</i> Type of ghost in Japanese folklore

In Japanese traditional beliefs and literature, onryō are a type of ghost believed to be capable of causing harm in the world of the living, injuring or killing enemies, or even causing natural disasters to exact vengeance to "redress" the wrongs it received while alive, then taking their spirits from their dying bodies. Onryō are often depicted as wronged women, who are traumatized by what happened during life and exact revenge in death.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goryō</span>

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<i>Female Ghost</i> (Kunisada)

Female Ghost is an ukiyo-e woodblock print dating to 1852 by celebrated Edo period artist Utagawa Kunisada, also known as Toyokuni III. Female Ghost exemplifies the nineteenth century Japanese vogue for the supernatural and superstitious in the literary and visual arts. The print is part of the permanent collection of the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada.

<i>Yūrei-zu</i> Genre of Japanese art

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prudential Tower (Tokyo)</span> Offices, shops, residential in Nagatachō, Japan

The Prudential Tower (プルデンシャルタワー) is a skyscraper located in Nagatachō, Tokyo, Japan. It contains offices, residences, and shops, with 38 floors above ground and a total floor area of 76,634 square meters. It is situated on the Sotobori-dōri trunk road, near the National Diet Building and other central government institutions, including the Prime Minister's Official Residence.

One Hundred Ghost Stories is a series of ukiyo-e woodblock prints made by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) in the Yūrei-zu genre circa 1830. He created this series around the same time he was creating his most famous works, the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji series. There are only five prints in this series, though as its title suggests, the publisher, Tsuruya Kiemon, and Hokusai wanted to make a series of one hundred prints. Hokusai was in his seventies when he worked on this series, and though his most famous impressions are landscape and wild-life works, he was attune to the superstitions of the Edo period. This culminated in him creating these yokai prints of popular ghost stories being told at the time. The prints show scenes from such stories, that could be recited during the game of Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai.

References

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