Japanese Urban Legends

Kurozuka

Kurozuka is a yōkai that is also known as the Demon of Adachigahara, or The Witch of the Black Mounds. Another simplified name is Onibaba, which means "the demon hag".

Note: Old demon women are usually referred to as Onibaba in Japanese legends and folklore, so if you ever hear the term, don't connect it to Kurozuka right away. There are a bunch of other stories out there based off of Onibaba, but for now, this section is looking at a specific one that is rather famous in Japan.

At first, she seems to just be an old lady in need of some help. She typically has wild hair and a rather maniacal appearance, but aside from that, nothing stands out about her compared to other elderly women. Standing by a road, she usually spends her time waiting for a traveler to pass by. Once she spots someone, she will try to lure them by inviting them to a nearby cave that she lives in to spend the night. If the travelers decided to spend the night resting there, Kurozuka would murder them in their sleep and eat their remains. If a person denies her offer, there is a small chance that she may simply kill and eat them anyways.

Now, many have wondered why she does this act, but one can point at her tragic past as the source of her madness. The most infamous story of the Kurozuka goes as follows:

A long time ago in Kyoto, a wealthy couple had a baby girl. Unfortunately, to their own horrors, the child was girl extremely ill and haven't even spoken a single word for the first five years of her life. The couple grew worried and consulted with many priests and doctors to try and find out what was wrong with her. After years of desperation and no sign of hope, a doctor told them of a way to help their daughter through a sinister cure. The only way to cure their daughter was to feed her a fresh liver from an unborn fetus.

The couple summoned the child's nanny to search for what was needed. Although it was a dark task, the nanny's devotion pushed her forward to agree to it. Plus, the excessive money they offered convinced her further. She knew that it would definitely take a long time to actually find somebody willing to give up an unborn baby's liver, so in the meantime, she bid her own young daughter goodbye. As a parting gift, she made a beautiful amulet for her daughter that would bring her luck and protection. After the tearful farewell, she ventured off into the countryside, vowing not to return until she found what was needed.

As months went by, she searched far and wide for a pregnant woman willing to give up their unborn baby. To no surprise, she was unable to find anyone that would want to take part in helping. Since this was at such an old time ago, there weren't any places that could assist her either.  She grew more and more desperate, just wanting to return to her normal life and see her daughter again. But, even with this in mind, she knew that she couldn't return empty handed. Soon enough, she realized that a more drastic measure was needed- taking one by force.

She constructed a makeshift shelter in a cave nearby a quiet road for travelers.  It is believed that, at this time, she began camping in Adachigahara, Fukushima. Once her camp was completed, she visited the road every day, waiting patiently for a pregnant woman to walk by. In the back of her head, however, was a dark task budding into insanity. More months passed, which soon turned into years. She would stand there, wasting all of her time away in order to hopefully get what she has been looking for during the past many years. The clock ticked by, and there she stood in silence. 

Until one fateful day came.

She finally spotted what she had waited so long for. A pregnant woman was walking up the road alone, looking around cautiously. With adrenaline and desperation taking a hold of her, she eagerly pounced on the woman and took out a knife as soon as she could. Without hesitation, she hacked away at the stomach until the fetus was visible, and then sliced out its liver. She held it in the air, knowing that her task has finally been completed. She could finally go home with the cure and see her daughter again after so many years. She could finally live a normal life with her family.

Then she looked down at the woman's body.

Around her neck was an amulet, now covered in blood. As her senses came to her, she realized that she just murdered her own daughter and her unborn grandchild. She stared at her shaking hands, drenched in her beloved daughter's blood. Her eyes then went to the mutilated body. Reality fell upon her like a heavy stone, overwhelming her with grief and despair. This was the final stepping stone to her complete plummet into insanity, causing her to transform into a psychotic yōkai.

As the years progressed, she slowly learned of ways to capture travelers and eat them in her cave, and adapted to her psychotic ways of life.

There are some different orientations to this tale, including an add-on in the noh version of the story. In that version, a while after turning into a yōkai, a Buddhist priest visits her cave to lodge in and conveniently finds a couple mountains of human remains within the caverns. Like what every human being would do, he ran for his life, but it wasn't long until Kurozuka found out that he knew her secret and chased him. In a little battle, the priest overpowered her and killed her. Then some monks buried her among the black mounds of where she haunted (also known as Kurozuka, hence her name), giving her somewhat of a happy ending by freeing her from her chains of insanity.

Then again, this is a noh version, so some people ignore this and suspect that she is still roaming within Adachigahara, peering at travelers with a hungry look.

Either way, it's nice to help out an old lady and all. It's just that, in this case, perhaps you shouldn't sleep over at their place unless you want to be eaten by a crazy demon. Actually, just don't sleep at a stranger's house at all and you should be fine.