So now you know that I love Ghibli films just as much as you guys, but here’s my question: How many of you have ever been scared of Studio Ghibli? How many of you have heard of Totoro’s urban legend and / or Ghibli’s Curse? Regardless of whether or not you know about them (or believe in them), I personally have literally shuddered and trembled because of them. Ready for some ghost stories? C’mere, gather around my camp fire to stay awhile and listen…

“My Neighbor Totoro”

One of my favorite Ghibli films, 隣のトトロ (Tonari no Totoro / My Neighbor Totoro), has a deep and dark secret. Before we get into that, though, let’s take a look at its fun, friendly plot! Many of you guys probably know of it already, but let me introduce it to you anyways. The story is about two young girls, Satsuki and her little sister, Mei. They move into a house in the countryside with their father to be closer to their mother, who is sick and hospitalized. Then, they discover magical creatures called Totoros inhabiting the nearby forest. They become friends with the Totoros and have magical adventures.

Just to be sure, I’d like to explain that Totoro is not a Japanese traditional character but rather a creation of Hayao Miyazaki. They look like a mixture of several animals: 梟 (fukuro / owls), 猫 (neko / cats), and 狸 (tanuki / raccoon dogs). They are so cute and one of my favorite characters in all Ghibli films. These cuddly creatures seem to be called many names varying from “a giant furry thing” to “a rabbit like spirit.”

One day, though, I found out that the name “Totoro” comes from when Mei mispronounces the word トロール (tororu), the Japanese word for “troll.” It seems so clear watching the movie now, but as a kid I didn’t realize this because the Totoro is so cute! Of course, I was shocked and thought, “TROLL???” My image for trolls wasn’t cute at all. Instead, they were large, stupid, hairy, long-nosed, horned, and creepy bug-eyed creatures.

But, if Totoro is a troll, at least in the eyes of a child, what else could it be? Maybe the child didn’t know better, so she called it a “troll” when it was something else. But what else? Some people out there think that the Totoros are 死神 (shinigami), aka “Gods Of Death.” Considering how often Hayao Miyazaki puts hidden meanings into his Ghibli films, I think it is possible. If you keep reading, you’ll see why other people think this, too.

The Sayama Incident

It has been said that My Neighbor Totoro is actually based on a famous murder case called “The Sayama Incident.” This case occurred on May 1, 1963 in Sayama City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan, when a man kidnapped, raped, and killed a 16-year-old high school girl. Although a suspect was arrested and imprisoned for 31 years, he claimed that he was arrested, wrongfully convicted, and the police failed to catch the real murderer when they had the chance. He also claimed official discrimination against Japan’s 部落民 (burakumin), a social minority in Japanese society. He was paroled and released from prison in 1994, but he still remains guilty and continues to seek a fair trial for the chance to clear his name.

Let’s get back to the connection between the Sayama incident and My Neighbor Totoro, though. Why do people think that this film is related to the Sayama Incident? Why do they think that Totoro represents the God of Death? Here are a few theories:

The Month Of May

The first clue for this conspiracy theory is that both of the sisters’ names related to “May,” the month that the Sayama incident occurred in. The older sister’s name “Satsuki” means “May” in Japanese and the younger sister’s name “Mei” is pronounced just like the English word “May.”

Sayama City

The model of the house from the film is located in 狭山丘陵 (Sayama Kyuryo), which means “Sayama Hills,” and the movie’s location was inspired by Tokorozawa-city, which is next to Sayama City where the incident took place. This all explains why it’s called “My Neighbor,” right? But, the town in the film is in Sayama. Here’s the first clue:

On the box behind the old lady it says “Sayama Tea.” Hmm, suspicious, but not damning. Here’s another clue:

The hospital in the film, 七国病院 (shichikoku byouin) had a real-life counterpart in Sayama, called the 八国病院 (hachikoku byouin). Only one number apart. Coincidence? Probably not. This hospital was supposedly located in the same place as portrayed movie.

