I work as a yokai exterminator, ask me anything? Part 7

• [13] Maintaining thread
• [21] Daily thread maintenance
• [27] Thread maintenance
• [28] Daily thread maintenance

[55] I’m back now.

[56] As a greeting, here’s a short episode. It’s about the first time I worked with my master.

[58] The first time I worked with Sensei was about 3 months after I started staying with him. There had been one job before that, but maybe he judged it was too soon for me, because I wasn’t taken along. By that time, I had finished learning the minimum taboos of the job, or things like that, so I got to go. Well, if things had stayed as they were, I would’ve just been a freeloader. He probably wanted me to become capable of working soon. And as for the actual job content, it was exterminating a yokai that had settled in a tunnel.

Yokai (妖怪): A general term in Japanese folklore for supernatural beings. Includes a wide variety of entities such as gods, demons, spirits, and monsters.

[59] According to Sensei, this particular job was apparently done once every 5 years, and although it was a tunnel, it wasn’t that big. Barely wide enough for one car, and only about 20 meters long, so not very long. I’ll omit the specific location, but it’s a tunnel in the countryside, surrounded by mountains. It’s small, but it’s a rather important passage for the local people. Up until now, there have been no rumors of accidents or deaths there. However, there was one small problem: a yokai called ‘Mojiri’ (最後) apparently often settles there.

[60] ‘Mojiri’ (最後) isn’t read as ‘Saigo,’ but as ‘Mojiri.’ Are you familiar with mojiri-jutsu? If you don’t know, I think you can find it by searching, but basically, it’s an old weapon, a tool used for capturing people in the Edo period. I suspect this yokai’s name might come from that? Specifically, it’s said to be a yokai that pulls ears. If you pass through the tunnel at night, it pulls your ears.

Mojiri-jutsu (もじり術): A type of martial art and capturing tool used in Edo-period Japan to apprehend criminals.

[61] Well, since it’s just that kind of yokai, at first glance, it might seem like it doesn’t cause much real harm, and you might think it’s okay to just leave it alone. However, what happens to people whose ears are pulled by this ‘Mojiri’ is that they apparently catch a cold. So, it’s said that in the past, there were stories about how it was better not to pass through the tunnel at night. Well, it’s that kind of countryside, and apparently, there are many elderly people, and moreover, since they can’t get to the hospital without passing through the tunnel, there are apparently times when they have to go through it at night. It’s at times like those that their ears get pulled. Since they’re elderly, catching a cold is a serious matter, so the local people pool their money to have it driven away once every few years.

• [62] OP, you’re alive!

[63] I was still in middle school back then, and still somewhat naive about the world, so I just did everything Sensei told me to. I followed him as instructed. An hour by Shinkansen, an hour by local train, then a local person picked us up by car, and from there it was about 30 minutes? The tunnel came into view. It didn’t look like a haunted spot or anything like that. It was quite clean for the countryside. Or rather, precisely because it was the countryside, the neighborhood association apparently took turns cleaning it sometimes. We drove straight through the tunnel and went to the house of a relatively wealthy local person to greet them.

[64] It was quite a large mansion. You know the anime movie “Summer Wars”? At first glance, it gave off that kind of impression. The person who greeted us was a man about 60 years old, with barcode-like hair. Anyway, Sensei spoke politely about various things, but after bowing initially, I just stood there silently watching. The old man’s barcode hair really caught my attention. Apparently, we were supposed to do the work at night and then stay at that house. We would leave the next afternoon. It was quite a tight schedule, and the barcode man said we could stay longer, but Sensei refused quite firmly.

[65] Then, at midnight, Sensei started heading towards the tunnel with me. On foot. It was a 30-minute drive from the mansion to the tunnel. We were going to walk that entire distance. I questioned his sanity. Moreover, there was quite a bit of luggage, and I was assigned to carry all of it. Well, there wasn’t much else I could do… I asked Sensei if we couldn’t get a ride, but he just silently shook his head. He finally spoke after we had walked quite far from the mansion. Since it was just the two of us walking silently along the country paths between rice fields, I was really scared. But one of the job taboos Sensei had taught me was that if you still felt scared during a job, you should never open your mouth. Something apparently escapes from your mouth. Like yang energy, or something like that. Usually, it wouldn’t matter, but before a job, it was better not to let it escape, or so he said.

[66] So, I had no choice but to remain silent. I was relieved when Sensei started talking. I didn’t speak, but as we walked, Sensei said something along the lines of it being better not to get too involved with the people living on this side of the tunnel. I didn’t really understand why, but I just nodded. After that, Sensei continued to give me detailed instructions endlessly. Thanks to that, by the time we reached the tunnel, my fear had mostly subsided. Or rather, I was so exhausted that I didn’t care anymore. The thought of having to walk back… made me want to collapse right there on the ground.

• [67] OP is alive!!!! Welcome back!
• [68] Daily thread maintenance…!? You came!

[69] By the way, not opening your mouth is strictly for the preparation phase. Once the job starts, sometimes you have to talk no matter how scared you are, otherwise, nothing gets done. When Sensei reached the tunnel, he took out two or three candles from the luggage I carried. It was quite windy in front of the tunnel, and it was hard to light the candles. Sensei called me over, and I stood in front of the candles. Basically, to act as a windbreak. With that, the candle flames finally lit properly. Sensei set the candles up in front of the tunnel. They were fairly thick candles, so normally they probably wouldn’t go out easily. But the wind was strong then, so I stayed outside the tunnel as a windbreak to watch over the candle flames. Sensei took out a long shimenawa, a mixture of incense ash, rice, and salt, earmuffs, and a large number of eggs from the luggage, and holding those, he went into the tunnel. After a while, I could hear Sensei singing something from inside the tunnel. It was very dark inside the tunnel. I wondered if Sensei was okay in the dark, but more than that, being alone and the sheer darkness of the tunnel became unbearably frightening, so I stood with my back to the tunnel, kind of protecting the candles.

Shimenawa (しめ縄): A rope made of rice straw used in Shinto to mark sacred spaces. It creates a boundary and is believed to prevent the entry of impurities.

