Yurei

In the late 17th century, a game called *Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai* became popular, and *kaidan* increasingly became a subject for theater, literature and other arts. *Ukiyo-e* artist Maruyama Ōkyo created the first known example of the now-traditional *yūrei*, in his painting *The Ghost of Oyuki*. The Zenshō-an in Tokyo houses the largest single collection of *yūrei* paintings which are only shown in August, the traditional month of the spirits.

Today, the appearance of *yūrei* is somewhat uniform, instantly signalling the ghostly nature of the figure, and assuring that it is culturally authentic.

* **White clothing**: *Yūrei* are usually dressed in white, signifying the white burial kimono used in Edo period funeral rituals. In Shinto, white is a color of ritual purity, traditionally reserved for priests and the dead. This kimono can either be a *katabira* (a plain, white, unlined kimono) or a *kyokatabira* (a white katabira inscribed with Buddhist sutras). They sometimes have a *hitaikakushi* (lit. "forehead cover"), which is a small white triangular piece of cloth tied around the head.
* **Black hair**: The hair of a *yūrei* is often long, black and disheveled, which some believe to be a trademark carried over from kabuki theater, where wigs are used for all actors. This is a misconception: Japanese women traditionally grew their hair long and wore it pinned up, and it was let down for the funeral and burial.
* **Hands and feet**: The hands of a *yūrei* are said to dangle lifelessly from the wrists, which are held outstretched with the elbows near the body. They typically lack legs and feet, floating in the air. These features originated in Edo period *ukiyo-e* prints, and were quickly copied over to kabuki. In kabuki, this lack of legs and feet is often represented by using a very long kimono or even hoisting the actor into the air by a series of ropes and pulleys.
* **Hitodama**: *Yūrei* are frequently depicted as being accompanied by a pair of floating flames or will o' the wisps (*hitodama* in Japanese) in eerie colors such as blue, green, or purple. These ghostly flames are separate parts of the ghost rather than independent spirits.

## Classifications

### *Yūrei*

While all Japanese ghosts are called *yūrei*, within that category there are several specific types of phantom, classified mainly by the manner they died or their reason for returning to Earth:

* *Onryō*: Vengeful ghosts who come back from purgatory for a wrong done to them during their lifetime.
* *Ubume*: A mother ghost who died in childbirth, or died leaving young children behind. This *yūrei* returns to care for her children, often bringing them sweets.
* *Goryō*: Vengeful ghosts of the aristocratic class, especially those who were martyred.
* *Funayūrei*: The ghosts of those who died at sea. These ghosts are sometimes depicted as scaly fish-like humanoids and some may even have a form similar to that of a mermaid or merman.
* *Zashiki-warashi*: The ghosts of children; often mischievous rather than dangerous.
* Floating spirits (浮遊霊, *Fuyūrei*): These spirits do not seek to fulfill an exact purpose and wanders around aimlessly. In ancient times, the disease of the Emperor of Japan was thought to arise as a result of these spirits floating in the air.
* Earth-bound spirits (Japanese: 地縛霊, Hepburn: *Jibakurei*): Similar to a *fuyūrei* and is rare, these spirits do not seek to fulfill an exact purpose and are instead bound to a specific place or situation. Famous examples of this include the famous story of Okiku at the well of Himeji Castle and the hauntings in the film *Ju-On: The Grudge*.

### Buddhist ghosts

There are two types of ghosts specific to Buddhism, both being examples of unfulfilled earthly hungers being carried on after death. They are different from other classifications of *yūrei* due to their religious nature:

* *Gaki*
* *Jikininki*

## Hauntings

*Yūrei* often fall under the general umbrella term of obake, derived from the verb bakeru, meaning "to change"; thus obake are preternatural beings who have undergone some sort of change, from the natural realm to the supernatural.

However, *yūrei* differ from traditional *bakemono* due to their temporal specificity. The *yūrei* is one of the only creatures in Japanese mythology to have a preferred haunting time (midtime of the hours of the Ox; around 2:00 am–2:30 am, when the veils between the world of the dead and the world of the living are at their thinnest). By comparison, normal *obake* could strike at any time, often darkening or changing their surroundings should they feel the need. Similarly, *yūrei* are more bound to specific locations of haunting than the average *bakemono,* which are free to haunt any place without being bound to it.

Yanagita Kunio generally distinguishes *yūrei* from *obake* by noting that *yūrei* tend to have a specific purpose for their haunting, such as vengeance or completing unfinished business. While for many *yūrei* this business is concluded, some *yūrei*, such as Okiku, remain earthbound due to the fact that their business is not possible to complete. In the case of Okiku, this business is counting plates hoping to find a full set, but the last plate is invariably missing or broken according to the different retellings of the story. This means that their spirit can never find peace, and thus will remain a *jibakurei*.

### Famous hauntings

Some famous locations that are said to be haunted by *yūrei* are the well of Himeji Castle, haunted by the ghost of Okiku, and Aokigahara, the forest at the bottom of Mount Fuji, which is a popular location for suicide. A particularly powerful *onryō*, known as Oiwa, is said to be able to bring vengeance on any actress portraying her part in a theater or film adaptation.

Okiku, Oiwa, and the lovesick Otsuya together make up the *San O-Yūrei* (Japanese: 三大幽霊, "three great Yūrei") of Japanese culture. These are *yūrei* whose stories have been passed down and retold throughout the centuries, and whose characteristics along with their circumstances and fates have formed a large part of Japanese art and society.

## Exorcism

The easiest way to exorcise a *yūrei* is to help it fulfill its purpose. When the reason for the strong emotion binding the spirit to Earth is gone, the *yūrei* is satisfied and can move on. Traditionally, this is accomplished by family members enacting revenge upon the *yūrei*'s slayer, or when the ghost consummates its passion/love with its intended lover, or when its remains are discovered and given a proper burial with all rites performed.

The emotions of the *onryō* are particularly strong, and they are the least likely to be pacified by these methods.

On occasion, Buddhist priests and mountain ascetics were hired to perform services on those whose unusual or unfortunate deaths could result in their transition into a vengeful ghost, a practice similar to exorcism. Sometimes these ghosts would be deified in order to placate their spirits.

Like many monsters of Japanese folklore, malicious *yūrei* are repelled by *ofuda* (御札), holy Shinto writings containing the name of a *kami*. The *ofuda* must generally be placed on the *yūrei*'s forehead to banish the spirit, although they can be attached to a house's entry ways to prevent the *yūrei* from entering.

## Trivia

* she is a ghost
* she can haunt people anywhere