Suicide

The girl who was killed in Sayama had an older sister who loved her little sister so much that she committed suicide after her death. It’s said that the older sister was seeing big raccoon or cat-like ghosts before she killed herself, due to so much stress. The Totoros could have been inspired by this. It could be interpreted that Satsuki did the same in the film, though we’ll talk about that in just a second.

Soot Sprites (Susuwatari)

Early in the film the girls see these things, which apparently in Japanese folklore mean you’re about to die. Not a good sign. They also appear later, when Satsuki tries to join her sister in death (whoops, spoilers, okeep reading).

Seeing The Totoros

If you can see the Totoros (aka the God of Death), it means that you’re either dead or almost dead. Kanta, the old lady’s grandson couldn’t see the Totoros even though he was a kid (supposedly kids can see the magic things, though in this case he couldn’t). Yet, the two girls could see them. Remember when Mei goes missing and her slipper is found in the pond? Supposedly Mei actually drowned here. Ruh roh. Actually, though, the slipper is not hers (if you compare slipper pics). So, could this be a representation of something? Or, does it debunk all of these conspiracies? I’m sure you’ll have an opinion on the matter.

Knocking On Death’s Door

So, in this theory, Mei is dead. Satsuki goes to look for her, and opens death’s door, going inside. She’s so wrought with grief that she joins her sister in death, which emulates the girl’s suicide in the Sayama Incident. Remember the susuwatari? They come back during this sequence. Death is not far away… she’s running right into it!

When she’s crossed over to the other side, the Totoro then helps Satsuki to find her sister in dead-land, and then they later go visit their mother. Strangely, nobody notices they were there except for their mother, who is dying. “I felt Satsuki and Mei just laughed near the tree,” the mother said.

This suggests they came to say goodbye before heading off to heaven in their Cat Bus. Speaking of cat buses…

Neko Bus

Some people think the Neko (Cat) Bus is a 1-way trip to heaven (or maybe hell). While I don’t know about this, one of the stops on the Neko Bus is “grave road,” so that sounds pretty must like dead people ride it to me.

Shadows

In the ending scene, Mei and Satsuki don’t have shadows. Only dead people don’t have shadows (for some unknown reason).

There is a lot more of this, but this set of gifs summarizes most of the points. Gifs make everything more understandable, right? Prepare for your childhood to be torn straight from your hearts.

This conspiracy theory has been around for a long time, actually. It got really heated on the internet, and then finally Ghibli had to make an official statement. In 2007, they did just that, denying that the urban legend was true.

“No need to be alarmed. There is absolutely no truth or configuration that Totoros are the Gods of Death or that Mei is dead in My neighbor Totoro.” – said Studio Ghibli

Still, when I was reading this everything made sense and it caused me to shudder and tremble when I thought about it. Who thought a children’s movie could have such scary undertones! So, who’s telling the truth? It seems like there’s a lot here that makes sense. But, people will read into just about anything too much from time to time. Were you convinced either way? Or do you think it’s just a silly story that someone made up. I think that Miyazaki likes to put hidden meanings in his films so… who knows.

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Bonus Wallpapers

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Sources: sukekomashi gaijin

“This looks awesome!” says a much younger Koichi

Then I grew up, and everything became sad. Now I’m working at Tofugu (speaking of trash and garbage). Ugh, my boss at Tofugu is so horrible I might as well be a prisoner! I can tell you one thing. Don’t drop the soap around here. You’ll totally have to clean it up yourself so nobody slips and hurts themselves.

What Japanese Kids Want To Become

All that aside, Daiichi Life Insurance Company in Japan ran an interesting survey recently, finding out what these kids’ aspirations were. Some of the top responses made sense to me, others less so. Here, why don’t you take a look yourself?

Boys

1. Soccer Player
2. Scholar or PhD / Doctorate
2. Police Officer / Detective*
4. Baseball Player
5. TV or Anime Character
6. Astronaut
6. Food Related Worker*
6. Train, Bus, or Car Driver*
9. Doctor
10. Fireman
10.Paramedic*
10. Carpenter*

Girls

1. Food Related Worker
2. Nurse
3. Kindergarten Teacher
4. Doctor
5. Flower Show Worker
5. School Teacher / Cram School Teacher*
7. Animal Handler / Pet Shop Worker / Animal Trainer
8. Piano Teacher / Pianist
8. Police Officer / Detective*
10. Designer

* Tied with the previous item on the list.

