Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

TRAVEL: Japan’s Macabre ‘Suicide Forest’, “The Perfect Place to Die”

#1
C C Offline
http://thepostmortempost.com/2015/10/01/...ce-to-die/

-WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF DEATH WHICH MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR SOME-

EXCERPT: Aokigahara or “Suicide Forest” in Japan rests at the North-West base of Mount Fuji, less than 100 miles west of Tokyo. The forest is known locally as “Jukai” (“Sea of Trees”) and is notoriously associated in Japanese mythology with demons, possession, insanity and most prominently, suicide.

It has been the subject matter of countless poems, some more that 1,000 years old. Many people enter the forest each year with the intention of ending their lives and have since ancient times.

[...] Japanese spiritualists believe the spirits of those who commit suicide remain in the trees and that demons and evil entities in Aokigahara are working to prevent those who enter from ever leaving whether they become lost, go mad or unexpectedly choose to end their life by influence of demonic possession or the environment. The forest is made all the more macabre by the shoes, photographs, letters, dolls and other personal belongings which litter the ground. [...]

Aokigahara is also known for being a popular destination for the act of “Ubasute”, alternatively spelled “obasute” (“abandoning an old woman” and “oyasute” (“abandoning a parent”). Although this practice existed more often in folklore than in reality, Aokigahara is rumored to be haunted by Yurei (angry spirits) of the elderly and infirm who were allegedly left to die in the forest in the distant past. In ubasute and oyasute, the elderly person was carried to a remote and desolate location such as a mountain or forest and left there to die of starvation, dehydration or exposure. This practice was often used during times of famine or drought and was government mandated at times; Ubasute and oyasute may have continued as late as the 19th century. Ancient Japanese manuscripts suggest Aokigahara was a popular spot for lovelorn Samurai to commit Seppuku, a ritual self-disembowlment which was a popular method of an honorable death up until the 20th century.

[...] The forest is dark and silent making it easy to become lost or confused; Thick vegetation blocks out sunlight and animal life is eerily scarce. Visitors also say sounds are muffled and the voice of a person standing next to you sounds as though they are speaking from another room. High levels of minerals and metals such as those present in Aokigahara have long been believed by parapsychologists to attribute to hauntings and other forms of paranormal activity....


Possibly Related Threads…
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  UK isn’t the most miserable / unhappy place (travel) C C 0 8 Mar 23, 2024 05:17 PM
Last Post: C C
  Unleashing canine travel: Tourism sector urged to adapt to dog-friendly travel demand C C 0 38 Dec 19, 2023 06:44 AM
Last Post: C C
  Article Study on battery recycling shows China is in 1st place (electric vehicles) C C 0 45 Dec 9, 2023 01:54 AM
Last Post: C C
  Apparent Murder-Suicide Drives Family Off Cliff - Only Problem is Car Was a Tesla Yazata 8 331 Jan 6, 2023 12:13 AM
Last Post: Syne
  Space travel weakens our immune systems: Now scientists may know why (travel issues) C C 0 106 Jun 7, 2021 09:51 PM
Last Post: C C
  Forest in Poland filled with crooked trees, & no one can explain why (travel) C C 2 432 Jul 1, 2018 04:17 AM
Last Post: Zinjanthropos
  Lindsay Lohan: Dubai the safest place to be for celebrities (travel) C C 1 507 Jun 27, 2018 12:01 AM
Last Post: RainbowUnicorn
  The epiphanies of travel + Writing a travel book is an absurd undertaking C C 0 470 Jan 4, 2018 07:37 PM
Last Post: C C
  Secret space plane marks 200 days on orbit + Drone laws tighten in Japan C C 0 464 Dec 14, 2015 05:50 AM
Last Post: C C
  The Best Place On Earth To Die C C 3 917 Nov 2, 2015 11:19 PM
Last Post: Magical Realist



Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)