Tomino’s Hell: the Cursed Japanese Poem of Terror

[yuiyoshida]

Tomino’s Hell became known in recent times after appearing in the Japanese author Yomota Inuhiko‘s 1998 publication The Heart is like a Rolling Stone . However, the short poem was supposedly originally written nearly a century ago by one Saijō Yaso (1892 ~ 1970), a poet who included the piece in his 27th poetry collection, Gold Dust , which he released in 1919.

The story of this curse was once quite popular on Japan’s online forum 2ch and many users posted photos and videos of their experiences, some apparently disappointed that nothing immediately happened following their recitation. However, there were some other users who claimed they would try the same thing, but never came back online to show their results. Of course it could have been a coincidence or a prank, but it nonetheless seems sinister and anyone compelled to do the same thing should exercise extreme caution.

Should you feel brave enough to read it yourself, check the following toggle for the original Japanese text, the romaji, and an English interpretation from David Bowles. Under no circumstances are you advised to speak the words out loud…

And there, the poem ends, with Tomino’s cry echoing through the darkness, the mountain of knives hungrily puncturing him. Do you bear the misfortune of knowing someone who made the mistake of reading all of the stanzas aloud in Japanese? Do you perhaps have any idea what young Tomino did to end up in such a place? Please do not hesitate to share your own experiences.

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Jigoku: An Introduction to Japan’s Hell
Like most every other civilization scattered across the globe, Japanese culture and history is steeped in religion and has its own unique concepts regarding theology and morality. With our new three-part series, Japanista explores the significance of hell in Japanese culture, how you can experience it for yourself (no, really), as well as its prominence in pop culture, from Dragon Ball Z to Silent Hill!

Disclaimer: While historically, culturally, and artistically interesting, some of this stuff can get pretty gruesome! Keep that in mind as you proceed!

more at..
http://japanistas.com/en/archives/30957