There’s some fun ones in there. Of course, you have the TV or Anime Character kids, who want nothing more than to “Catch ‘em All” or some other BS like that. Then of course you have the girls wanting to become food related workers right from the start (I guess they start molding them early in Japan). One interesting one was the piano teacher. I wonder how many of these girls were even learning piano at the time. Lastly, I thought it was cool how some girls wanted to become police officers / detectives too, just like the boys (even if it was farther down the list). You go, girls.

There was also some interesting insight into this survey from the source, too. For example, the top spots for both girls and boys (soccer player / food shop owner/worker) has been the top spot for 16 years in a row now. For #2 on the boys’ list, it’s the first time in 21 years that “Police Officer / Detective” has been ranked this high. Last year, nurse was #5 for girls, but an increase in popularity for nursing has apparently shot it up to #2 this year. Doctor has also risen from 12th last year to 4th this year. Was there some kind of popular doctor / nurse drama or show in Japan over the last year?
I seem to recollect at least one, though Daiichi Life Insurance seems to think it was in response to the giant Tohoku Earthquake. These kids just want to help out! That’s super sweet of them, I think.

The most interesting thing to me is that a lot of these occupations are the kinds of things that American kids (and other countries too, I imagine) would want to get into as well. Besides a few exceptions (piano teacher, scholar, and flower show worker being a few), it seems that kids will be kids. What about you, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Where College Kids Want To Be

Photo by Jason Bache

Fast forward a bunch of years. Now these kids are in college, and they’re about to graduate. Real life is about to start! While I couldn’t find surveys on what they want to be now that they’re in college (I think it really starts to vary a lot more when people get older), I did get a survey that figured out where students would like to work, divided by both gender and type of college degree. That’ll have to do. Here are the results:

B.A. Students (Male)

1. 三菱商事 Mitsubishi Corporation
2. 住友商事 Sumitomo Corporation
3. 三菱東京ＵＦＪ銀行 The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.
4. 伊藤忠商事 ITOCHU Corporation
5. 東京海上日動火災保険 Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd.
6. 丸紅 Marubeni Corporation
7. みずほフィナンシャルグループ Mizuho Financial Group, Inc.
8. 三井住友銀行 Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
9. 三菱ＵＦＪ信託銀行 Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation.
10. 三井物産 MITSUI & CO., LTD.

B.A. Students (Female)

1. 東京海上日動火災保険 Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd.
2. 三菱東京ＵＦＪ銀行 The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.
3. 住友商事 Sumitomo Corporation
4. 三菱ＵＦＪ信託銀行 Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation.
5. 三井住友銀行 Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
6. みずほフィナンシャルグループ Mizuho Financial Group, Inc.
7. ジェイティービー（ＪＴＢ）グループ JTB Group Organization
8. 丸紅 Marubeni Corporation
9. オリエンタルランド Oriental Land Co., Ltd.
10. 三井住友銀行 Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation

B.S.  Students (Male)

1. 東日本旅客鉄道（ＪＲ東日本）East Japan Railway Company
2. 日立製作所 Hitachi, Ltd.
3. 住友商事 Sumitomo Corporation
4. ＮＴＴデータ　NTT DATA Corporation
5. 東芝 Toshiba Corporation
6. ロッテグループ Lotte Group Organization
7. 三菱商事 Mitsubishi Corporation
8. 丸紅 Marubeni Corporation
9. 東海旅客鉄道（ＪＲ東海）Central Japan Railway Company
10. 伊藤忠商事 ITOCHU Corporation

B.S.  Students (Female)

1. ロッテグループ Lotte Group Organization
2. カゴメ Kagome Co.,Ltd
3. サントリーホールディングス Suntory Holdings Limited.
4. 明治グループ（明治・Meiji Seika　ファルマ）Meiji Holdings Limited.
5. 森永製菓 Morinaga & Co.,Ltd
6. ミツカングループ本社 Mizkan Group Corporation.
7. 日清製粉グループ Nisshin Seifun Group Inc.
8. 味の素 Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
9. 資生堂 Shiseido
10. 森永乳業 Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Inc.