[70] For a while, I vaguely stared at the candle flames and my own shadow, trying to distract myself by recalling the plot of “Fullmetal Alchemist.” Around that time, the first season? of the anime was airing. If I were doing yokai extermination, I wanted to do it coolly like shooting light from my hands, or so I still dreamed back then. Then, after quite some time had passed, I finally noticed something strange. I was standing facing the candles. The shadow cast by the candlelight should naturally extend behind me, and my shadow should do the same. But my shadow was stretching out sideways from the candle, as if passing right beside it.

[71] Sorry, I’m going to prepare and eat dinner.

• [72] See you later. Looking forward to the continuation!
• [76] >>70 I don’t quite understand this explanation about the candle, could someone draw a picture to explain…?

[77] I’m back. >>76 Sorry it was unclear. Imagine it lined up like “Me Candle.” Normally, the shadow should be “Shadow Me Candle,” but it was like “Me Candle Shadow.”

• [95] >>77 Thanks, OP! That’s clear, and now that I understand, it’s scary (lol)
• [75] Previously, OP said sea yokai are more troublesome than mountain yokai. Has OP encountered sea yokai? Do sea yokai have different characteristics than mountain yokai? Like temperament. Can you communicate with them? Or was the earthworm that killed OP’s master one of them?

[78] >>75 As I wrote before, the fundamental principles (kotowari) are different for sea yokai and land yokai. You can communicate with land yokai based on the premise of “contracts,” but it’s much more difficult with the sea ones.

[79] When I realized that, I was startled and felt an urge to turn around immediately. But, as I always say, looking back on a dark road is another taboo. So, I desperately resisted. Looking closely, the shadow’s silhouette was slightly off for my own. I can’t quite express what was wrong, but somehow its head seemed unusually large. At first, I thought it was just an effect of the light and shadow. But once I noticed the shadow was strange, that feeling of wrongness grew stronger and stronger. I closed my eyes right there. I got scared.

• [80] You mentioned before that gods can die fighting yokai. Do yokai and ghosts fight amongst themselves? If a possessed person enters another’s territory, does the yokai possessing them get into a fight like, “Who the hell are you!”?

[82] >>80 I’ve never seen it, but rather than fighting, perhaps they usually resolve things through “discussion”?

• [83] >>82 I thought yokai were short-tempered and emotional, but they’re surprisingly rational. Just one more question. You said mountain yokai are often transformed animals that gained virtue, but what are sea yokai? Seafood? Or strange beings that were always there?

[86] >>83 It’s hard to say. There aren’t many documents about the sea, so it’s mostly based on intuition and experience.

[81] How much time passed after that? I think quite a while must have gone by, but Sensei returned. He made me, who was standing still with eyes closed, open my eyes and asked what had happened. As soon as I opened my eyes, I checked the shadow again, but the shadow stretching beside the candle was gone. Relieved, I told Sensei about the shadow. Sensei gathered the luggage, had me carry it, and started leading me back to the mansion. On the way back, he said that the yokai called ‘Mojiri’ often appears in tunnels or attics, but there are more conditions required for the places where they emerge.

[84] The origin of the character ‘最’ (sai/moto) apparently comes from ancient China where soldiers collected enemy ears after defeating them to receive rewards. And the character ‘後’ (go/ato/ushiro) supposedly comes from when walking on a path, thread got tangled around one’s feet. So, what ‘最後’ (Mojiri) means is, it represents the state of ambushing a soldier who collected ‘ears’ (耳), stealing those ‘ears’ (耳) for oneself to claim the reward. And the mojiri tool is used to capture criminals. In the past, places where this yokai settled were apparently where people who had their achievements stolen through such ambushes died, and the yokai was drawn by their lingering resentment (怨念 – onnen).

[87] Hearing that, I asked, “So, does ‘Mojiri’ pull the ears of criminals to avenge that resentment?” Sensei said he didn’t know that much. However, he did say that this area on this side of the tunnel was probably a buraku settlement in the past. Geographically, it fits perfectly, he added. At that time, I didn’t know much about buraku, so I asked Sensei what it meant and wondered if yokai still settled because of past sins. Sensing my thoughts, Sensei said ‘Mojiri’ isn’t that persistent a yokai, and normally, once driven away, it doesn’t come back. But the fact that it does come back means that some new ‘resentment’ must have formed.

Buraku (部落): A term referring to Japanese communities and their residents historically subject to discrimination based on certain occupations or origins. While discrimination is legally prohibited today, deep-rooted prejudice can remain.

[88] Correction. I was just blankly thinking, “New resentment?” Sensei further added, “That’s why it’s better not to have much contact with the people here. You never know what might happen.”

[89] I timidly asked Sensei, “Then, what was that shadow I saw?” Sensei replied, “Who knows? Could be ‘Mojiri,’ could be ‘resentment.’ Or maybe something completely unrelated, or just a coincidence created by light and shadow.” The next day, after receiving the payment, Sensei quickly left the mansion with me.

[90] That’s it for today. I’ll write the continuation of the previous story tomorrow. I plan to finish Sensei’s story in this thread.

• [91] Ehh? (´・ω・`) I wanted to hear the story about the Great Plains Sloth yokai.

[92] >>91 I’ll tell it after Sensei’s story is finished.

• [96] Anyway, I’m too curious about what happened to Sensei and what happened to the junior disciple girl. If OP were to date someone, would a normal girl with no psychic abilities and no connection to that industry be better?
• [99] This is a good thread for the first time in a while. I’d like Mizuki Shigeru-sensei to read it.
• [103] Maintaining thread before bed.
• [106] Good morning, thread maintenance.
• [108] I’m so excited for today’s story I keep checking here every few hours (lol)

[110] This took longer than expected. I’ll start writing now.

• [111] Yay!

[112] Last time, it was up to the point where I went to wake Sensei up and found him acting strangely. I told Sensei that dinner was ready. Sensei replied, “Okay, I’ll go after I change.” I was a bit worried about Sensei, so I decided to wait for him outside his room. After a short while, Sensei came out, wearing the clothes he planned to wear for the night’s work. I wanted to ask Sensei what he had been doing just now, but somehow my mouth wouldn’t work properly, and I couldn’t ask. I had never seen Sensei like that before. There was also the incident in the bathroom the other day; Sensei had been acting strangely ever since we arrived here.

