Japanese Urban Legends

Kashima Reiko

Kashima Reiko is an urban legend about the ghost of a woman who once lived in Hokkaido, Japan. One night, while she was out, she was attacked by a group of men. They beat and abused her horribly, ran off, and left her for the dead. 

She tried to call out for help, but nobody heard her. Desperate to be saved, she crawled forward to try and find someone, but unfortunately collapsed on a railway track. The train came along and ran her over, killing her and cutting her in two. Her body was severed at the waist.

It is believed that she came back as a vengeful ghost soon afterward, but upon arriving at her death spot, found out that her legs her lower half was missing. From there on, she searches the world, looking for her missing legs. And supposedly, if you meet her, she'll ask you a few questions- and if you can't give her the right answers, you'll have to pay a price.

Kashima Reiko is similar to Teke-Teke, since they both have been run over a train and cut in half, but they are not the same person.

She is said to be mainly encountered in bathrooms for some reason. I'm not sure why at least three urban legends I've researched have been involved with ghosts in bathrooms, but I guess that's just the popular place for ghosts to hang out at in Japan.

Anyways, she is usually in school bathrooms, but can apparently also appear in your bathroom at home in the middle of the night. If you enter the bathroom and see her there, she will ask you questions. If you cannot answer correctly, she will tear off your legs.

If she asks, "Where are my legs?", the answer is "On the Meishin Expressway." Meishin Expressway is a toll expressway in Japan, where it is rumored that she had her legs cut off at.

She will say "Who told you that?" You should reply "Kashima Reiko told me that."

It is said that the answers are supposed to be answered in Japanese, and she will ask you the questions in Japanese. So if you are heading to Japan, there's yet another reason to learn Japanese. Although I would recommend learning Japanese for many other reasons, such as better communication skills and understanding.

She also might ask a trick question, "Do you know my name?" Apparently, if you say "Kashima", that isn't the right answer. She will kill you if you say her name. Instead, say "Mask Death Demon" in English. This will cause her to vanish and leave you alone.

If you're wondering why, it has to do with what her name means. Ka-shi-ma stands for Ka=Kamen (Mask), Shi=Shinin (Dead person), Ma=Ma (Demon).

It is said that after hearing the story of Kashima Reiko, she will appear to you within a month. I wrote this story about a month ago and nothing happened, so don't be worried- it's not true.