Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends: Volume Two

by Tara A. Devlin

  “I’m okay, I’m okay!” The man abruptly jumped up and waved at his friends.

  The men were relieved. He didn’t appear to have any injuries, either.

  “Take it easy. You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?” They laughed with the man and teased him.

  “My bad, I accidentally turned the handle the wrong way and screwed up. But yeah, my head kinda does hurt a little.”

  The man removed his helmet and his friends screamed. His head was caved in, and as soon as the helmet was off, the man collapsed. It turned out that when the man crashed into the guardrail, his head had turned to mush inside his helmet and that helmet was the only thing keeping it all together.

  ABOUT

  Common first aid tells us not to remove a person’s helmet if they’ve been in an accident. If you remove an injured person’s helmet, you may exacerbate their injuries, and it should generally only be done if there is a clear and present choking danger. In this legend, however, the helmet itself is what’s keeping the man’s head together, and once that pressure is gone, he dies instantly.

  Full-face helmets found general use in Japan from the early 1960s, and by the late 80s these full-face helmets came with movable shield protectors as well. They’re now the norm for bike riders (although you still get the occasional riders who enjoy the half-style or old fashioned helmets), but it’s likely the rise in popularity of these full-face helmets, said to give you the best protection, gave birth to this legend.

  That being said, this legend is obviously just a story. The helmet itself would crack before the man’s skull inside it turned to mush, and here the helmet is still intact and the only thing keeping the man’s brain and skull together. It’s a cautionary tale meant to scare, but if you hit a guardrail hard enough to turn your skull to pieces, I’d worry more about your spine and other vital organs also giving out then whether a helmet is the only thing keeping your head together.

  Kendo and Baldness

  High level kendo practitioners spend long periods of time practising with their masks on, which then get sweaty and cause hair loss. It is for that reason that so many kendo practitioners are bald.

  ABOUT

  This urban legend is particularly common amongst junior and high school students, where most kids will hear of it after joining the kendo club. Teenagers are especially concerned about their appearance, but for many who practice kendo, this doesn’t become a real worry until they get older and notice that their hair is starting to get thinner. Was it kendo’s fault after all?

  This is a difficult question to answer. In most cases, probably not, but in some cases, perhaps the constant wearing of sweaty helmets did help speed the process along. A process that was going to take place anyway.

  Kendo practitioners wear a large mask that covers their entire face to protect from blows. Inside that mask they place a towel to protect their forehead and soak up the sweat from wearing such a stuffy mask. The masks get incredibly hot, especially during the humid summer months, and training often lasts for several hours at a time. That can’t be kind on anyone’s hair, but does it really make you go bald?

  A survey conducted by AGA Hair Clinic in 2017 revealed that men who were in the baseball or kendo clubs in high school were more likely to suffer hair loss as they grew older. Both sports involve wearing helmets for long periods of time, so obviously, the helmets are at fault, right? Not necessarily. A large part of it comes down to genetics and general health and hygiene. Plenty of baseball players, kendo practitioners, and in fact, anybody who spends long periods of time under a helmet, mask, or hat have zero problems with hair loss. However, bad hygiene and constant pulling on hair predispositioned to thin and fall out isn’t going to help matters.

  Keeping helmets clean and free of bacteria, as well as carefully washing and massaging hair after long, sweaty training sessions should be enough to keep from destroying your hair. Unless it’s genetic, in which case, sadly no amount of washing is going to help, but that’s not the helmet’s fault either. At best, it might help speed hair loss up a little faster, but no hard research shows that simply wearing helmets for long periods of time causes baldness.

  Human Body Anatomy Model

  Schools all around the country have anatomic models of human bodies in their science rooms, but apparently some schools are using real dead bodies instead. These bodies are coated in preservatives so they don’t rot.

  ABOUT

  It’s a story you’ve probably heard yourself sometime. Maybe even seen in a horror movie once. That model of the human body in the science room that turns out to be not as lifeless as it seems. Or worse, there was life in it… once. It’s not very believable that one could be an actual dead body though, is it?

  In Japan, anatomy models for science rooms start from roughly 300,000 yen for a cheap model all the way up to one million yen for a top class one. This money has to come out of the school’s pockets; they’re not supplied for free. All schools are supposed to have one (although many may not, or they once did and it got wore down/destroyed/lost and they never replaced it), but that’s a hefty chunk of cash for something that will only be used throughout certain lessons of the year. So, how can you save money on an expensive model of the human body? What if, maybe, just maybe…?

  It sounds silly, but there is actually some truth to this horrifying legend, and much of this news has only come out recently. On December 6, 2018, a school in Kagoshima Prefecture discovered that the skull used as a model in the art room was actually a real woman’s skull. They were unable to discover the identity of the woman, but the skull had been used in art lessons for over 20 years. This skull was only discovered because in June of the same year, another human skull was found in a different Kagoshima high school, leading to a prefecture-wide search for similar specimens.