[114] Perhaps sensing that I wanted to say something, Sensei teased me as we walked towards the kitchen together, saying something like, “Since when did you start worrying about me? Just think about yourself.” Honestly, for me, the fear of something happening to Sensei, or rather, the fear that Sensei was plotting something again without my knowledge, was greater. When I replied with words to that effect, Sensei just snorted. Then, Sensei and I ate dinner with the others. I forget what we ate, but it was quite delicious.

[117] About two or three hours after dinner. It was time for the ritual. Sensei and I packed everything we needed into backpacks and put them on. The younger brother would drive us to the location and then return home temporarily. This meant that during the actual ritual, it would be just me, Sensei, and Misato-san. Then, if things went well, the younger brother would come pick us up again. We arrived at the location around 11:30 PM. It was pitch black all around, and the salty sea breeze clung unpleasantly to the skin. After sending the brother back, Sensei and I immediately began preparations.

• [121] Oh, this is my first time in real-time. I’m holding my breath.

[122] First, we used the stone flakes we had chipped off in the morning as a dish and placed the earthworm on it. We put that on the large rock where Misato-san was found, and lightly sprinkled incense ash around it. Then, we placed one candle each to the north and west. Putting them inside wind guards made of oil paper, they lit quite easily. After that, we made various preparations on the ground to call the yokai, and then enclosed Misato-san with a shimenawa rope dampened with salt water. I was mainly the one doing these preparations, while Sensei gathered nearby damp branches and leaves, put two or three strands of Misato-san’s hair inside, and used charcoal, fire starters, etc., to burn them. A considerable amount of smoke rose up. Thanks to it being night, it wasn’t too conspicuous though. With this, most of the preparations were complete. It took about 2 hours.

[123] And here, Sensei did something strange. He took out the white dog’s blood I had prepared, dissolved charcoal with it, and tried to write a character with a brush on the forehead part of the clothes Misato-san was wearing. Oh, by the way, Misato-san’s attire at this time was quite layered, with her school jersey on the outermost layer. For times like these, it was best to use things she was used to. I was shocked. This was something done during very dangerous rituals, sometimes used as a charm against evil, but in our practice, it’s a method called Kaitenchou (開天頂). It’s said to weaken the connection between soul and body. However, it was completely unnecessary for this particular ritual.

• [124] Exciting.

[127] I think I can come back tomorrow, so that’s all for today. Sorry it’s little by little.

• [129] >>127 Thank you for your hard work. I thought there wouldn’t be any more posts, so I’m happy to see you again. I don’t know if you went to university, but good luck.
• [130] OP, thank you for your hard work. Waiting for the continuation.
• [131] OP, thank you for your hard work. Sensei’s mysterious actions are intriguing.
• [133] Just when I thought I made it in real-time, it ended.
• [153] Thread maintenance.
• [156] Thread maintenance.
• [158] Thread maintenance. Support.
• [104] I’d like to hear OP’s view on Sokushinbutsu. I had a chance to see one before, but it felt more like a cursed object than a Buddha…
• [128] Thank you for your work. Please answer >>104’s question too.

[160] >>128 Thinking it’s better to become a god than to stay living, or that things are better after death… what a depressing world we live in. Good evening. Let’s continue.

Sokushinbutsu (即身仏): A form of ascetic practice found in some parts of Japanese Buddhism (especially Shingon). Refers to monks who underwent extreme austerities, such as consuming only specific grains or nuts, eventually fasting to death while meditating (often buried alive), resulting in self-mummification.

• [161] >>160 Been waiting!!
• [162] I’ve been following this thread the whole time, but this is the first time I’ve seen OP online in real-time!
• [163] Same here!!! Please continue! OP!! I love you!!!

[166] >>163 Sorry, I’m male, so I’m not a potential romantic partner… Noticing Sensei’s actions, I quickly used the agreed-upon signal to ask, “What are you doing?” However, perhaps Sensei didn’t see well in the dark night, or maybe he deliberately ignored me, he didn’t reply. I was a bit troubled. I couldn’t just ask out loud. We hadn’t explained the specifics of the ritual to Misato-san in much detail. This was, of course, to allow for maneuvering on the spot if needed. So, it was better if Misato-san didn’t become too aware that something strange was happening. But if I just let Sensei proceed without knowing his objective, there was a possibility some harm could come my way. I quietly took out the prepared “ace up my sleeve” from my luggage and hid it under my sleeve.

[168] Sensei ignored me and wrote the character “下” (Shita/Down/Lower) on Misato-san’s forehead. For Kaitenchou, the character written differs depending on the purpose. Basically, the three characters “上” (Ue/Up/Upper), “中” (Naka/Middle), and “下” (Shita/Down/Lower) are used, though their forms are significantly altered. The main effect is to weaken the ‘fire’ located on the human forehead, thus weakening the connection between body and soul. “上” is used for men, “下” for women, and “中” for the elderly. After finishing that, Sensei signaled me to start the ritual. I signaled back, “What are you doing?” again, but was ignored once more.

[172] Having no choice, I performed my assigned role and chanted the poem to begin the ritual. The main meaning is something like, “The child here received hospitality the other day, so this time we have prepared a banquet in return. Yokai-san who took care of her then, please come.” My voice didn’t carry at all over the sound of the ocean tide; it was just swallowed up. Regarding the Kaitenchou, I decided that at this point, Sensei probably didn’t want to teach me about it. Sometimes during other jobs, things like this happened. You know how masters sometimes deliberately withhold knowledge from their disciples? To prevent being surpassed. I decided to think that this was probably one of those cases.

[173] I recited the poem for quite a long time. This continues until the target yokai arrives. Meaning, if it doesn’t come, I have to keep doing it indefinitely. Normally, if done at home or somewhere similar, they usually come within 10 or 20 minutes. But that time, it took quite a while. Just as my throat was almost completely raw, the stone dish placed on the rock suddenly flipped over. Of course, it’s possible the wind flipped it. But when an offering dish for a yokai like this flips over, it’s apparently proof that the yokai has arrived. Finally, the real thing begins.

[174] That’s all for today. See you tomorrow.

