If you have been around, you have probably heard about Okiku, the haunted Ichimatsu doll with growing human hair. Her name is probably the first one that comes to mind when we talk about cursed human-like toys in Japan. However, there is another case that, to this day, still dumbfounds many and makes others immediately compare it with the likes of the legendary Annabelle. This is the story of the Iki Ningyo.
Everything started in 1978 when Junji Inagawa, an actor, scriptwriter, and director of traditional Japanese plays, participated in a late-night radio broadcast. While he was getting ready, he found one of his crew crying hysterically. The man, a singer, told him he had heard the voice of one of his fans while one of his songs was playing. The problem is that said fan died months ago.
Inagawa, being a man who had dedicated part of his career to investigating supernatural events, took it surprisingly well and took the show’s director back home in a taxi, since the guy was still a bit shaken by the incident at the radio station.
Suddenly, Inagawa sees something in the streets: a little girl wearing a red kimono. To this day, he claims the little girl seemed normal until she started to levitate and headed towards him. Neither the director nor the taxi driver saw anything. After the incident, he reported hearing strange noises and footsteps at his house, but he did not give it much thought. Later, he began work on a new theatrical project centred on a doll. To his horror, when the doll was presented to him, he noticed how much she resembled the girl he had seen that night. This was the beginning of a nightmare.
From that moment, the lives of those working on the play became hectic. The artisan who made the doll vanished, the scriptwriter’s house was burned down, and the cousin of the puppeteer in charge died suddenly. Accidents during rehearsals affected props and crew, with a few of them getting hurt. Curiously, most of the injuries were to the right hand and right knee.
After enough and concerned for his crew’s well-being, Inagawa took the doll to different temples and shrines. Eventually, she was put in a coffin, and things seemed to improve. The play went on, and it seemed that everything would be ok. Shockingly, Inagawa’s father died suddenly the next day. The puppeteer, Mr Maeno, took the doll home after the play finished. It is said his mental health declined considerably during this time.
In 1979, a TV station learned about the doll and invited Inagawa and Mr Maeno for an interview. This is when things got weird. During the episode, strange things began to happen, such as lights falling and technical failures. Crew members and the audience started to feel uneasy, and Maeno talked to the doll as if she were a real person. To this day, this specific episode cannot be found and is considered lost media. People on 2chan, however, agree that the broadcast indeed happened, and it was even worse, since many called the show asking for the identity of a child standing next to the doll. No child was present on the set. It is easy to think this is just a case of mass hysteria or the Mandela effect, but screenshots of the programme do exist.
Inagawa would later appear in other TV programmes, but he would take a replica of the doll with him. During a planned appearance, the producer would locate the doll maker, who was hiding in a mountain and working on sculpting Buddha statues. An interview was planned, but strange events began to happen again, and the project was scrapped. Inagawa would eventually give the doll to a friend in Nishizu. After he and his family began to suffer strange incidents, the friend would put the doll in a shrine. After a while, it was reported that she vanished, and to this day, nobody knows where she is. Inagawa still talks about the whole ordeal and fears the doll will come his way again someday.
Whether this story is real or not is up to you to decide. All we know for sure is that one of the TV appearances featuring the doll is lost. It is hard to tell, though, whether the episode is missing because it is cursed or for more mundane reasons. Still, no matter how fictional it is, you have to admit this is a great story to tell others when they need a quick fix of creepy urban legends.
More Japanese Deep Dives
Samurai Fart Battles – The Lighter Side of History
When we picture samurai warriors, images of honor, discipline, and fierce sword battles come to mind. However, there is a hidden and often overlooked aspect of samurai culture that was…
Japan Deep Dive: The Curse of Kowai Shashin (2002)
Hello, fellow weirdos! Today, we are delving into the Kowai Shashin, a purportedly cursed Japanese video game with a fascinating marketing strategy that incorporates urban legends and exploits the naivety…
Japan Deep Dive: The Saori Incident
Hi fellow weirdos! Today we are discussing an obscure controversy that actually changed the whole Japanese adult video game industry. Dubbed “The Saori Incident” in the press, this 1991 affair…
Yu-Gi-Oh Hangman Card Urban Legend – The Cursed Game Card
In the early 2000s, anime experienced a surge in popularity among Western audiences, marking a peculiar time for anime fans. However, as this unique form of animation gained mainstream attention,…
Hi everyone! I am Javi from the distant land of Santiago, Chile. I grew up watching horror movies on VHS tapes and cable reruns thanks to my cousins. While they kinda moved on from the genre, I am here writing about it almost daily. When I am not doing that, I enjoy reading, drawing, and collecting cute plushies (you have to balance things out. Right?)