Tomino's Hell
Tomino’s Hell
Contrary to the stoic façade Japanese citizens are usually known for; they’re actually very creative and fun people who prefer expressing themselves in the various art forms. In fact, if you delve deeper into the Japanese culture, you’ll find that they’re actually very fun and wacky people although their sense of humour can seem rather strange and weird to many. They see and look at things from a different and refreshingly new perspective and how their works seem to always have that simple yet ambiguous quality that is evident even in their folktales and urban legends.
Tomino’s Hell or “Tomino no jigoku†is the title of a short Japanese poem that is supposedly cursed. Anyone who dares to read it out loud is doomed to die or get seriously injured, at best. There are many versions of the English translation of the poem but the most popular one in the internet tells the tale of a child named Tomino who dies and falls into hell. The writer used heavy metaphorical words and symbols to describe Tomino’s trip to hell that its quite difficult to understand what the message of the poem really is. There have been many claims and words of caution that the curse is in fact, very true but there has also been just as many claims that the entire thing is merely a hoax. Regardless of its cryptic nature, it never fails to illicit fear or at least make readers feel uncomfortable.
As a psychology major, I find people’s reaction to such an urban legend, especially one that can supposedly cause death or harm, very interesting because fear of death and the unknown is a part of human nature. Add to that the uncertainty that the curse may or may not be true, makes this all the more interesting and relevant to me.
This reminds me of the time when I was a child, my brothers used to tell me that I my tongue would fall off if I try swearing or cussing so I tried it once out of curiosity and I spent the entire day nervously checking if my tongue had
Contrary to the stoic façade Japanese citizens are usually known for; they’re actually very creative and fun people who prefer expressing themselves in the various art forms. In fact, if you delve deeper into the Japanese culture, you’ll find that they’re actually very fun and wacky people although their sense of humour can seem rather strange and weird to many. They see and look at things from a different and refreshingly new perspective and how their works seem to always have that simple yet ambiguous quality that is evident even in their folktales and urban legends.
Tomino’s Hell or “Tomino no jigoku†is the title of a short Japanese poem that is supposedly cursed. Anyone who dares to read it out loud is doomed to die or get seriously injured, at best. There are many versions of the English translation of the poem but the most popular one in the internet tells the tale of a child named Tomino who dies and falls into hell. The writer used heavy metaphorical words and symbols to describe Tomino’s trip to hell that its quite difficult to understand what the message of the poem really is. There have been many claims and words of caution that the curse is in fact, very true but there has also been just as many claims that the entire thing is merely a hoax. Regardless of its cryptic nature, it never fails to illicit fear or at least make readers feel uncomfortable.
As a psychology major, I find people’s reaction to such an urban legend, especially one that can supposedly cause death or harm, very interesting because fear of death and the unknown is a part of human nature. Add to that the uncertainty that the curse may or may not be true, makes this all the more interesting and relevant to me.
This reminds me of the time when I was a child, my brothers used to tell me that I my tongue would fall off if I try swearing or cussing so I tried it once out of curiosity and I spent the entire day nervously checking if my tongue had