• [176] Thank you for your hard work. Waiting.
• [177] OP, thank you for your hard work. What’s wrong with Sensei…
• [179] OP, thank you for your hard work! Couldn’t read it in real-time… I have psychic abilities, but I can’t distinguish between yokai and ghosts.
• [180] Is that all for today? Curious about the continuation.
• [183] Thread maintenance
• [184] Thread maintenance
• [185] Daily thread maintenance

[243] I’ll probably post 2 or 3 replies today and then disappear. Continuation. Confirming the “dish” had flipped, I quickly extinguished the lit candles. If we set things up so the other side visits us, the fire gets extinguished by them. But when we host a banquet and invite them, it’s polite for us to extinguish the fire. During that time, the job of chanting the poem shifts to Sensei. Sensei sings to the yokai, something like, “Welcome. Please, partake of the food prepared there.” After extinguishing the candles, I next lightly pricked some ginger with a silver needle and then pricked Misato-san’s thumb with it. After confirming that red blood was definitely coming out of her thumb, I collected the rope that had been surrounding her.

[246] I tossed the collected rope into the bonfire where the branches and such were burning. After a short while, strangely, the smoke that had been billowing up began to decrease. Once most of the smoke disappeared, it meant the yokai had properly taken its seat at the banquet and was ready to listen to us. Seeing this, I signaled Sensei. Then, Sensei switched from the welcoming poem he had been singing to a poem formatted for discussion. You proceed with your agenda when the other party is in a good mood after eating the banquet food. It’s a method that works even with humans, right?

• [247] Entertainment/Hospitality, huh.
• [249] 2 or 3 replies is a bit lonely. But I’ll endure.
• [251] Reading this, it seems there are many kinds of yokai, and I realized that the mirror-mochi-like thing was probably some kind of yokai too. Looking back, the strangest thing might be that I wasn’t scared. Also, in the same room, my younger brother was making a fuss, saying he saw a Yamabushi surrounded by smoke. I laughed my head off back then, but now it’s somehow scary.

Yamabushi (山伏): Practitioners of Shugendo, a syncretic religion blending ancient Japanese mountain worship with Buddhism, etc. They undertake rigorous training in the mountains.

[2] Continuing matter-of-factly. When Sensei’s poem changed, I next quickly extinguished the fire made from branches and leaves. If left burning, unwanted entities might get curious and come over. Once the fire was completely out, the surroundings became even darker. It wasn’t completely impossible to see due to the moonlight, but since there wasn’t a single streetlight, I couldn’t even make out Sensei’s or Misato-san’s faces properly. I could only vaguely tell that there were people standing there.

[3] I approached the silhouette I assumed was Misato-san, placed a hand on her shoulder, and had her sit down. When my hand touched her seemingly damp hair, perhaps typical for a virgin boy, I felt a jolt for a moment. Then, I just waited there for Sensei’s poem to end. According to the pre-arranged plan, Sensei was supposed to recite a poem asking the yokai to forget its memories related to the person sitting here. This was to make things easier, as from a yokai’s perspective, all humans look alike. However, Sensei started doing something strange again. Before making the request to the yokai, Sensei suddenly stopped the poem.

• [4] Whoa, first time encountering OP (lol) Been looking forward to this (lol)

[5] For a moment, I panicked, wondering if some accident had occurred. But the next moment, I heard a sound like glass breaking. That’s when I realized: Sensei intended to perform a Tate (殺陣). As I always say, our work is more about negotiating with yokai than defeating them, but very rarely, when there’s no other choice, we end up having to “kill” a yokai. It sounds like yokai extermination, but this is extremely difficult and dangerous. In our practice, we call this “Tate,” but we rarely do it. You know how in old tales, yokai that eat people are often sealed away? It’s true that sometimes they’re sealed because they can’t be defeated, but often, even if they could be defeated, they shouldn’t be killed, so they’re sealed alive instead.

Tate (殺陣): Originally refers to choreographed fight scenes in theater or film, but here it’s used as an in-story term for the act or ritual of physically eliminating a yokai.

[6] I think I mentioned before why we don’t kill yokai recklessly. When yokai harm humans, it’s usually not out of malice. The ones that do terrible things mostly do so because they are inherently made that way. It might be a bad analogy, but when a typhoon destroys homes and kills people, the typhoon itself doesn’t have malicious intent. It just happens. Therefore, there’s no sin in that act. Isn’t it unfair to kill something arbitrarily when no sin exists? Of course, there are those who enjoy playing pranks, but in their case, because they are aware of what they’re doing, they don’t do things bad enough to warrant being killed. Even if there were a yokai that does things “bad” for humans, unnecessarily, fully aware it’s bad, those types usually possess great power, so we simply can’t kill them due to a lack of strength.

[8] So, Tate is something rarely done. I was quite confused in the pitch darkness. Each school has a different way to start a Tate. Usually, even if you start a Tate, it’s often just a bluff to startle the yokai and make it flee. However, looking at Sensei’s preparations this time, he fully intended to “kill.”

[9] That’s it for today. Sorry for being away for so long. Good night.

[10] The method in this case is called “Koumonshuu” (鴻門集). It probably comes from the Chinese historical event “Feast at Hong Gate” or something. The way to start is, first, you summon the yokai. After the banquet is generally over, you extinguish all lights used in the ritual. Then, you smash an empty sake bottle. That’s the signal. It’s the signal to “kill.” There are two things to prepare in total. First, an object suitably shaped to defeat the specific yokai you intend to kill. I think I mentioned before that yokai can physically move objects. This means they are also affected by physical things. Of course, not all are, so you need to choose the object based on the specific yokai. The second thing is something that allows you to reliably know the yokai’s location. Even with spiritual sensitivity, you apparently can’t see yokai clearly, so you need to lure or guide the yokai to a specific position. This is what that second item is for. Well, honestly, the preparation itself isn’t that much of an issue. It’s the actual execution that’s difficult. Moreover, it’s a method where you summon a yokai, make it think you’re going to talk, and then ambush it, so it’s an act akin to betrayal. Doing it carries the significant professional risk of losing the trust of yokai thereafter. In other words, you shouldn’t perform this Tate without that level of resolve.

• [11] Found the thread a while ago, read theまとめ (summary/archive), and this is the first time seeing OP in real-time! Happy! Question, or rather, something I’m curious about: is there a relationship between susceptibility to yokai/ghost influence and physical build? An old acquaintance who supposedly had spiritual sensitivity was a petite girl, and she said something like, “It got easier once I grew bigger, but it was much harder before.”
• [12] Thread maintenance

[14] >>11 I don’t really know much about that area. They say spiritual sensitivity is common in childhood, but how it actually is, only the person themselves would know, right?

