About a Place in the Kinki Region Translation Notes 4

These translation notes cover content in parts 25 to 34 of About a Place in the Kinki Region. The translation notes are ordered per part, but please be cautious of reading ahead due to spoilers.

Part 25

Seven Mysteries

Many schools across Japan have a list of so-called 'Seven Mysteries'. This is a well-known trend, and you can find the topic cropping up every now and again in Japanese media. Aside from a few notable exceptions, the mysteries depicted in this excerpt are all the fairly common kind you'd find in many such lists.

Part 29

Hanako-san

Hanako-san is the name of a paranormal entity frequently featuring in ghost stories told at schools across Japan. 'Hanako-san of the Toilet' is the ghost of a young girl who haunts the school's bathroom(s). They're often depicted with jet-black hair in a short bob and wearing a red and white uniform with a skirt (and sometimes a large red backpack associated with elementary-age children). Their origin varies; while many of the older depictions have Hanako-san be the ghost of a girl who died while hiding in a bathroom stall during a WWII air raid, others depict her as the victim of a murderer or having taken her own life. If you contact Hanako-san, supposedly she will pull you into the toilet and drag you to hell.

Mary-san

Mary-san (or Merry-san) is a once-popular ghost story about a haunted doll. The tale goes that Mary-san was beloved by her owner but was accidentally thrown away by their parents. Their parents buy the child a new doll, and Mary-san grows jealous. One night, having completely forgot about their old doll, the child received a phone call on their home's landline. The caller claims to be Mary-san, and informs the child that she's at the garbage dump. Thinking it a prank call, the child ignores it. They then receive further phone calls where Mary-san describes being closer and closer to the child. Eventually, she's 'right behind you' and spirits the child away or kills them. There's many variations, and it was once a well-known chain e-mail.

The Cow's Head

The Cow's Head (牛頭, gozu) is an urban legend in Japan which describes a story (of the same name) which is so horrifying that anyone who learns it dies from fear. Its origins as an urban legend are unclear and, due to the nature of the tale, it's practically impossible to discern anything about it.

A Ghost is Little More Than Withered Silver Grass

The author describes the meaning of this proverb, but to be more specific, it describes something as being more terrifying than it actually is, and its the fear of the undefined that creates the 'ghost.' It depicts dry grass shaking in the wind, which might first seem like an entity of some sort, but is in fact nothing more than grass. An English-language equivalent would be 'fear makes the wolf bigger than he is.'

Part 31

Spiritual Space

It seems quite obvious to me that this cult is inspired by the real-world new religious movement Happy Science. It is similarly focused on the cosmos, worships no traditional 'deity,' and aims to spread the truth of the universe through happiness. You can look them up yourself, they're quite infamous.

Part 33

Persimmon Tree Exchange

This is a real historical custom, and goes mostly how the old man describes it. It is a so-called 'bedroom dialogue,' which sometimes featured as part of 'bedroom customs' in Japan. These bedroom customs cover a wide range of traditions regarding how a newly-wed couple should consummate their marriage through intercourse on their wedding night (typically the second night after the wedding in actuality.) There are countless traditions which varied based on locality, and even some that were followed to the letter by the upper eschelons of Japanese society at the time. This 'Persimmon Tree Exchange' is one such example, and obviously the couple are discussing whether they are prepared for intercourse.