Japenese Urban Legends | 日本の都市伝説

Rokurokubi

By day, rokurokubi appear to be ordinary women. By night, however, their bodies sleep while their necks stretch to massive lengths and roam freely. Sometimes their heads attack small animals. Sometime they lick up lamp oil with their long tongues, and cause mischief by scaring nearby people.

Rokurokubi are former humans transformed by a curse resulting from some evil or misdeed. The curse only effects women.

Story Below:

An old tale from Totomi Province tells of a monk who eloped with a young lady named Oyotsu. While traveling, Oyotsu became sick. Treating her would have used up all of their travel money, so the monk murdered Oyotsu and stole the remaining money. On his travels, he stayed at an inn owned by a man with a beautiful daughter. The wicked monk shared a bed with the innkeeper’s daughter, and during the night her neck stretched and her face changed into that of Oyotsu. She angrily accused him of murdering her. The next morning the monk, regretting his evil deeds, confessed the murder of Oyotsu to the innkeeper. The monk also told the innkeeper what he had seen the night before. The innkeeper confessed that he, too, had murdered his wife for her money. He used the money to build his inn, and as a punishment his own daughter was transformed into a rokurokubi. Afterwards, the monk rejoined his temple, built a grave for Oyotsu, and prayed for her soul every day.