• [257] The story development is being drawn out like the Dragon Ball anime.

[2] Sorry for starting a thread like this again. It’s been a while.

• [3] Eh? Is this the real person?

[4] >>3 If it’s a philosophical question about whether I am myself, then yes, it’s me. If it’s a question about whether I’m the real yokai exterminator, I’d say I am, but please judge for yourself.

• [5] Been waiting! I was enjoying reading! A long time ago, you said ghosts only show humans illusions, while yokai leave physical traces, right? According to that way of thinking, poltergeists would all be the work of yokai, but what do you think?

[6] >>5 That’s how it would be. I’m not an expert on ghosts, so I don’t know much about them, but if objects move, I think it’s a yokai. Well, it seems quite possible that a ghost could show an illusion, making it seem like the ghost is moving things when actually a human is doing it.

[7] Well then, it’s been quite a while, but I’d like to continue writing.

[8] After making her drink the ginger water, Misato-san started vomiting violently. I didn’t check what she threw up. Well, partly because it was dirty, and also because it was dark and I couldn’t see. It didn’t smell good. Then, Sensei finished wrapping the hair around the candle and took out a mirror from his bag. This mirror wasn’t very large, the kind you can buy at a hardware store, but the surface was completely covered with duct tape so you couldn’t see it. He placed it on the ground, stood the candle on top of it, and lit the candle. Of course, shielding it from the wind. From there, for a while, I looked after Misato-san, and Sensei just quietly watched the candle.

[10] After about 3 or 4 minutes, Misato-san finally calmed down. Her chest was heaving, but despite the terrible state of her head, she didn’t seem to be in particular pain. Before starting the ritual, I had told her beforehand to try not to talk during the ritual as much as possible, but perhaps she, having regained her senses, was diligently adhering to that. Well, I thought maybe she just didn’t have the energy. And around that time, the unpleasant smell of burning hair started wafting through the air.

[13] Oh, by the way, the reason for such a long gap is that I actually decided to take university entrance exams, and with work and other things, I couldn’t come here easily. Sorry… sorry… I got into university. I’m a freshman (23 years old) starting this spring.

• [15] >>13 Oh my, you were that young. I envy your life, dense as coal tar. Congratulations on getting accepted! Please don’t push yourself, just tell us when you can! Even if you disappear, as long as you reappear without dying, that’s fine.

[16] Then Sensei tapped the mirror lightly and knocked the candle over. The candle, however, continued to burn. Taking that as a signal, I supported Misato-san and guided her in front of the candle. Then, in a low voice, I told her, “Put out the candle with your spit.” Hearing this, Sensei added, “Try to gather as much spit as possible before spitting. Also, be careful not to blow it out with your breath.” Misato-san nodded vertically and carefully dripped spit onto the candle flame, extinguishing it. Sensei struck the mirror hard 2 or 3 times with a nearby stone. When the mirror broke, he started burying it, candle and all, in the dirt. The reason for wrapping it in duct tape is to prevent shards from scattering at this moment.

[18] Once the mirror was completely buried, Sensei asked Misato-san, “Can you hang on a little longer?” She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but in the end, she nodded. I was quite surprised. I didn’t think an ordinary middle school student would have such mental fortitude. Seeing that, Sensei placed a hand on my shoulder and stood up. Then, he began to chant a poem.

[30] The content of the poem mainly announces the end of the banquet. We did something terrible to the yokai that came, but he ignored that and didn’t touch upon it. Normally, you’d have to apologize, make excuses, and do various other things, but Sensei didn’t do that. Well, for a yokai exterminator, trust from yokai is basically how we make a living, so it’s quite a fatal thing to do. From the yokai’s perspective, it came thinking it was a banquet, only to be beaten up for no clear reason. If that yokai happened to be talkative and spread the word to other yokai, they might stop coming even if called later. Our business reputation could be ruined. Still, Sensei didn’t do it. In this case, Sensei’s objective was simple: he intended to call the yokai I had driven away one more time.

[31] After finishing the announcement of the banquet’s end, Sensei started covering the other items used in the ritual with dirt and burying them. Sensei didn’t say anything in particular, but I had Misato-san sit on the ground, took out sake from my bag, and sprinkled it on the ground. This is to buy time when the yokai returns, did I mention this before? I’ve been working for a long time, so I did this much on my own without being told. Of course, I intended to sprinkle it little by little, but just then, I suddenly felt a chill. And the next moment, my arm was grabbed by someone or something, and I dropped the bottle containing the sake.

• [35] Whoa, OP is here! Welcome back! Congratulations on getting into university! Waiting for the continuation!
• [37] It’s been months, but I thought about the yokai extermination thread and checked, and it’s updated. My intuition is sharp lol.
• [43] Long time no see.
• [44] You came back after all.

[50] I thought, “It’s here!” I expected it would take a bit more time, but it seems it arrived quite quickly. Well, of course, there’s a chance it’s not the same one as before, but it’s about 80-90% likely it’s the one. After all, we beat it up and didn’t even apologize or make excuses. Unless it’s an incredibly calm yokai, it’s natural for it to come back angry for revenge. But yokai are simple, so Revenge < Sake, you know? Seeing me drop the sake bottle, Sensei stopped digging the dirt. Then, he approached the sitting Misato-san.

[65] Sensei quickly surrounded the sitting Misato-san with shimenawa and told her to stay still inside it. Then, he strode over to me and signaled, “Don’t, interfere, whatever happens, Mountain.” The “Mountain” signal is a very strong command in our practice, and once given, you absolutely must obey. Violating it means expulsion. Since learning the signal from Sensei, I had never had it used on me before. Inwardly, I apologized to Misato-san, “I’m sorry, Misato-san.” Sensei hadn’t given up on killing “Gamon” yet. And I decided to obey that Sensei. Misato-san would have to be sacrificed. Of course, I felt pangs of conscience. Just moments ago, my head had gotten hot, and I even interfered with the ritual. Well, that’s probably proof that I’m still half-baked as a yokai exterminator. Sensei saw through that and deliberately proceeded in a way hidden from me to create a fait accompli, but I overheard the “Tenmei Morashi” (Leaking Heaven’s Mandate – a guess at the meaning) and realized. Still, he couldn’t cancel it, hence the “Mountain” signal. Thinking back now, it probably also meant: don’t prioritize one person’s profit or loss, think carefully about what you need to do, act calmly without letting emotions interfere.

