Kuchisake-onna: Folklore, Origins, and Urban Legend History

Kuchisake-onna is a frightening entity from Japanese folklore and urban legends, known for her severely disfigured mouth. She is usually shown as a woman with her face cut from ear to ear, leaving her with a disturbing, permanent smile.

She is often called an onryō, or vengeful spirit. She is known for approaching people—often children or students—and asking them if they think she is beautiful. Her story is a warning in modern Japanese society, highlighting concerns about city safety, parental neglect, and the dangers of vanity or infidelity.

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Key Takeaways

Attribute	Details
Names	Kuchisake-onna, Slit-Mouthed Woman
Translation	Mouth-slit woman
Title	The Slit-Mouthed Woman
Type	Onryō (vengeful spirit) or Urban Legend
Origin	Spirit of a mutilated woman; records date back to the Edo period with a resurgence in 1979
Gender	Female
Appearance	A woman wearing a surgical mask or scarf, hiding a mouth slit from ear to ear, carrying large scissors
Powers/Abilities	Superhuman speed, teleportation, invisibility (in some versions), and lethal use of bladed weapons
Weaknesses	Confusing her with ambiguous answers, offering hard candy (Bekko Ame), or saying “pomade” three times
Habitat	Urban streets, dark alleys, school routes, and parks
Diet/Prey	Children, students, and lone travelers
Symbolic Item	Surgical mask and industrial-sized scissors or a sickle
Symbolism	The dangers of vanity, urban isolation, and the fragility of social masks
Sources	Ehon Hyaku Monogatari (Edo period mentions), modern newspaper reports (1979)

Who or What is Kuchisake-onna?

Kuchisake-onna is a well-known character in Japanese ghost stories, combining traits of traditional yōkai with modern fears. She is usually described as the ghost of a woman who was badly injured in life, either by a jealous husband, a rival, or a failed medical procedure, and now returns to take out her pain on others.

Like other female spirits, such as Sadako or Kayako, she is a yōrei or onryō. Still, she stands out because of her unique way of approaching people. She usually appears at night, covering her face with a cloth or mask.

The meeting centers on a question: “Am I pretty?” (“Watashi kirei?”) No matter how someone answers, the result is usually violent. She either cuts the person to look like her or kills them.

“Kuchisake-onna” Meaning

The name Kuchisake-onna comes from three Japanese words: kuchi (口) means “mouth,” sake (裂け) comes from the verb sakeru, meaning “to be torn” or “to be split,” and onna (女) means “woman.” Put together, the name means “Mouth-slit woman.”

The name itself points to the physical injury that makes her unique. In the past, especially during the Edo period, stories and art sometimes showed similar “slit-mouthed” figures. However, they did not always use this exact name.

The name Kuchisake-onna became widely used in the late 1970s, when the legend spread across Japan. Unlike some symbolic yōkai names, her name simply describes how she looks.

How to Pronounce “Kuchisake-onna” in English

In English, Kuchisake-onna is pronounced Koo-chee-sah-keh ohn-nah. The “u” sounds like the “u” in “pull,” the “i” is pronounced “ee,” and the “e” at the end of “sake” sounds like “eh” in “pet.” The double “n” in “onna” means you should hold the “n” sound a little longer.

What Does Kuchisake-onna Look Like?

Kuchisake-onna looks both ordinary and terrifying. Most stories describe her as a woman in her 20s or 30s with long, straight black hair. She usually wears modern clothes, like a long trench coat or a simple dress.

Her most noticeable feature is a surgical mask, scarf, or handkerchief covering the lower part of her face. This is common in Japan for health reasons, which helps her blend in with crowds.

When she takes off her mask, she shows a mouth cut open from ear to ear, with exposed tissue, teeth, and a bloody, permanent grin. In newer versions of the story, she often carries big scissors or a blade.

People often say her eyes look both sad and intense. Some stories from the 1970s mention that she has three moles near her ears or that she wears a red coat, but the slit mouth is always her main feature.

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Habitat

Kuchisake-onna mainly lives in cities. Unlike older yōkai who are found in mountains, rivers, or old temples, she appears in modern places like dark alleys, quiet streets, parks, and paths to and from schools.

The story says she likes these places because many possible victims, especially children, walk there alone or in small groups. The city lets her hide in shadows or around corners. She is often linked to public places that are empty at night, which adds to fears about strangers and the loss of safety in busy cities.

Origins and History

Kuchisake-onna’s story has both old and new parts. While many see her as a modern legend, similar stories appeared in the Edo period (1603–1868). Early tales described women with slit mouths caused by fox possession or as ghosts of women punished for cheating.

The version of the legend we know today became famous in 1979. It started in Gifu Prefecture and quickly spread across Japan through stories and news reports. The panic was so strong that schools had students walk home in groups, accompanied by police or teachers.

People think the 1979 version grew because of stress in the Japanese school system and sensational news stories. Over time, the legend added details on how to escape her, such as using pomade or candy.

Sources

Stories about Kuchisake-onna can be found in both old collections and modern books about folklore.

