The Slit Mouthed Woman // Animation

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STORY TELLING

THE SLIT MOUTHED WOMAN

01. IDEE

Früher als Kind hatte ich sehr viel Freude an deutschen Märchen. Doch hatte ich mir sehr gewünscht, Märchen aus anderen Ländern zu hören.

Deswegen habe ich es mir zur Aufgabe gemacht, für meine Bachelor Arbeit 2D Animationsfilme zu produzieren, die sich mit asiatischen Märchen, Sagen und Legenden befassen. Ich möchte diesen Geschichten eine Bühne bieten, gesehen, erzählt und gehört zu werden.

02. GESCHICHTE

Die zweite Geschichte die ich gerne erzählen möchte kommt aus Japan. Eine Urban Legende über Kuchisake-onna auch bekannt als "the slit mouthed woman". Die folgende Geschichte wird auf Englisch erzählt, damit eine größere Audience, die Geschichte verstehen kann.

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The Legend commences with a stunning, beautiful woman, who was married to a samurai. But beware, looks can be deceiving. One day she cheated on her husband. When he found out about the affair he grew very enraged and slit her mouth from ear to ear, giving her a glasgow smile. Following to this savage action, he asked “who will think your pretty now?”

After her death, the woman returned as a vengeful spirit, or onryō. As an onryō, she covers her mouth with a cloth mask (often specified as a surgical mask), or in some iterations, a hand fan or handkerchief. She carries a sharp instrument with her, which has been described as a knife, a machete, a scythe, or a large pair of scissors. She is also described as having supernatural speed. She is said to ask potential victims if they think she is attractive, often phrased as "Watashi, kirei?" (which translates to "Am I pretty?"

or "Am I beautiful?"). If the person answers "no", she will kill the person with her weapon, and if the person answers "yes", she will reveal her mutilated mouth. She then repeats her question (or asks "Kore demo?", which translates to "Even with this?" or "Even now?") and If the response is "yes", she will slice the corners of the person's mouth from ear to ear, resembling her own disfigurement.

An individual can survive an encounter with Kuchisake-onna by using one of several methods. In some versions of the legend, Kuchisake-onna will leave the potential victim alone if they answer "yes" to both of her questions, though in other versions, she will visit the individual's residence later that night and murder the person while sleeping. Other survival tactics include replying to Kuchisake-onna's question by describing her appearance as "average", giving the individual enough time to run away; distracting her by giving or throwing money or hard candies (particularly the kind of candy known as bekko ame, made of caramelised sugar) in her direction, as she will stop to pick them up; or by saying the word "pomade" three times.

(Quelle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuchisake-onna)