Japanese most dangerous game: Hyaku Monogatari Kaidan kai 百物語怪談会



Japan is believed to be one of the most haunted places on Earth: Japanese people have been telling stories about vengeful "demons" (yōkai 妖怪) and "ghosts" (yūrei 幽霊) for centuries and, even now, in Tokyo, there are many haunted places ( shinrei supotto 心霊スポット).

Edo period (1603-1868) was the Golden Age of Japanese ghost stories (Kaidan 怪談). Ghost stories were originally based on Buddhist moral tales and became a summer pastime; in fact, the traditional season for ghost stories is in August, when the spirits of the dead come back to the living world according to the Buddhist Obon festival (Obon お盆). A popular pastime in the Edo period was the game "A gathering of one hundred supernatural tales" (Hyaku monogatari Kaidan kai 百物語怪談会). Originally conceived as a test of courage for samurai, this game was considered to be so dangerous that most people would leave before the end of it.

How to play according to the book "History of One Hundred Countries" (Shokoku monogatari 諸国物語, 1677):

-Wait for the night of the new moon
-Prepare three (or two) rooms. Rooms should be L shaped and belong to a player's house. All objects that could be dangerous must be removed. Room 1, where people gather, is dark; room 2 is empty and also unlit. Remember to put a small mirror on a table in room 3 and lit 100 blue andon lanterns (candles) inside it.
-Gather a group of people, from 2 to 100. Everybody must wear blue clothes and cannot bring a    sword or any sort of weapon.
- People take turns telling ghost stories. At the conclusion of each story, the storyteller goes to the third room, extinguish a candle and looks at himself/herself in the mirror. After that, the storyteller can go back to the first room where people are telling ghost stories.

-When you arrive at the 99th episode, consider to leave: after the 100th ghost story is told and the 100th candle is extinguished, true darkness will descend and the spirit will be summoned. Usually the spirit called Aoandon 青行燈, with her long black hair, horns and a white kimono, is always there waiting to come out!




The game is also believed to open a window into the spirit world without closing it: play it at your own risk!












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