Source	Quote
Ehon Hyaku Monogatari (1841)	“…there was a woman whose mouth was torn open to her ears, known as the Kuchisake-onna, appearing in the dark of night to frighten travelers.”
Gifu Nichinichi Shimbun (1979)	“…an old woman in Gifu City claimed to have seen a woman with a slit mouth standing in her garden, sparking a wave of reports across the region.”

Famous Kuchisake-onna Legends and Stories

The Question of Beauty

The most well-known story about Kuchisake-onna describes meeting her on a dark street. A woman in a surgical mask walks up to someone alone, often a student coming home from cram school. She stops them and asks, “Am I pretty?” (“Watashi kirei?”).

If the person says “Yes,” she takes off her mask to show her cut face and asks, “Even like this?” (“Kore demo?”). If the person screams or says “No,” she kills them with her scissors. If they say “Yes” again, she cuts their mouth to look like hers. If they say “No” to the first question, she kills them right away.

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The Husband’s Jealousy

An older version of the story, set in the Heian or Edo period, tells of a beautiful woman married to a samurai. She was very vain and often cheated on her husband.

When the samurai found out she was unfaithful, he became furious. He cut her mouth from ear to ear with his sword, yelling, “Who will think you are beautiful now?” Soon after, she died and came back as a vengeful spirit, doomed to ask others the same question her husband had used to mock her.

The Three Moles and the Pomade

During the 1979 scare, a new version of the story about three sisters appeared. It said Kuchisake-onna was the youngest, and her sisters were also deformed or mentally unstable. In this version, she had three moles on her face.

Children were told to say “Pomade” three times to escape her. She supposedly hated the smell of hair wax because it reminded her of the doctor who accidentally cut her mouth during surgery.

Kuchisake-onna Powers and Abilities

Kuchisake-onna has several supernatural powers that make her very dangerous. She is not just a physical attacker but a ghostly being with abilities beyond what humans can do.

• Superhuman Speed: She is said to run 100 meters in just a few seconds (sometimes 3 to 6 seconds), so running away from her is almost impossible.
• Teleportation: Some stories say she can appear in front of a victim, even if the victim turns a corner or goes inside a building.
• Weapon Skills: She uses large scissors, sickles, or razors with deadly accuracy.
• Invisibility/Camouflage: She can hide in crowds or shadows until she decides to show herself to someone.

How to Defend Against Kuchisake-onna

Stories say that fighting her or just running away usually does not work. The best ways to escape involve confusing her or using certain cultural tricks.

1. Ambiguous Answers: If she asks if she is pretty, the safest reply is something unclear, like “So-so” (“Mā-mā”) or “Average.” This confuses her and gives you time to escape.
2. Hard Candy: She is said to like Bekko Ame, a type of amber-colored hard candy. If you throw the candy to her or offer it, she will stop to eat it, giving you a chance to get away.
3. The Pomade Chant: Saying the word “Pomade” three times is thought to drive her away because she hates the smell or even the word itself.
4. Inverting the Question: Some stories say you can ask her, “Am I pretty?” in return. This can confuse her and make her pause.

Kuchisake-onna vs Other Yōkai

Name	Category	Origin	Threat Level	Escape Difficulty
Teke Teke	Urban Legend	Girl cut in half by a train	Extreme	Very Hard; she is faster than cars
Hanako-san	Urban Legend	Ghost of a girl in a school toilet	Moderate	Easy; avoid the third stall
Kappa	Suijin	Water deity/spirit	High	Moderate; bow or offer cucumber
Rokurokubi	Obake	Human cursed with a long neck	Low	Easy; they are mostly harmless
Aka Manto	Urban Legend	Cloaked spirit in bathrooms	Extreme	Impossible; both options lead to death
Oiwa	Onryō	Woman poisoned by her husband	High	Hard; she haunts through objects
Kitsune	Yōkai	Magical fox spirit	Variable	Moderate; use salt or dogs
Jorōgumo	Yōkai	Spider that turns into a woman	High	Hard; she lures with music
Ubume	Yūrei	Woman who died in childbirth	Low	Easy; help her with the baby
Gashadokuro	Yōkai	Skeleton of many dead people	Extreme	Hard; listen for the ringing ears

Symbolism

Attribute	Details
Element	Air (associated with the urban wind and her speed)
Animal	None (strictly humanoid)
Cardinal Direction	West (associated with the land of the dead in Buddhism)
Color	Red (blood and her coat) or White (her surgical mask)
Plant	None specific
Season	Autumn/Winter (when scarves and masks are common)
Symbolic Item	Surgical Scissors

Kuchisake-onna stands for the fear of strangers in today’s crowded cities. She also shows the dangers of vanity and how people hide their true selves behind a “mask.”

In Japan, she represents parents’ worries about their children’s safety in public. Her story shows how yōkai tales have moved from nature to the city, proving that modern life has its own fears. She is still a key creature in Japanese horror movies and books, and has had a big impact on the “J-Horror” genre.

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Frequently Asked Questions