Tomino's Hell is a poem by poet Saijō Yaso. According to the legend, the poem curses the reader with misfortune or death if read aloud.
There are several ways to interpret the disturbing symbolism in the poem. Either Tomino murdered his parents and is now suffering the Buddhist idea of the Seven Circles of Hell, or the poet is describing the feeling of his own survivor's guilt after the passing of his sister or father.
Tomino's Hell, translated in English by David Bowles:
Elder sister vomits blood,
younger sister's breathing fire
while sweet little Tomino
just spits up the jewels.
All alone does Tomino
go falling into that hell,
a hell of utter darkness,
without even flowers.
Is Tomino's big sister
the one who whips him?
The purpose of the scourging
hangs dark in his mind.
Lashing and thrashing him, ah!
But never quite shattering.
One sure path to Avici,
the eternal hell.
Into that blackest of hells
guide him now, I pray—
to the golden sheep,
to the nightingale.
How much did he put
in that leather pouch
to prepare for his trek to
the eternal hell?
Spring is coming
to the valley, to the wood,
to the spiraling chasms
of the blackest hell.
The nightingale in her cage,
the sheep aboard the wagon,
and tears well up in the eyes
of sweet little Tomino.
Sing, o nightingale,
in the vast, misty forest—
he screams he only misses
his little sister.
His wailing desperation
echoes throughout hell—
a fox peony
opens its golden petals.
Down past the seven mountains
and seven rivers of hell—
the solitary journey
of sweet little Tomino.
If in this hell they be found,
may they then come to me, please,
those sharp spikes of punishment
from Needle Mountain.
Not just on some empty whim
Is flesh pierced with blood-red pins:
they serve as hellish signposts
for sweet little Tomino.
{ So, if you did decide to read it, how do you interpret this? I'd love to see your opinions! Also, please don't read this aloud. If you decide to, I will not be held responsible for any misfortune. }
YOU ARE READING
Japanese Urban Legends
HorrorDo you guys like creepy urban legends? Me too! These urban legends are based in Japan. Which one do you find the most unsettling?