  On January 23, 2019, The Saga Board of Education revealed that human skulls and brains preserved in formalin were found in three schools under their jurisdiction as well. Police investigation revealed them to be real human remains, and while they did not believe there was any foul play at work, nobody knew how the schools got them. These were also found only because of the recent discoveries in other prefectures, leading many schools to check if their own science models and specimens were real or not. One of the schools involved said they had no idea they were dealing with real human remains. “We thought they were fake,” they said. The remains had been in the schools for at least 20 years, so nobody knew where they came from. They were later taken by police to be disposed of.

  On February 26, 2019, the Osaka Board of Education revealed they had received samples from 12 different schools that were thought to be real human bones and organs used as specimens in science classrooms. Another unnamed prefecture revealed that 14 of 199 schools had real human bones being used as skeleton displays, as well as various organs preserved in formalin. Most of these were thought to be obtained during the Taisho Era (1912-1926), but their exact origins were unknown.

  On March 19, 2019, two high schools in Gunma Prefecture were found to have real specimens of foetuses, human bones, and kidneys. Again the police judged the specimens unlikely to be the victims of foul play, but they took them away to be cremated. These real-life models were found because a student who graduated from the school 40 years earlier contacted the Board of Education. She had memories of a real foetus being on display in the home economics room when she was at school. Which meant the specimens had been there for more than 40 years…

  How did so many schools just happen to have real-life human specimens on display? One professor from Saga University suggested that numerous high schools around the country may have real human bones and organs because these were often sold to medical institutions during the Meiji and early Showa Eras (late 1800s to early 1940s).

  And as for the Ministry of Education’s thoughts on the matter? They were quoted as saying, “There are rules in place regarding the purchase and use of brain, skeleton, and human body anatomy models. When it comes to r
eal life specimens, however, there are no rules because we did not assume that any were actually in use.”

  Whoops.

  Mamushi Zake

  A man who lived in Okinawa captured a mamushi (Japanese pit viper) and put it in a bottle full of strong shochu. He intended to make mamushi zake, a type of sake in which a mamushi is pickled in.

  A few months later, the man thought it should be ready by now and opened the bottle. At that very moment, the mamushi sprang out of the bottle and bit him. The man was unable to fight the poison running throughout his body and soon died with the bottle of sake in hand.

  It turns out that mamushi can live for up to half a year without food or water, which makes them incredibly hard to kill.

  ABOUT

  Mamushi, otherwise known as the Japanese pit viper, are extremely venomous and bite around 2000-3000 people in Japan each year. Of these, approximately 10 will die, while the rest require at least one week of treatment in the hospital, and in severe cases, intensive care. Mamushi are not to be taken lightly. They are, however, also used in many herbal medicines. Essence is extracted from their dried skins and organs and used in various health drinks you can buy anywhere.

  In some cases, mamushi are also used with Japanese shochu to make mamushi zake. The dried skin and body are placed in a bottle of powerful shochu to pickle and add additional nutrients to the drink. Mamushi are incredibly powerful creatures and said to be difficult to kill, making them favoured for folk and herbal remedies. Mamushi zake is often used as a medicinal alcoholic beverage, and works to clear up bruises as well (as always, it’s good to keep in mind that none of this has a scientific basis, being a folk medicine and all). Could it be true, then, that the above legend was or could be a real occurrence?

  If a live mamushi is placed in a bottle of shochu, it’s very possible for the snake to survive for at least a month. However, if one is planning to use a live mamushi and not a dried one, experts recommend using a high alcoholic content shochu, because there is a chance the snake will begin to rot. However, it’s said that mamushi can survive for up to half a year without food or water, meaning that yes, there is a chance that if you bottle a live mamushi for several months and open it, that snake will still be alive and probably angry enough to bite you (which, let’s be honest, you deserve if you’re going to bottle a live animal in shochu just so you can drink its essence). Are you likely to die from it? Maybe. One in every 300 people bitten by a mamushi dies. The others end up in either extreme agony or, at the very least, a week long hospital visit. I don’t like any of those odds, personally, and when vitamin drinks already exist with mamushi essence in them, why would you risk your life on it?

  Death Necklace

  One day, A, a high school girl, asked her friend B to show her the strange necklace she bought while on holiday overseas. She didn’t know what type of jewel it was, but it shimmered with a bluish-white light. B was enthralled with it and often boasted about it to her. B started wearing the necklace every single day.

  However, a few days later B suddenly stopped coming to school. Worried, A went to her house to see if she was okay.

  “It seems I have a metal allergy,” B told her, and looking closer, A could see the skin where her necklace sat was inflamed and peeling.

  “I’m okay, it’ll heal soon,” B said, seeing A’s worried face. A told her she would be waiting for her return at school, but B never showed up again.

  About a month later, A suddenly got an email from B. “Can you come over?” A rushed over and was shocked by the sight before her. B had completely changed. She was skin and bones, most of her hair had fallen out, and her skin was turning a strange black tone.

