Kuchisake-onna

From The Book of THoTH (Leaves of Wisdom)

Kuchisake-onna("Slit-Mouth Woman") refers to both a story in Japanese mythology, as well as a modern version of the tale of a woman, mutilated by a jealous husband, and returned as a malicious spirit bent on committing the same acts done to her.

1 Legend
2 Urban legend and public panics
3 In fiction
- 3.1 American Influence
4 See also
5 External references

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Legend

The legend is said to originate with a young woman who lived hundreds of years ago (some versions of the legend state the Heian period) and was either the wife or concubine of a samurai. Said to be very beautiful but also very vain, and possibly cheating on her husband. The samurai, extremely jealous and feeling cuckolded, attacked her and slit her mouth from ear to ear, screaming "Who will think you're beautiful now?"

The urban legend picks up from this point, stating that a woman roams around at night (especially during foggy evenings), with her face covered by a surgical mask. When she encounters someone (primarily children or college students), she will coyly ask, "Watashi wa kirei"? ("Am I beautiful?") or a similar question. If the person says yes (the common answer), she will tear off her mask, revealing her mutilated mouth and repeat her question. The victim will usually run away screaming, and the Kuchisake-onna will chase after, usually carrying a bladed weapon, such as a knife (in some extreme versions of the tale, she will summon a giant scythe). If she catches the person, the results depend on the gender of the victim; men will be killed instantly, while women will be turned into another Kuchisake-onna, cursed to commit the same horrors.

The legend says that to answer yes to the second question will cause her to smile and leave the person in peace, though some variations say that extremely agitated Kuchisake-onna will refuse to do so. The surest way to escape, according to all versions of the legend, is to distract the Kuchisake-onna by way of throwing candy, fruit or something of interest.

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Urban legend and public panics

During the spring and summer of 1979, rumors abounded throughout Japan about sightings of the Kuchisake-onna having hunted down children. This story, however, may have originated from a case of a woman attacking a child in public, though even this is not confirmed.[1]

In 2004, a similar legend spread throughout cities in South Korea, though this may have been fueled by tales of the 1979 cases in Japan, as well as a 1996 Japanese film (see below).

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In fiction

The 1996 film Kuchisake-onna gives the legend a modern origin as the result of a plastic surgery gone horribly awry. Many anime series refer to the legend as well, often in throwaway lines. This is especially true during the 1980s when the 1979 reports were fresh in people's memories. Several kuchisake-onna appear in the manga and anime series Hell Teacher Nūbē; in this series they are shown in a much more sympathetic light. An episode of the anime Ghost Stories featuring the character was initially scheduled to air on November 5, 2000, but the episode was discontinued when many people complained to Fuji TV because they thought the facial feature looked like cleft palate. [2]

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American Influence

In the current plastic-surgery television drama Nip/Tuck, there is a frequently reoccuring character known as The Carver who uses the same technique of slicing the faces of his victims to resemble a smile. His motives for doing this derive from his contempt for the vanity of modern American society as well as the importance of physical beauty in pop culture. This is made apparent in the notable quote from the show, "Beauty is a curse on the world. It keeps us from seeing who the real monsters are." This could easily be viewed as an allusion to the legend of Kuchisake-onna, although it was never directly mentioned in the show. [3]

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