Wednesday, January 14, 2015

She Is A Descendent Of Yuki-Onna (雪女)


 
The legendary Japanese Snow Lady (Yuki-Onna)
 

My old university friend Yuki thought she was a descendent of Yuki-Onna or people outside Japan would like to call this sprit ‘snow girl’. Her name ‘yuki’ means ‘snow’ in Japanese, so I think she might have some basis in her assumption but let us just treat what she told me is just another ghost story. Yuki is from Niigata Prefecture (新潟縣), Japan and that is that much that I understand this lady for we only had a semester together in marketing.

 

As recalled what was told by Yuki, her home village was located at the foot of a hill. In the 70’s, there used to be a small wooden hut built somewhere at the top of the hill by local villagers for winter travelers to seek shelter in case of severe snow storm.

 

Normally local folks would not dare to spend a night in the hut given a choice as many people who had seek shelter in that particular hut were found frozen to death. It was quite a norm to find one or two frozen bodies during every winter. Local folks believed that those were the doings of Yuki-Onna or snow girl.

 

Yuki’s dad was a farmer and occasionally he would go to a forest nearby to collect fire woods. Sometimes Yuki’s dad went into the forest alone but most of the time he joined two of his friends as it was virtually impossible to transport all the firewood by one person alone.

 

During one severe winter, Yuki’s dad felt that he needed to fetch some more firewood as his wife is expecting soon with Yuki; additional firewood would be needed to boil water and to keep the house warm especially for the newborn and mother.

 

Even though the weather wasn’t good, Yuki’s dad still decided to venture out. So out he went into the forest early in the morning and by noon a large pile of wood was successfully being collected and Yuki’s dad started to head home. However, the weather suddenly turned bad and snow storm started to besiege the forest and the nearest shelter was the small wooden hut on top of the hill.

 

When Yuki’s dad managed to reached the hut, the snow was already at waist level, so without hesitation he immediately barged in the hut and gotten himself comfortable until the snow halted at least. However, the snow continued to fall and soon it was dusk…

 

Suddenly Yuki’s dad noticed a silhouette holding a red umbrella moving in the snow towards the hut. The gentleman thought it might be just another traveler lost in the storm. Gradually when the shadow moved closer, it was a beautiful young woman with snow white complexion wearing a white kimono! Well, she seemed to be glided on the surface of the snow.

 

At this point, Yuki’s dad was dumbfounded and he could only stared at the lady in white due to her unworldly beauty and also due to the fact that his body was frozen with cold and fear. He knew that the lady wasn’t anything human. Spirits sightings were common occurrences in old days.

 

 Suddenly the door was burst opened by a gust of wind and the lady in white already stood in front of Yuki’s dad. While still holding the red umbrella, the lady gave a cold stare and said: “I am not going to harm you, old man! Leave this hut at once and go back straight home without looking back now!”

 

After the lady uttered the words, Yuki’s dad felt a force jerked his collar and threw him out of the hut and as the old man recalled later, he was half ran and half rolled to the front door of his house.

 

Just as when Yuki’s dad had his head banged on the front door, Yuki was born! Yuki’s mom also recalled that she saw a lady in white holding a red umbrella entering her womb! I supposed this is why Yuki has her name.

 

Well, you might say that was a coincidence, but when I like to dragged Yuki out when I want to do weekly shopping in winter for when Yuki is out with me, all the winter hassles would be gone! Even my car could move much steadier without the need for chaining the wheels. So I do think that Yuki’s story has some foundation though.

 

Perhaps that’s why Yuki never like to come to tropic countries or she would probably be melted into a pool of water J!
 

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