  A was speechless. With a shaking hand, B held something out towards her. “I want you to take this,” she said. It was the shimmering necklace. “I don’t need it anymore…”

  Three days later, B died.

  A was suspicious of the necklace B entrusted to her, so she took it to her uncle’s jewelry store. The next morning, her uncle called her back, screaming and angry.

  “How did you get your hands on something so dangerous?! This stone is crystallised uranium!”

  That’s right. Without knowing it, B had been constantly exposing herself to uranium, which eventually killed her.

  ABOUT

  There is a black market in Asia for “cooking” stones with radiation to give them a deeper, more illustrious colour that they otherwise wouldn’t have. This can turn Chrysoberyl cat’s eyes from pale yellow to a deep honey colour, or cheap light blue topaz into expensive dark blue topaz. These gems are then usually kept in a lead case until a certain period of time has passed and they’re safe to release to the market, but sometimes less-than-scrupulous sellers may forgo that and release them into the wild immediately. Some of these make their way to Japan, and if they are released before they reach safe levels, can cause health problems down the line.

  One jeweller from Bangkok discovered in 1997 that several cat’s eyes he came into possession of had been hit with dangerous amounts of radiation to change their colour. He had already sold several to Hong Kong and Japan before discovering the truth, but officials stated that the amount of radiation discovered in them wouldn’t be dangerous to society at large. He retrieved the stones and planned to put them in a lead box until they were safe for general sale.

  This particular legend, however, is believed to be inspired by the real-life Goiania accident which took place in Brazil in September 1987. Two men stole a small capsule of highly radioactive caesium chloride from an abandoned hospital and then sold it to a scrap yard. One of the thieves managed to pry into the canister to reveal a deep blue light. He then scooped some of it out. As the radioactive substances passed to the scrap yard, and then to another scrap yard, numerous people came into contact with it. In the end, four people died and 249 were contaminated. The incident was classified as one of the world’s worst radiological incidents by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

  Japan loves gemstones, just like any other country. Many come from overseas and, thanks to incidents like this, it’s easy for outlandish stories to spread, particularly when one doesn’t understand the precise details behind radiation and how it works.

  Suicide by Tongue Biting

  Amongst the many things we accept as reality from TV and movies, there is something that is just plain wrong.

  In ninja movies and period plays you often see ninja who are captured bite their tongue to commit suicide, but that’s just not possible.

  ABOUT

  If you watch old ninja movies or historical plays from Japan, you may have seen a scene like this before. A ninja gets captured and tied up so he can’t escape, but any good ninja worth his weight in shuriken isn’t going to let that keep him down. In order to protect his secrets, the ninja bites his own tongue off and promptly dies. It’s similar to how Western movies would have you believe that twisting a person’s head is enough to snap their neck and kill them instantly. The body doesn’t really work like that, but it’s seen so often that people start to believe it.

  So, if you are captured by enemy forces, tied to a chair deep in a castle dungeon and unable to move any limbs, how are you going to end your life before the torture begins and they unearth all your ninja secrets? The answer, of course, is to bite off your own tongue and bleed to death. Like the instant death pill hidden inside a spy’s tooth, all a good ninja needs is his teeth to end his own life. Bite down hard enough to cut your own tongue off, let the blood clog your throat, and you’re off to the afterlife with all your secrets intact. Perfection. Except for the part where it’s not.

  In reality, it’s extremely difficult to die simply by cutting or biting your own tongue off. Most people’s gag reflex will see them soon coughing the blood up, and it’s unlikely that the amount of blood loss from the tongue alone will be enough to end a life; especially not as quickly as it happens in ninja movies. If they are to be believed, then you’ll be dead within a few seconds of
biting; if not from blood clotting then from the remaining stump of your tongue curling back on itself and blocking your throat. Cue terrified children all over Japan when they accidentally bite their own tongue while eating. But, in reality, it just doesn’t happen that way.

  REAL-LIFE CASES

  It’s important to note that there have been documented cases in recent years of people attempting this method of suicide and succeeding, but not because of the tongue biting.

  In 2003, a yakuza member in Fukuoka Prefecture was arrested for causing bodily harm, and while struggling with the police he bit his own tongue off. His official cause of death was strangulation whilst being subdued.

  A 53-year-old artist in Shizuoka Prefecture was arrested on suspicion of murder on March 26 of the same year. While being questioned, the police noticed the man biting his own tongue and, fearing he was attempting to commit suicide, moved to transport him to a nearby hospital. The man was placed in a police wagon and reacted with violence. A towel was shoved in his mouth while he was held down with batons to stop him from further biting his tongue. He died on the way there. The official cause of death, however, was suffocation.

  On January 6, 2018, a 55-year-old man being held at the Sapporo Chuo Police Station in Hokkaido was found convulsing after he screamed from his cell. He had bitten his own tongue. Officers attempted to resuscitate the man, but he was later pronounced dead at the hospital. The official cause of death was heart failure and had nothing to do with the man biting his tongue.