Japanese Urban Legends

Kokkuri-San

Kokkuri-san is one of the most famous scary games in Japan. It was especially popular during the Meiji period of Japan as well, and is similar to the ouija board. This is mostly played by Japanese schoolchildren who want to summon a spirit so they can ask them about the future.

At one point, the game became so widespread in Japan that it sparked several cases of hysteria in the media, and many schools had to ban students from playing Kokkuri-san.

Kokkuri-san is the name of the spirit who is summoned during the game and provides the answers. It is an animal spirit that is a mixture of a fox, a dog, and a racoon. That explains it's name, because it is Kok= kitsune (fox), Ku= inu (dog), Ri= tanuki (racoon). The fox can either be a trickster or a teacher, the dog is loyal and protecting, and the racoon is full of mischief but a bringer of good luck. All of these qualities are combined in Kokkuri-san.

Using an ouija board is dangerous because it can accidentally summon demons and such, but this game is supposedly much less dangerous because this spirit is only a trickster spirit, and is harmless.

When playing the game, young people usually ask questions like, "Kokkuri-san, who loves me?" or "Kokkuri-san, will I become rich and famous?" But it is said that some questions you ask would be better off not being answered, and Kokkuri-san can easily play a trick and lie to you.

To play the game, you need at least two people, a sheet of paper, a pen, and a coin. Take the blank sheet of paper and draw a "torii" (a traditional Japanese gate) at the top in red ink. Write "YES" and "NO" on either side of the torii. Beneath this, write one row of numbers (from 0 to 9), and three rows of letters (from A to Z).

Then, open a door or window so that Kokkuri-san can enter the room. The torii represents the gateway to a Shinto shrine, and the spirit will enter and leave through it.

Place a coin on the red torii, and have each person place one of their index fingers on the coin. Call the spirit by saying, "Kokkuri-san, Kokkuri-san, if you're here, please move this coin." From that point, if the coin moves, you can then ask the spirit whatever questions you like, and it will spell out the answer on the sheet of paper.

Once you don't want to play anymore, you must ask the spirit to leave by saying "Kokkuri-san, Kokkuri-san, please return home." The coin will then move to "YES" and then move to the torii. This is crucial to the game, or else she may stay around for longer than expected. If the coin doesn't move to the torii when you intend to end the game, then Kokkuri-san may have a few tricks up their sleeve.

When that has happened, you are supposed to destroy the paper by tearing or burning it, as well as spending the coin you used by the end of the day.

This game has an anime named after it called Kokkuri-san, too, where the main character plays the game and summons the spirit. The spirit notices her unhealthy lifestyle and decides to become her guardian since she lives alone and has no friends. As the show goes on, her life is turned around, and she meets a lot of other spirits along the way.

I don't know how intense the game can get since I've never played Kokkuri-san or even the ouija board game, but I'm sure it would be creepy for a coin to be randomly moving on its own. If anyone has ever played either of the two games, feel free to comment your experience, because I'd love to hear about it! After all, it can tell how real these games really are.