Hitori kakurenbo

Hitori Kakurenbo, known in English as One-Man Hide and Seek, is a modern Japanese ritual born from internet folklore. Though not an ancient tradition, it draws heavily from older Japanese beliefs about spirits that cling to objects, especially dolls. In Shinto folklore, dolls can absorb emotions, memories, or abandoned spirits a concept called tsukumogami, where objects left alone too long gain a life of their own.

The game itself spread through Japanese message boards in the early 2000s, where people claimed that if you give a doll a "body," a "soul," and a "lifeline," it becomes a temporary vessel for wandering spirits.
The ritual steps reflect symbolic meaning in Japanese superstition:The ritual is believed to invite something not always you, not always human into the doll's body. And once the game begins, the "seeker" you create may not remain obedient.