[67] Then, Sensei began to chant another poem. This time, the poem was Sanninka (三人歌 – Three Person Song). Sanninka is a poem chanted when telling lies to yokai. Using unique phrasing, you state the matter you want to lie about three times. With this, you can deceive a yokai about situations that aren’t too serious or obvious – it’s one of the techniques of our school. Since ancient times, the number “three” apparently meant “many.” Even though 5 or 10 would be rounder numbers, the reason “three” means “many” is apparently because for yokai and gods, “three” signifies multitude. It probably spread from there. That’s why “three” often appears in matters involving yokai. Like the Sanshichu (Three Corpses Worms), too.

• [68] Caught up! Cheering for you.

[69] By the way, do you all know the story called Sannin Seikō (三人成虎 – Three Men Make a Tiger)? One day, a man from ancient China named Pang Gong (龐恭) asked the king of Wei (魏), “If one person told you there was a tiger in the marketplace, would you believe it?” The king replied he probably wouldn’t. Pang Gong asked further, “Then if two people told you there was a tiger in the marketplace, would you believe it?” The king said, “I’d start to doubt a little.” Pang Gong asked again, “What if three people told you there was a tiger in the marketplace, would you believe it?” The king replied, “Then I would believe it.” Well, basically, it means that even if there really isn’t a tiger, if many people say it’s true, people will believe it. The name Sanninka comes from this. If you repeat the same thing three times, the yokai believes it. Of course, blatant lies won’t work. So, you have to choose your words carefully when lying. If you get caught, you completely lose their trust. It’s a poem we’d rather not use, but well, used skillfully, there’s nothing more effective.

[97] The lie Sensei told was, “Please don’t touch Misato-san anymore. It would be most inconvenient for us if she were touched.” The yokai is angry, so it should be itching to do something that inconveniences us. From our objective’s perspective, we actually want it to touch her again, but we deliberately said the opposite to guide the yokai. Furthermore, to make the yokai believe it, Sensei carefully surrounded Misato-san with shimenawa as if protecting something precious. Since it was carefully enclosed, wouldn’t you think touching it would be troublesome?

[98] Then, after the poem ended, Sensei and I moved a short distance away from Misato-san. As we left, I checked the sake spot, and even though I had sprinkled quite a bit, it was already starting to dry up considerably. After waiting like that for a while, besides the sound of the wind and the waves from the sea, I started hearing a strange noise. A sound like something bouncing. Tatan, tatan, like that? The sound of a heavy sphere falling from a low height? I heard a sound like that. Listening carefully, it seemed to be coming from around Misato-san. Tatan, tatan, the sound circled around Misato-san. Straining my eyes towards Misato-san, I saw her fidgeting uncomfortably.

• [141] Want to hear about recent yokai situations! Like when was the most recent job and what was it like. Not yet? (((o(ﾟ▽ﾟ)o)))

[143] >>141 Recently, I haven’t been taking on large jobs, mostly just regular exorcism-like tasks. For example, today I went to a certain river and negotiated with a yokai called Hotaru Nishiki (蛍錦), which is said to make fireflies disappear, so that the fireflies will appear properly again this year.

• [144] >>143 Thank you for your hard work. Thanks for answering. Huh— So insects and animals aren’t necessarily friendly with yokai. There are all sorts, huh? (((o(ﾟ▽ﾟ)o))) I want to accompany you… |ωΦ*)ｺｿｰﾘ･･･

[146] >>144 Whether they’re friendly or not, as I always write, the most common issue is that they unknowingly cause trouble for us. For example, mosquitoes suck human blood, but it’s not like mosquitoes bear malice towards humans, right? That’s why negotiation becomes necessary. Like, “We’ll give the mosquitoes something more nutritious, so please stop sucking human blood.” Well, you can’t negotiate with mosquitoes, but it’s like that.

[147] In the case of “Hotaru Nishiki,” it’s not that it eats or kills fireflies, but its mere presence apparently makes it harder for fireflies to appear, so we have it move somewhere else just for the summer each year. Well, it’s a trade secret that I always tell it to come back to the nice, clean river around autumn.

[148] Sorry the main story isn’t progressing much. Going to sleep.

[165] Continuation. While gauging the timing to approach, the bouncing sound continued for a bit, then changed to a slow, rolling sound, gorogoro. I cautiously approached the shimenawa. Trying my best not to collide with the gorogoro sound. Then I took an ink pen from my breast pocket and dripped ink across the ground and the shimenawa. This effectively breaks the shimenawa barrier. By the way, feeling sorry for Misato-san, I couldn’t look at her face, so I deliberately wrote it behind her back. Then, I moved away from the spot and observed for a while longer. The gorogoro sound disappeared at the line. Furthermore, Misato-san started slowly rocking back and forth, yussa yussa. Seeing that, I quickly shifted the line between the shimenawa and the ground. This reactivates the shimenawa.

[3] Well, I don’t have much time today, so here’s a short story. Just recently, I heard an urban legend story in the cafeteria, and for some reason, I can’t get it out of my head, so I’ll share it. It’s probably the urban legend that comes up if you search for “Square,” but copying and pasting from Wikipedia, it goes like this: ‘Five students went to a snowy mountain, but got caught in a blizzard and became stranded. Along the way, one of the five died. The remaining four found a mountain cabin in the blizzard and decided to spend the night there. However, there was no heating in the cabin, and thinking “If we sleep, we’ll die,” the four devised a way to stay awake. One person sat in each of the four corners of the room. The first person would walk along the wall, hand touching it, to the second person’s spot and tap their shoulder. The first person would then sit where the second person was. The second person would do the same, walking to the third person’s spot and tapping their shoulder. The second sits where the third was, the third taps the fourth, and the fourth taps the first, completing a circuit, and they repeat this. They named this “Square” because they moved around the square room. The idea was that you wouldn’t fall asleep waiting for your turn, and the sense of mission in passing it on to the next person would keep you going. Using this method, the students somehow managed to hold out until the blizzard stopped and safely descended the mountain. However, one of the friends realized, “With this method, the first person moves to the second person’s spot, so the fourth person would have to move two spots to tap the first person’s shoulder, making it impossible with just four people.” The conclusion of the story is that the friend who died secretly joined in as the fifth person and helped save his friends.’

