Kaidan: Difference between revisions

From Zero Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
mNo edit summary
No edit summary
 
Line 1: Line 1:
[[Kaidan]] (怪談), which literally means ''strange talk'', is a genre of Japanese stories that has been around since writing first began in Japan. Kaidan are usually thought of as synonymous with the horror genre but this is false. Most kaidan aren't usually meant to be scary at all. They are told as a means of telling others strange occurrences that happened, explaining certain cultural values through example or for entertainment purposes. Most kaidan include [[yūrei]] and/or [[yōkai]] into them. Some examples of kaidan are the tales of [[Oiwa]] and [[Okiku|Okiku and the Nine Plates]], the [[Yuki-onna]] stories, and stories told by Lafcadio Hearn in his book Kwaidan. It should also be noted that stories like [[Ju-on]] and [[Ringu]] are not examples of kaidan, but rather part of the J-Horror genre.
[[Kaidan]] (怪談), which literally means ''strange story'', is a genre of traditional Japanese folk tale, typically tales of ghosts or supernatural events. Kaidan are usually thought of as synonymous with the horror genre, but they are not necessarily intended to be frightening; some are intended to convey a moral and warn against breaking religious rules or mistreating social inferiors. The practice of relating kaidan as a parlour game, known as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyakumonogatari_Kaidankai Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai], became popular in the Edo period and led to a surge of interest in collecting such tales. Most kaidan include supernatural beings such as [[yūrei]] and yōkai. Modern Japanese horror movies may take inspiration from popular kaidan, but are not considered kaidan themselves.
 
Famous kaidan include:
 
*[[Oiwa]]
*[[Okiku|Okiku and the Nine Plates]]
*[[Yuki-onna]]
*Stories collected by Lafcadio Hearn in his book ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwaidan:_Stories_and_Studies_of_Strange_Things Kwaidan]''


{{Japanesenav}}
{{Japanesenav}}


[[Category: Japanese Culture]]
[[Category:Japanese Culture]]
[[Category: Terminology]]
[[Category:Terminology]]

Latest revision as of 08:04, 12 April 2026

Kaidan (怪談), which literally means strange story, is a genre of traditional Japanese folk tale, typically tales of ghosts or supernatural events. Kaidan are usually thought of as synonymous with the horror genre, but they are not necessarily intended to be frightening; some are intended to convey a moral and warn against breaking religious rules or mistreating social inferiors. The practice of relating kaidan as a parlour game, known as Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai, became popular in the Edo period and led to a surge of interest in collecting such tales. Most kaidan include supernatural beings such as yūrei and yōkai. Modern Japanese horror movies may take inspiration from popular kaidan, but are not considered kaidan themselves.

Famous kaidan include:

Japanese Culture
Religion
Buddhism - Shinto
Japanese Ghosts/Creatures
Funayūrei - Goryō - Hitodama - Ikiryō - Onryō - Ubume - Yōkai - Yūrei
Specific Japanese Ghosts/Creatures
Oiwa - Okiku - Yuki-onna
Terms
Dosojin - Grave Mound - Hannya Mask - Higanbana - Jizo - Kaidan - Miko - Mukoyōshi - Sanzu River - Shimenawa - Toro-Nagashi - Wara Ningyo
Locations
Northeastern Japan - Shizuoka - Sugisawa Village - Tono
Media and Entertainment
Kagome, Kagome - Ringu