See any familiar companies? I bet you see some. Do all of them make sense to you, in terms of how they’re ranked?

One thing that I thought was funny was how the B.S. Students (Male) seemed to still be into trains. Remember how boys wanted to be train conductors? Well, apparently they still like trains, because both #1 and #9 have to do with trains in some way or another. While it doesn’t say what they want to do with trains, the connection is still there no matter what, and I got a little chuckle out of it. Choo choo!

Another thing I noticed was that at least in the B.S. category, women seemed to favor more food related companies. If you remember back to the earlier “what I want to be when I grow up” list, girls really wanted to be working at a food shop. So, during that time growing up they were still interested in food, and still hoped to get into a food related business, even if it’s not opening your own restaurant or something along those lines.

Dying For Your Job

Growing up, graduating, then finding a job isn’t all fun and games, though. In a third survey, I learned about the 早死にする職業ランキング, i.e. the ranking of occupations that will kill you the fastest. These jobs will cut the years off your life (or perhaps even simply just drive you to suicide). There were a few things they talked about that could influence your longevity.

1. If you can decide what to do by yourself.
2. If you don’t overwork or over drink/eat after work (as a part of work, with clients, etc).
3. If you work on a fixed shift.

So for example, being a salesman in a big advertising agency (#1 on the list) will cause you to have to work crazy hard for your boss, make you overwork a ton, and then lastly send you out late into the evenings to drink and eat the nights away with clients. While all this drinking and eating doesn’t sound so bad at first, it really does grate on you. This required near-alcoholism (or maybe not even “near”) isn’t going to be good on your long term health. Not to mention how little sleep you’ll be getting most nights. In the long run, this is going to be very bad for you. So, because of this difficult work schedule, it’s thought that being a salesman at a big advertising agency will bring on our friend The Reaper the fastest.

You already know number one, but here’s the top ten ranking for occupations that will make you die young, according to the survey:

1. 大手広告代理店の営業: Salesman at a big advertising agency
2. IT企業の下請けSE: SE (System Engineer) subcontractor for an IT company
3. チェーン飲食店店長: Manager of a chain restaurant
4. 若手官僚: Young bureaucrat
5. 病棟勤務の看護師: Nurse working at a hospital
6. タクシー運転手: Taxi driver
7. LCCの客室乗務員: Cabin attendant of LCC (low-cost carrier)
8. 自衛官: Japanese Self Defense Force member
9. 公立学校の教員: Teacher of a public school
10. トラック運転手: Long-haul truck driver

There was also some explanation as to why some of these jobs were considered killers of your long life. For example, with the system engineer subcontractor (#2), the manager of a chain restaurant (#3), and Japanese Self Defense Force member (#8), you’re overworked and have no self-decision. I think you can see how this would shorten your life string.

On the other hand, if you’re a young bureaucrat (perhaps they don’t live long enough to become middle-aged or old bureaucrats?) you have no self-decision because of your age. Then, you’re overworking yourself to prove yourself. It’s said that 3 of every 20 young bureaucrats killed themselves within ten years of starting their jobs. They do, however, make a very good salary for how young they are, so… money > life & happiness, right?

Lastly, nurses (#5), taxi drivers (#6), cabin attendants of a LCC (#7), and teachers at public schools (#9) are all overworked, have irregular shifts, and have no self-decision. Don’t worry, though. If you go teach English in Japan, it’s not anywhere as bad as the regular teachers have it. In fact, some would say it’s quite an easy job, though you will probably have a problem with “no self-decision.” So you probably won’t have to worry about JET cutting a decade off your life, I’m pretty sure.

Still, looking back to survey number one, you can once again see some connections. Some of those kids’ dreams have come true! Sadly, those dreams will kill them off earlier rather than later. Taxi driver (driving a car!), long haul truck driver (driving a truck, beep beep!), nurse, manager at a chain restaurant, and teacher were all mentioned in one way or another on the survey that listed the children’s life aspirations. Someone should tell these kids that maybe these jobs aren’t what they’re cut out to be. Apparently, the kids who wanted to be Ultraman when they grew up had the right idea. Who knew?

