- Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai
was a popular
parlour game duringEdo period Japan .The game was a simple one. In a room, as night fell, one hundred candles were lit. Guests and players gathered around the candles, taking turns telling kaidan. After each kaidan, a single candle was extinguished, and the room slowly grew darker and darker. The process was an
evocation , with the final candle believed to summon asupernatural entity.The origin of the game is unknown. It is thought that it was first played amongst the
samurai class as a test of courage, and later became fashionable amongst the townsmen.A true popular phenomenon, the popularity of Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai combined with new printing technology created a boom in the publication of kaidan-themed books collecting appropriate tales from every corner of
Japan andChina . Books in this genre often used the term Hyakumonogatari in the title, and in fact the published tale’s popularity continued long after the fad for the game had faded.In other media
*The game Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai was the basis for a TV Program, "Kaidan Hyakumonogatari," starring
Naoto Takenaka . It used the game as a base to tell classic Japanese ghost stories.*In the tenth episode of the anime
xxxHolic Yūko invites Watanuki, Doumeki and Himawari to the Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai.*In the Episode 'Freshman Fear' of the A&E docu-drama
reality television series Paranormal State , Members of Penn State Paranormal Research Society play the "Ancient Japanese Game of One Hundred Candles" during their investigation of a supposed haunting in a student dormitory. Freshman Lauren believes that an earlier performance of the ritual may have invited a local spirit into her dorm.References
*Addiss, Steven, "Japanese Ghosts and Demons", USA, George Braziller, Inc., 1986, ISBN 0-8076-1126-3
External links
* [http://www.seekjapan.jp/article-2/766/Tales+of+Ghostly+Japan Tales of Ghostly Japan] "Japanzine" By Zack Davisson
* [http://www.mangajin.com/mangajin/samplemj/ghosts/ghosts.htm Japanese Ghosts] "Mangajin #40" by Tim Screech
* [http://www.angelfire.com/sk3/asianhorror/h.html Asian Horror Encyclopedia.]
* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3342/is_200012/ai_n8057928 Asian Folklore Studies: The Appeal of Kaidan Tales of the Strange.]
* [http://www.kitsuneensemble.org Information on "The Kaidan Suite," a musical interpretation of hyaku monogatari by the Kitsune Ensemble.]
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