Japanese & Korean urban legends

Oiwa

Oiwa was a beautiful young woman who lived in a small town in Japan. Her boyfriend's name was Iemon and although he didn't have much money, Oiwa loved him very much. She was overjoyed when her childhood sweetheart asked her to marry him. After the wedding, they moved in together and the happy couple were soon receiving a baby. Oiwa didn't care that he was poor, but, as time went on, he became angry and depressed about his lack of prospects.

Iemon soon grew to hate his happy young wife and started an affair with a rich young woman named Oume. He romances her for months and eventually she fell in love with him, despite his poverty and the fact that he was already married.

One day, Oume's father came to see Iemon. He told Iemon what a shame it was that he was already married, because his daughter loved him very much. The father went on to tell him all the ways that he could ensure his son in law's wealth and success. Iemon listened intently.

Iemon spend a great deal of time thinking about what Oume's father had told him. An evil plot began to form in his mind. He decided that the only way he could marry Oume was to somehow get rid of Oiwa and her unborn child. He thought that the easiest way to do this was to secretly poison Oiwa and make it look like she had died of natural causes. Poor Oiwa was totally ignorant of her husband's murderous plans. Blissfully unaware of the fate that she was about to befall her, she continued to happily prepare for the birth of their baby.

One evening, when Oiwa and Iemon were sitting down to eat dinner, she noticed her husband was strangely quit and nervous.
She encouraged him to eat his dinner, but he would not touch his food. He yelled at Oiwa and told her to stop fretting and eat her own meal. She needed to be strong for the babyc he said. Oiwa finally gave up trying to tempt lemon's appetite and started eating her dinner. It wasn't long before she felt very sick.

Iemon watched her coldly as the poison did it's work, not offering her any help or comfort. But Oiwa did not die right away. Her beautiful face became disfigured from the poison first. The she slipped into unconsciousness. Iemon was too much coward to finish the job he started, so he put Oiwa's lifeless body in bed.
Eventually Oiwa woke from her coma, remembering nothing of the poisoning. She had lost her baby, and her face was ugly and terrible, but Oiwa lived.

Iemon was desperate. He planned the part of the concerned husband, but he looked for any way possible to rid himself of his wife.
Once evening he took Oiwa for a long walk. They made their way to a cliff, and Iemon looked around to see if anyone was nearby. No one was in sight.

Iemon pushed pushed Oiwa off the ledge. Her broken body was recovered and Iemon gave her the best funeak he could afford, spending all of his money in a great show of marital devotion. Of course, Iemon knew his money troubles were only temporary now that Oiwa was gone.

Thinking his worries were over, Iemon planned his wedding to Poume. The night before the marriage was to take place, Iemon noticed his beside lamp was dimming. He looked at it curiously, as it seemed to be changing. The disfigured face of Oiwa suddenly replaced the lamp, growing larger and larger in the room. "Betrayal!" it hissed.

Iemon grabbed a stick and swung at the face, but Oiwa disappeared and the lamp smashed and fell on the floor. Shaken, Iemon convinced himself that the vision was simply the result of drinking too much alcohol earlier in the evening and went to bed.

The next day,  Iemon had forgotten about the specter from the night before. He and Oume were wed. When he lifted her veil, however, her beautiful young face was replaced to Oiwa's horrible visage. "Betrayal!" she hissed.

The horrified lemon drew his sword and swung it at the ghostly apparition, cutting Oiwa's head off. The severed head rolled down the aisle of the crunch but when it came to a stop, it had Oume's face and not Oiwa's. He heard the faint sound of laughter again.

Iemon ran to his thy house, looking for a place to hide. There was a pounding at the door, and Oume's grandfather demanded that he opens it. When lemon did so, Oiwa was standing there. "Betrayal!" she hissed.

Once again, Iemon tried to decapite her but when his sword finished it's work, it was Oune's grandfather that lay dead.

Iemon ran for the cliffs, Oiwa's laughter following him. He stopped at the the edge and looked down, perphaps changing his mind.

It didn't matter. Passersby reported seeing a woman push lemon off the cliff before jumping after him, laughing all the way down.