They called my dreams stupid… but now they’re all dead. DEAD! AHAHAHA!

So there you have it. We went through the Japanese child’s mind, seeing what they wanted to be when they grew up. Then, we jumped to the Japanese college graduate and saw where they wanted to work most. Lastly, we took a look at the Japanese jobs that will kill you the fastest, and saw how many children followed their dreams… even if it meant an earlier death for them (dun dun dunnnnn!).

Whatever the results of these three surveys are, though, every person and every job is going to be different. There are a lot of broad assumptions being made in surveys like these, so it’s best to take it all with a grain of salt. Still, it gives you a little insight into the hopes and dreams of kids as well as work society in Japan, so I think it’s interesting nonetheless.

As for you, what did you want to be when you were growing up? What did you end up becoming? I definitely had a few weird phases as a child (even besides a garbage picker upper). They included Power Ranger, “Inventor,” and “owner of a giant castle filled with robots to fight the US army that would undoubtedly come for me after they learn of my aspirations for world domination.” Sadly, only “inventor” kind of came true, though I still have the rest of my life for the other two. I hope the quotes around “inventor” worry you a little bit. You should be worried. Or maybe just “worried.” I don’t know.

Bonus Wallpapers!

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A Horrifying Legend is Born

Legend says that this all started after Seicho Matsumoto published a novel by the name of Kuroi Kaiju (Black Sea of Trees) in 1960. The story ends with two lovers committing suicide in the forest, so many people believe that’s what started it all. However, the history of suicide in Aokigahara predates the novel, and the place has long been associated with death. Hundreds upon hundreds of Japanese people have hanged themselves from the trees of Aokigahara forest.

Wataru Tsurumui’s controversial 1993 bestseller, The Complete Suicide Manual, is a book that describes various modes of suicide and even recommends Aokigahara as the perfect place to die. Apparently this book is also a common find in the forest, usually not too far away from a suicide victim and their belongings. Undoubtedly, the most common method of suicide in the forest is hanging.

Japan’s suicide rate is already bad enough as it is, and having this forest and suicide manual on top of it all is pretty terrible. It’s really sad. Despite many efforts to prevent suicide and provide help to those considering it, Japan’s suicide rate continues to rise.

Legend has it that in ancient times families would abandon people in the forest during periods of famine when there was not enough food to go around. By sacrificing family members to the forest, there would be less mouths to feed and therefore enough food for the rest of the family. Those abandoned in the forest would die long, horrible, drawn out deaths due to starvation. Because of that, Aokigahara is also said to be haunted by the souls of these abandoned people.

In addition, there are many other ghost and demon stories associated with the forest. It is said that these ghastly spirits glide between the trees with their white, shifting forms being occasionally spotted by unsuspecting visitors out of the corners of their eyes.

Japanese spiritualists believe that the suicides committed in the forest have permeated Aokigahara’s soil and trees, generating paranormal activity and preventing many who enter from escaping the gnarled depths of the forest. Aokigahara is not the kind of place you’d want to honeymoon at, that’s for sure.

Terrifying Topography

The vast forest covers a 3,500 hectare wide area and the tree coverage in Aokigahara is so thick that even at high noon it’s entirely possible to find places shrouded in complete darkness. It’s also mostly devoid of animals and is eerily quiet. Hearing a bird chirping in the forest is incredibly rare. The area is rocky, cold, and littered with over 200 caves for you to accidentally fall into.

The discomforting forest is known for the thickness of its trees, its twisting network of woody vines, and the dangerous unevenness of the forest floor. All of this together gives the place a very unwelcoming feeling.

Personally, I love hiking and I think the forest actually looks really pretty during the daytime. However, I think the place would turn absolutely horrifying come nightfall. Who knows when you’ll trip over some snarled root or jagged rock, fall down a hill and land on top of a pile of bones or a rotting corpse. No nighttime hiking in Aokigahara for me, thanks.