• [4] What yokai have you exterminated recently?

[6] >>4 Due to various circumstances, I haven’t been accepting many jobs recently. Apart from the regular jobs I inherited from Sensei that need to be done periodically, I’ve been declining others.

[5] The conclusion of this story, well, being told as “the dead friend secretly mixed in!” somehow doesn’t sit right with me personally. Because, as I’ve said many times, ghosts can’t really do much physically. Of course, they can make you think you were touched. So, what am I trying to say? It’s not that a yokai mixed into this Square either. Yokai live freely as they please, so it doesn’t make sense for them to suddenly understand something humans started doing and cooperate. It’s not like they were doing anything interesting, nor were they asked for anything. So, if I were to rearrange this story to make sense to me, it would be like this: There were six people climbing the mountain from the beginning.

[7] Meaning, six people started climbing the mountain, one died on the way. Then, five people entered the mountain cabin and did the “Square” with five people. However, when morning came, one person had disappeared. The other four forgot about the existence of the disappeared person, forgot they had come together. This way, it makes sense. Because this phenomenon has a proper name in the yokai world. It’s a pretty famous name: “Kamikakushi” (神隠し – spirited away).

Kamikakushi (神隠し): In Japanese folklore, refers to the sudden disappearance of a person, believed to be abducted by gods or yokai. If the person returns, they may have no memory of their absence, or those around them may have forgotten the person’s existence during their disappearance.

[8] Regarding “Kamikakushi,” it’s faster if you look it up on Wikipedia rather than me explaining it poorly. Well, for the most part, it’s not too different from the image most people have. The idea that people suddenly vanishing is “Kamikakushi” is famous. But what’s less known is that when someone experiences “Kamikakushi,” the people around them might also temporarily forget that person’s existence. For example, children are playing, one disappears unnoticed, and later, after returning home, the adults realize someone is missing. In this case, the children had forgotten about their friend’s existence until the adults pointed it out. In more severe cases, even the adults forget, and only later, perhaps by chance, like looking at a family photo or seeing the child’s belongings, do they realize, “Huh? They’re not here?”

[9] So, I’m not saying this is the reason, but. Maybe it’s a good idea to look through your albums or phone photos sometimes. Perhaps you’ve forgotten someone important to you without realizing it. Especially since it’s ski season now.

• [10] Wow, the forced reasoning is so bad it makes me chuckle.

[20] >>10 Well, if you call it forced reasoning, I suppose it is. The original story is an urban legend anyway, so it’s probably easier for me if you think of it on a level that invites chuckles. It’s just a story that personally bothered me, so if it was boring, please just ignore it (lol).

• [17] Let’s stick around for a while. The combination of Kamikakushi and memory loss is something I’ve never heard of, it’s interesting.

[23] >>17 Kamikakushi and memory loss are quite closely related. Well, usually, it’s said that people who experience Kamikakushi sometimes have no memory of the time they were gone when they return. So conversely, it wouldn’t be strange if the memories of the people around the affected person were erased, right? Well, as >>10 said, if you call it forced reasoning, that’s the end of it.

• [19] Long time no see, you seem well. I was waiting because I wanted to hear the story. This person’s stories are interesting.

[24] Well, since I have a little time, I think I’ll share an episode. Since someone asked what I’ve been exterminating recently, I thought I’d talk about one of the “regular jobs” I did just before. Simply put, this job involves going to a mountain about once every three years, climbing it at night while gradually sprinkling city soil towards the summit, and doing various other things. It’s not that high a mountain, but the soil is quite heavy, making it manual labor. Why do I have to do such a thing? Because that mountain is what’s called a “Kinzan” (禁山 – forbidden mountain). Well, “Kinzan” is just what we call it in our practice; it has a real name which I’ll omit here, but the reason we call it “Kinzan” is because it used to be a mountain where entry was forbidden. Not because of unspoken rules or scary yokai living there. It was actually a restricted area decided by the feudal lord of the time. The reason, unthinkable now, was that there were bandits back then. Farmers who couldn’t make a living, masterless samurai, those kinds of people would gather in the mountains and raid villages for money. If you tried to subjugate them, the bandits knew the mountains inside out, so if you sent too few people, you’d be counter-attacked, and if you sent too many, they’d just hide in the mountains and lie low. To prevent such bandits from emerging, some regions designated certain mountains as off-limits. We collectively refer to such mountains as “Kinzan.”

Kinzan (禁山): An in-story term referring to areas historically designated as off-limits by lords, often to prevent banditry.

[25] Due to such remnants of the past, roads aren’t maintained, forests remain, and even recently, many Kinzan are apparently completely devoid of human presence. Well, when people aren’t around, yokai tend to settle in such places easily. You might think, well, even if they settle there, people rarely go, so no one is bothered, isn’t that fine? But apparently, most mountains in Japan nowadays are owned by someone, and the landowners don’t like yokai settling there, so they ask people like me to perform exorcism-like tasks.

• [26] Hoho, sounds interesting.

[27] Unlike the old me, a middle-school-dropout semi-NEET, I’m technically a student now, so I schedule these jobs that require a bit of travel during long breaks. I went to this “Kinzan” just last month during the winter break, making it a job that replaced my New Year’s holiday. I took my disciple first to Tokyo by Shinkansen, then went to a riverbank area and filled about six large Coke bottles with soil. We stayed in a business hotel that night, and the next morning, we traveled from Tokyo to Shikoku by ferry. Flying would be ideal, but the soil, you know (lol). It’s heavy and would look suspicious, so we took the ferry. Traveling by car or train would be too exhausting. After arriving in Shikoku, we took a train for 2-3 hours, then rented a car for 3-4 hours. We arrived near the mountain in question. During a break at a parking area while driving, I called the client to let them know we were about to enter the mountain area. I’ve actually never met the client for this case. They aren’t present when we enter the mountain either, so honestly, I could probably lie and say we already did it without getting caught. But when Sensei passed away, I contacted various clients asking if they would continue entrusting work to us, and about 40% said “You don’t need to come anymore.” So, even for clients I’ve never met, I have to do the job properly and build trust. They might introduce me to other jobs eventually. My disciple and I gathered our luggage and waited for the sky to become completely dark. Well, it was already evening when we arrived, so we didn’t have to wait long. It wasn’t snowing, but it was very cold, so after turning off the car engine, we put on full cold-weather gear and ate our dinner of onigiri.

