TALES OF TERROR

Kokkuri-san

Kokkuri is a Japanese version of a ouija board, which became popular during the Meiji era. Rather than using a pre-bought board with letters and a Planchette, 'players' write down hiragana characters and place their fingers on a coin, before asking 'Kokkuri-san' a question. This is a popular game in highschools and, similar to the western ouija board, several rumours and legends surround it. Some include Kokkuri-san only telling players the date of their death, while others say you can ask Kokkuri-san anything but you must finish the game correctly, either by saying goodbye to Kokkuri-san before leaving the table, or disposing of the kokkuri game utensils within a certain time limit, such as spending the coin or using the pen previously used to write the hiragana. Failure to do so will result in misfortune or death for the players.