Kuchisake-onna

The Japanese urban legend of Kuchisake-onna (the Slit-Mouth Woman) was believed to be very real in Japan’s Nagasaki Prefecture in 1979. In fact, reports back then were given such merit, the police stepped up patrols in the area and parents were warned not to let their children walk the streets unaccompanied by an adult.

Details of Kuchisake-onna’s legend vary from source to source but the prevailing tale is that she was the very beautiful wife of a Samurai warrior during Japan’s Heian Period (794-1185). When her husband discovered she had been unfaithful to him, he became outraged and slashed her mouth from ear to ear, leaving her horribly disfigured, wearing a permanent gaping and grotesque, evil smile. He then asked her “Who will think you’re beautiful now?”

The modern legend has her wandering the streets of Japan, wearing a surgical mask. As it’s common in Japan for people with colds to wear surgical masks in public to avoid spreading their germs to others, this is not an unusual sight. Tall with long, jet-black hair, wearing a long overcoat, she appears usually at night, before children or sometimes college-age students, but never older adults. She asks “Am I pretty?” If the answer is no, she kills the young person with a huge pair of scissors she carries. If the answer is yes, she lowers the mask and asks, “How about now?” If the answer is then no, the young person is killed. If the answer is still yes, she slits the young person’s mouth to resemble hers.

You can’t win with this lady and it’s impossible to escape her by simply running away, as she will just reappear again in front of the victim. However, it is believed that one can escape her using other methods. One being by answering her evasively, thus being able to run away while she’s confused or lost in thought. Another is by throwing candles or fruit at her (if one should just happen to have either on them when encountered), which she’ll pick up, giving the intended victim a chance to flee. Above is Korean cosplayer Mussum’s winningly accurate representation of the character.

Arguably, the most notable and accurate film adaptation of the character and legend, was in the 2007 movie Carved, which starred Miki Mizuno as Kuchisake-onna (above). Mizuno’s portrayal of the character was based on the best-known version in pop culture. Click on the photo if you think she’s pretty.