Knock three times and say the name.
Hello and welcome back to 13 Days of Otakutober! And welcome back to another installment of Nihongo Legends. Today, for our spooky season legend, there were many to pick from. But we thought, what better legend than the one we’ve mentioned several times this Otakutober? Today class will be in session to learn about school based ghost, Hanako-san.
The chances you’ve heard of Hanako-san’s legend are pretty high. Hanako-san has been depicted in a variety of media — anime, game, book, movie. Hanako-san often appears as a seemingly harmless little girl wearing a red dress or red skirt. She’s found in lavatories in schools mainly where she haunts students. Similar to Bloody Mary, you can summon Hanako-san by completing a repetitive ritual; knocking three times on the third stall door and asking if Hanako-san is there. Legends say that if Hanako-san is present, she’ll respond and then one of two things may happen. Either Hanako-san will appear and drag the person down to hell through the toilet, or the person may be eaten by a three-headed lizard (how the lizard folds into the legend, I’ll never know).
Not many know where exactly the Hanako-san originated. Like many urban legends, there are different versions of its origination, though it seems to date back to at least 1950 and gained popularity in the 90s with its various media depictions. Some say Hanako-san was a little girl who was murdered in a school bathroom, others say she committed suicide in the bathroom after being bullied. One legend even says Hanako-san was a little girl who died playing hide-and-seek in a bathroom during an air raid during World War II. While all these stories vary, there’s no solid origin to Hanako-san, but it is agreed through all the variations of the story that Hanako-san met a tragic end of some kind and that’s why she haunts the lavatories of schools. It’s said that to escape Hanako-san, you have two options. The first is to present her with a good grade that will distract her. The other one is to tell Hanako-san that you have a sibling waiting for you. Even though Hanako-san’s legend doesn’t state she has siblings, this response will still illicit sympathy and she will let you go.
Some speculate that the legend of Hanako-san could be modernized versions of older legends. There have been many yokai and yurei associated with water. For instance, Kawayagami are like outhouse/water deities that date back to the day, day. Kawayagami were said to reside in places where human waste was such as rivers, bathhouses, and outhouses. In ancient times, these places were often dark and scary places, and fear of falling into/drowning was common. Some think that Hanako-san could have been inspired by folktales since she too haunts bathrooms and similar to past fears, one of the consequences of summoning her is being dragged into the toilet and down to hell.
Well, there you have it! That’s your crash course in the legend of Hanako-san. Did you already know this info? Is it all brand new? Drop your favorite iteration of Hanako-san in the comments below! And until next time —
xoxo
Luna
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