Ghost

The Japanese language is rich in words and expressions influenced by nature, history and culture. In this episode, poet and literary translator Peter MacMillan travels to Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture, where the writer and journalist Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904) lived. Hearn is known for his compilation of Japanese ghost stories, Kwaidan, and had a deep interest in Japanese spirituality and folk religion. We visit the places that inspired Hearn in Matsue and look at some expressions related to ghosts along the way.

Lafcadio Hearn is known for his compilation of Japanese ghost stories
Yurei: ghost
Bakemono: creatures that are transformed from their original state
Kitsunetsuki ("possessed by a fox"): an altered mental state

Transcript

00:01

"Yukigesho."

00:04

"Karakurenai."

00:07

The Japanese language is rich in unique expressions that reflect nature and culture.

00:14

Magical Japanese.

00:18

Today's theme is "Yurei," or "Ghosts."

00:26

Hello, I'm Peter MacMillan.

00:28

Can you tell where I'm standing?

00:31

Today I am in Matsue, in Shimane prefecture, where my compatriot Lafcadio Hearn lived.

00:40

Hearn is known for his compilation of Japanese ghost stories, Kwaidan.

00:46

Today we will have a look at some of the places he visited here, and learn some Japanese expressions related to ghosts.

00:59

"Yurei."

01:01

"Yu" is the afterlife, and "rei" is the soul of a dead person.

01:08

Yurei refers to the apparition of a dead soul.

01:12

Such spirits are believed to linger in this world to carry out unfinished tasks, including acts of revenge.

01:22

Many Japanese ghost stories, or kaidan, feature yurei.

01:27

A common depiction of yurei in modern Japanese culture is a pale figure with no legs.

01:35

This image is said to have spread in the Edo period, when kaidan became a popular form of entertainment and drawings of this style were produced widely.

01:47

"Yurei."

01:53

There are also modern-day yurei.

01:58

For example, a company that is not legally registered, or a company whose name is legally registered but does not actually exist, these are known as yurei gaisha - ghost companies.

02:17

"Yureigaisha."

02:24

People who are members of a school or university club or team but do not actually participate are called yurei buin - ghost members.

02:39

"Yureibuin."

02:45

Let's have a closer look at Hearn's life.

02:48

He was born in modern-day Greece and raised in his father's home in Ireland.

02:55

While working as a journalist in the United States, he began to read Japanese myths and gained an interest in Japan.

03:05

He eventually came to Matsue when he was 40 years old, to work as a teacher.

03:12

He later married a Japanese woman named Setsu.

03:16

His wife would find new local stories and tell them to Hearn repeatedly.

03:23

Hearn then began writing his own works.

03:28

Let's have a look at one of the ghost stories that he compiled.

03:37

Of the cemetery Dai-Oji, which is in the street called Nakabaramachi, this story is told- In Nakabaramachi there is an ameya, or little shop in which midzu-ame is sold -

03:55

- the amber-tinted syrup, made of malt, which is given to children when milk cannot be obtained for them.

04:06

Every night, at a late hour, there came to the shop a woman who would buy a cup of mizu-ame.

04:14

One night, the woman beckoned the shop owner to come with her.

04:20

He and his friends followed her to a tomb in a temple ground, and there she disappeared.

04:26

Then he heard, under the ground, the crying of a child.

04:33

Opening the tomb, they saw within it the corpse of the woman who nightly visited the ameya, with a living infant, laughing to see the lantern light, and beside the infant a little cup of mizu-ame.

04:52

For the mother had been prematurely buried; the child was born in the tomb, and the ghost of the mother had thus provided for it - love being stronger than death.

05:08

Yurei aren't the only things that appear in Japanese ghost stories.

05:14

There is another class of mysterious being in Japan.

05:20

"Bakemono."

05:22

"Bake" means transformation, and "mono" refers to a living creature.

05:29

Bakemono are creatures such as foxes, raccoon dogs... and cats that are transformed from their original state.

05:39

They were believed to cause strange occurrences and trick humans with their supernatural powers.

05:46

Animals and people who died full of resentment were thought to return to this world as bakemono.

05:54

"Bakemono."

06:00

Along with being strongly associated with bakemono, foxes have also long been seen as messengers of divine spirits.

06:11

Jozan Inari Shrine in Matsue City has more than 1,000 statues of kitsune, or foxes.

06:20

Hearn used to walk through the shrine every day.

06:23

It was one of his favorite places.

06:27

Japanese religion is animistic - things in nature are believed to have souls.

06:36

In animism, nature is both feared and revered.

06:43

"Kitsunetsuki."

06:47

"Tsuki" means to possess.

06:50

Kitsunetsuki literally means "possessed by a fox" and describes an altered mental state.

06:58

The word comes from the belief that foxes have spiritual powers.

07:04

People were fearful of being possessed by foxes...

07:07

and to avoid this they would make offerings of abura-age, or deep-fried tofu.

07:14

It was believed this was the fox's favorite food and its presence would ward off any mischievous spirits.

07:22

The custom was practiced throughout Japan.

07:26

"Kitsunetsuki."

07:33

In my home country Ireland, there was also a cultic folk religion followed by the Druids who believe that all phenomena have a soul.

07:45

One of the reasons that Hearn was so open to understanding Japanese folk religion was likely because he was raised in Ireland which has a very similar culture.

08:01

"Kamikakushi."

08:05

"Kami" means divine spirit and "kakushi" means to hide.

08:12

This describes the sudden vanishing of a child.

08:16

The word associates such disappearances with the workings of kami and also bakemono.

08:23

According to some folktales foxes were believed to abduct children.

08:28

But if you prayed to the kami, it would punish the guilty fox, and the missing child would be quickly returned.

08:37

"Kamikakushi."

08:45

"Kamigakatteiru."

08:50

This word describes someone who has entered a state of ecstasy while praying to kami.

08:57

Such a person would make strange movements or say bizarre things, as if possessed.

09:04

These days, the expression has a more positive meaning and is used to praise someone who has displayed seemingly superhuman abilities.

09:16

Look at him!

09:17

His moves are "kamigakatteiru" - superhuman.

09:21

He's going to lead his team to a comeback.

09:26

"Kamigakatteiru."

09:33

Upon seeing the deeply spiritual lifestyle of the people and the beauty of Lake Shinji here, Hearn called Matsue the "capital of the land of the gods."

09:47

This sense of reverence and respect for nature is more important now than ever.

09:55

See you next time.

09:56

Bye.