The Obnoxious Noppera-Bou

A Tiresome One-Act Show

 

Having taken some time off for health reasons, my travels saw me back down the main spine of Honshuu, and into bustling metropolis of Osaka. Word of the city's famed night market, or "dotonbori", excited the consumer in me, and, ever in need of new research materials, I resolved to visits the stands and shops at my earliest convenience. The sky was clear as I left my hotel for the evening, and the pleasant aroma of spices and street food swiftly stimulated the senses. For all intents and purposes, I assumed my outing would be a simple, relaxed exercise.

The Doujouji Maiden

Dancing to the Serpent's Tune

 

With the cherry blossoms in bloom and the spring heat on the rise, the pleasantness of the season drew to sojourn at Wakayama. After a few-well earned days of leisure, I received a most anxious correspondence regarding the renovations of a state university: a university, which happened to be located outside the grounds of the infamous Doujou Temple. As I was already more or less in the vicinity, I hastily agreed to investigate the situation, and found myself outside the pristine campus the very next day.

Locations of Intrigue

Surveying Abandoned and Mythically Altered Spaces

Throughout my research, I have often focused on the people and entities that are become the hordes of spirits and demons that stalk this good earth. However, I have yet to write on one most potent of mystical nexus: that of the haunted landscape. Over time, buildings, theme parks, and all sorts of other lost spaces can become breeding grounds for yokai, yurei, and all sorts of other aberrations. Indeed, the longer a property sits dormant and untouched by man, the likelihood of a liminal transformation is almost guaranteed. To illustrate my point, I have thus provided the following sites of the strange and the untamed.

Alleviating Ubume

A Weighty Exercise in Mortal Sympathy

 

After compiling some archival sources in Kyoto, I found myself traveling eastward to Gotemba, for the purposes of following up on a series of ogre sightings. Having traveled directly by train, I was somewhat impeded by the bus routes leading into the city proper. I had just missed the most recent shuttle, and had no alternative but to sit and wait on a coarse, yet aesthetically pleasing stone bench in the immediate vicinity. Thankfully, springtime in Japan was a few days off, and already the atmosphere was refreshingly serene. In time, I lost myself to the sight and smell of the sakura blossoms, until a subtle noise returned me to reality. I then noticed a slender woman sitting off to my right, with what seemed to be an infant held in her arms.

A Windy Morning with Ittan-Momen

A Most Unflattering Scarf

 

In the wake of my southern excursion, I found myself backtracking north towards Kyoto. Arriving to the city in early hours of the day, I sought to re-familiarize myself with the sights and sounds of the town. In particular, I much desired to observe the peaceful flow of the Katsura river, and quickly took to walking along its bank. Soon after, the sun began its upward ascent, and a fierce wind came trundling in with it. Not wanting to endure the chilling breeze, I turned to about with my hands firmly stowed in my pockets. However, it was at that moment that my vision blurred into a mesh of white.