Further compounding the creepiness factor is the common occurrence of compasses, cell phones, and GPS systems being rendered useless by the rich deposits of magnetic iron in the area’s volcanic soil. I’m sure this fact has helped propagate the legend of the forest’s demonic habit of trapping visitors within it.

Besides bodies and homemade nooses, also scattered around the forest are signs put up by the police with messages like “Your life is a precious gift from your parents,” and “Please consult with the police before you decide to die,” in an attempt to discourage would be committers of suicide. Judging from the increasing number of suicides, these signs probably aren’t all that effective.

An Unfortunate Suicide Hotspot

By the 1970s the suicides had become so infamous that the Japanese government started to do annual sweeps of the forest to search for and clear out the bodies. In 2002, 78 bodies were found within the forest, exceeding the previous record of 74 in 1998. By 2003, the rate had climbed to 100.

In recent years, the local government has stopped publicizing the numbers in an attempt to downplay Aokigahara’s association with suicide. In 2004, 108 people killed themselves in the forest and in 2010, 247 people attempted suicide, 54 of whom succeeded. But that’s just the number they found and reported. Who knows how many more there are that just go undiscovered?

I’m actually pretty surprised that I hadn’t heard about Aokigahara until just recently. You’d think that something like this, being the number two hotspot for suicides in the world, and located right at the base of Mt. Fuji, would be more well known. Maybe it’s just me.

Its Effect on the Locals

Nearly as unfortunate as the suicides themselves is the impact the suicides have on the locals and forest workers. One local man says, “It bugs the hell out of me that the area’s famous for being a suicide spot.” A local police officer said, “I’ve seen plenty of bodies that have been really badly decomposed, or been picked at by wild animals. There’s nothing beautiful about dying in there.” It’s really a shame that such a unique and interesting forest has become sullied by so many suicides.

The forest workers have it even worse than the police who comb and investigate the forest. The workers are tasked with the job of carrying the bodies down from the forest to the local station, where the bodies are put in a special room used specifically to house suicide corpses. The forest workers then play janken to see who has to sleep in the room with the corpse. Talk about terrible.

The reason for these strange sleeping arrangements is that it is believed if the corpse is left alone, it’s very bad luck for the ghost of the suicide victim. Their spirits are said to scream throughout the night if left alone, and their bodies will get up and shuffle around, searching for company.

I don’t know about you, but this sounds like one of the absolute worst ways to spend a night. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if the body is just like a pile of bones, but I can’t imagine how creepy it would be to sleep in a dinky little room with a fresh corpse as a roommate.

To make matters worse, a few years back people started to scavenge the forest for valuables. And by this I mean that people would search the forest for dead bodies and then loot their corpses. Talk about disrespectful, not to mention creepy.

Suicide Forest Documentary

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FDSdg09df8']

I also found this awesome video about one of the guys who regularly goes on suicide prevention patrols in Aokigahara. It’s really interesting and definitely worth a watch if you have twenty minutes to spare.

Like I said before, the suicide rate of Japan is one of the highest in the world and really shows no sign of decreasing despite government measures to discourage it. That being said, I don’t really see Aokigahara becoming less of a suicide hotspot anytime soon.

Destination Truth

Aokigahara was also featured on an episode of SyFy’s Destination Truth series because of how famous the place is for being haunted. Unfortunately, you can only view the episode online with Hulu+ (link to the episode here). I signed up for the free trial just to watch the episode, but it’s nothing special.

It’s pretty much just what you’d expect from a paranormal investigation show. Americans getting lost in the woods at night, seeing things in the shadows, and hearing whispers in the night. The best part about the episode is seeing what the place looks like at nighttime, and how easy it is to get lost there.

So, what are your thoughts on Aokigahara, undoubtedly one of the creepiest places in Japan? Would you want to visit and explore the forest, or would it be too scary? Would you be willing to camp overnight in the forest if someone dared you? Have you even heard of this place before? Let us know in the comments!

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Sites Referenced:
Environmental Grafitti
Atlas Obscura
Aokigahara Wikipedia