A mysterious doll possessed by the spirit of a child has captured the curiosity of people across Japan for decades. The legendary Okiku doll, named after the girl who long ago used to play with it, is a 40-centimeter (16-in) tall kimono-clad figure with beady black eyes -- and hair that grows.
Okiku doll illustration by Shohei Otomo
The Okiku doll has resided at the Mannenji temple in the town of Iwamizawa (Hokkaido prefecture) since 1938. According to the temple, the traditional doll initially had short cropped hair, but over time it has grown to about 25 centimeters (10 in) long, down to the doll's knees. Although the hair is periodically trimmed, it reportedly keeps growing back.
It is said that the doll was originally purchased in 1918 by a 17-year-old boy named Eikichi Suzuki while visiting Sapporo for a marine exhibition. He bought the doll on Tanuki-koji -- Sapporo's famous shopping street -- as a souvenir for his 2-year-old sister, Okiku. The young girl loved the doll and played with it every day, but the following year, she died suddenly of a cold. The family placed the doll in the household altar and prayed to it every day in memory of Okiku.
Some time later, they noticed the hair had started to grow. This was seen as a sign that the girl's restless spirit had taken refuge in the doll.
Okiku doll at Mannenji temple [via]
In 1938, the Suzuki family moved to Sakhalin, and they placed the doll in the care of Mannenji temple, where it has remained ever since.
Nobody has ever been able to fully explain why the doll's hair continues to grow. However, one scientific examination of the doll supposedly concluded that the hair is indeed that of a young child.
[Note: This is the last in a series of weekly posts on mysteries and urban legends from Japan.]
Bill Nye
This one should be pretty easy to prove/disprove.
1) measure doll hair
2) cut a measured length of hair from doll
3) measure doll hair
4) wait (x) amount of time
5) measure doll hair
6) rinse and repeat
If you have measurable growth. Then further study is necessary and "WTF?"s for everyone. If you have no evidence of growth... STFU and find some other BS story to pass around the interwebs as true.
[]Tigger
You're an ARSE.
I bet you believe in Jesus, don't you?
[]Grissslllyyy
You're a FAGGOT.
[]I bet you're believing in Allah, don't you?
Stupid religions
All right kids, quit your fighting now. It's just a doll!
[]Tigger
Er, no, you poofter, obviously I don't believe in Allah, that much is obvious from my name, dufus.
[]Garry
Yeah kids, stop fighting now.
And next time when you're going to flame someone, please refrain from using religion shit okay? Especially you Tigger, stop bringing Jesus everywhere in the internet. He doesn't deserve to be ashamed by your weabooness. Thanks.
P.S. If you feel offended by what I said, then GTFO, report to the authorities, or whatever. You're obviously incapable of dealing with trolls.
And yeah, it's just a doll.
Dammit
Dammit Tigger, you are such a douche! And saying Arse makes you look like an even bigger Douche!
I'm also an Atheist by the way, and I still hate you, you smug Douchebag
[]Lookf4r
I love this series of posts so much. I eagerly await them each week!
[]otakugirl
Why bother explaining? It is a cool legend. Interesting how many adolescent female ghosts there are in Japan...
[]otakugirl
Btw Shohei Otomo is pretty good!!!
[]AdelaideBen
Hey - why has no one thought of the commercial opportunities here... the hair extension industry would be revolutionised if we could just mass produce them... shame about the Curse though....
...of course there would need to be a curse for it to be a truly great Japanese urban legend.
[]KyleHase
There's an eerie attraction at Sega Joyplus in Odaiba called "House of the living doll". Wonder if it's related.
[]Bubz
Ooh! Is the House of the Living Dolls still there? I went to that about 4 years ago. Sooo scary, especially when you don't understand much Japanese. ;)
[]piszczyk4U43
> but over time it has grown to about 25 centimeters (10 in) long, down to the doll's knees
Did they ever grow any longer than 10 in ?
[]bruce
Fantastic story... It would have fit in very well of the stuffed body of the Puerto Rican man mounted on his motorcycle...http://brucemhood.wordpress.com/2010/04/28/how-would-you-like-to-be-mounted/
Very spooky
[]feces
believe what you want if it helps you sleep or better yourself as a person. Myself....for some reason I can't subscribe to fantasy. Even if I would prefer the fantasy I'm incapable of accepting it as truth. I feel that an attitude like that is more of an affront to our God given capacity than any adherence to a man-made dogma. I've always liked the idea of magic, mysticism, and legend. I've also always appreciated Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, and Jesus (as the son of God opposed to the historical figure). If you missed the sarcasm than here is the real: God plays dice not chess. God probably doesn't know he exists; which is why life is purposeful rather than humerous. Human beings "humanize" the mind of God in an attempt to validate their own perception of reality, and every curious male mind has at some point slept with a fat chick (if he says he hasn't he's lying). Word to your mother.........why bother with bloggers
[]Nightfire
>'God probably doesn't know he exists...'
could you please clarify what you mean by this? i'm sorry, i don't want to start an argument or anything, just a tad confused...
[]Mommabear
Lol, you believe in god. which nobodys ever seen but you have a hard time believing in a doll. that has documented hair growth. okay then.
[]piratejenny
Holy creepy porcelain, Batman! I lived in Iwamizawa for almost 3 years and I'd heard small snippets about this doll, although I never bothered venturing to Mannenji to see it. (The temple's apparently on the outskirts of town, and it's spooky enough out there already.)
[]Mel
A popular theory:
Most of the dolls of that period were indeed made with human hair, but to fixate the hair, the hair was threaded/poked through holes pierced in the "scalp",then glued. Thus, part of the hair strand would remain in the "skull".
So it is speculated that since the shrine was kept warm and somewhat humid, the glue stretched over time, and the hair inside the head "grew".
We'll never know though, since apparently it isn't shown to the public anymore.
By the way, the hair did "grow". There's photographic evidence.
[]nicoleyi97
is that a real legend about the okiku doll's hair grow longer?
[]V
Many of my adult Japanese students have told me that any princess doll or big doll like this will grow its hair if you leave it alone long enough. One of my students, in her 30's, claims that her childhood dolls' hair grows every winter when they are in storage. I don't know if she was just trying to freak me out, but it worked.
[]JH3
I think it is some kind of effect due to the materials used in creating the doll (along with the material for hair) and the temperature.
[]I
But Okiku doll looks so pretty.
ryuu-chan
you mean creepy? I wouldn't want that doll.
[]Alice of the Spades
IM BAAAAAAACK!
[]