[28] Around 6 PM, it was almost pitch black outside. My phone had no signal, so we prepared equipment to avoid getting lost like compasses and GPS, put on hiking boots since there were hardly any paths on the mountain, gathered the things we needed to bring, shouldered the soil, and set off. As soon as we entered the mountain, the cold instantly felt about 20% colder. There were markers placed on trees along the previous route for circling the mountain, and we followed those, climbing in a spiral. We dripped a little soil onto the ground every 10 meters or so. The reason for this is that it apparently contains human presence. Well, it’s from a riverbank, but even so, city soil is apparently saturated with human scent.

• [29] Found an interesting thread, hurry up.

[30] The mountain isn’t that high. I don’t know the exact height, but even so, we reached about halfway up in around an hour and a half. Around here, there were slight traces of snow. This was the disciple’s first experience with outdoor activity in the mountains in mid-winter, and she looked quite exhausted. I hadn’t actually intended to bring her, but since she had insisted, “I definitely want to come too!”, she probably couldn’t complain about being tired. I wanted to take a break, but there was no suitable place nearby. It’s better not to talk much in the mountains, so I couldn’t even distract her with small talk. Amidst this, the disciple suddenly got startled and fell on her bottom. Oh, by the way, the disciple was walking in front, and I was following behind. I rushed over asking, “What’s wrong!”, and she pointed with a pale face towards a tree ahead. A Barbie doll was hanging from a branch. She was apparently frightened by that.

[31] I thought, “Oh, is that all?” But for the disciple, it seemed her legs gave out, and she couldn’t stand for 3 or 4 minutes. You find things like this quite often in the mountains. It’s pointless to wonder why it’s there. It might just be a prank, or it might have some meaning, but getting involved is just a loss. It doesn’t make money either. I signaled with my hands, “Don’t worry about it,” “Ignore it.” Come to think of it, I had been somewhat considerate of the disciple’s fatigue, but I had completely forgotten about the fear aspect. Of course, entering a night mountain in these conditions for the first time, it’s impossible not to be scared.

[32] I took out a drink from my bag. The drink in this case isn’t the Japanese sake I often use (lol). Well, I can’t give alcohol to a minor. Eating or drinking something in the mountains when not performing a ritual is actually not good. Firstly, because bad influences might attach themselves. Secondly, if there are yokai or similar beings around, they might think, “Huh? Eating something tasty? What? What? Where’s my share?” and get angry if you don’t give them any. That’s supposedly why hunters in the old days, when eating one rice ball, would throw away another one. In our case, when we feel it’s absolutely necessary, we drink something made by boiling sticky rice and adding ginger. It’s not tasty, but since it’s in a thermos, it’s at least a little warm. Yokai apparently aren’t interested in this, so they don’t come near, and even if bad influences enter, they supposedly leave quickly, so there’s no effect.

• [33] Can you see yokai?

[35] >>33 In most cases, I can’t see them. I don’t have spiritual sensitivity, and yokai dislike being seen by humans, so they basically hide themselves.

[34] After giving the disciple plenty of the drink, I started the work again with her. Then, about another hour later. We didn’t reach the summit, but we ran out of the soil we had brought. From here, the real work begins. I first took off my outermost cold-weather gear, took out a dirty jersey from my bag, and put it on. I forget if I mentioned it before, but when meeting gods, you wear clean clothes. When meeting yokai, dirty clothes are apparently preferred. Then, I had the disciple strike a special percussion instrument I brought at a constant rhythm, and I recited a poem as usual.

• [36] Looking forward to it. It’s really interesting after all.

[37] As usual, I’ll hide the specific poem, but the general meaning is like this: “Good evening. Sorry for intruding suddenly. I am so-and-so from the such-and-such school. I have come again for the same reasons as last time. I look forward to our continued relationship.” Something like that.

[39] Mountains generally have yokai living in them. In fact, it’s stranger if they don’t. Yokai don’t know things like “This land belongs to so-and-so!” like humans do. The only criteria are whether someone lives there or not. It’s not fair to drive them out just for human convenience. So, we don’t drive them out. If we did, we’d incur the yokai’s resentment. Anyone would get angry if they were living in their home and suddenly told, “Get out!”, right? Besides, even if we did drive them out, another yokai would soon come and start living in the mountain. No matter what preventive measures we take, we can’t stay there constantly watching, so it’s pointless. Therefore, in the case of this job, we make most of the mountain unattractive for yokai to live in, and then, if a new yokai comes, we have negotiated in the past for the already resident yokai to persuade them, “This is my home, go somewhere else.” We go check on the situation about every three years. Well, what we’re doing is slightly different from what the client requested, but since it ultimately reduces the density of yokai on the mountain, they’ll just have to tolerate it. They won’t find out if I don’t tell them.

[41] After finishing the poem, I took out the mixture of incense ash, rice, and salt wrapped in aluminum foil from my bag, had the disciple continue playing the instrument, and climbed further up the mountain alone. After climbing for about 5 or 6 minutes, my body started trembling uncontrollably. It’s cold, yes, but it’s not trembling from the cold. It’s not fear either, but for some reason, I tremble strangely. It might be irreverent, but maybe it feels a bit like Parkinson’s disease. I stopped there, opened the aluminum foil, and poured the contents onto the ground like a mori-shio (piled salt offering)? Then, I kicked it forcefully, dirt and all, took care not to look back, turned around sharply, and started descending the mountain. On the way down, I picked up the disciple and returned via a shorter, more direct descent route than the one we came up.

[42] When we got back to the car and started the engine, the disciple, looking pale, started saying that while watching me climb the mountain, she thought she saw a shadow-like thing slip out of the bushes and follow me. I jokingly told her, “Oh yeah, that happened. The Barbie doll was moving.”

[43] That’s about it. Going to eat dinner.

• [44] See you later.
• [45] OP, long time no see. I’ve been thinking about you from time to time. Happy you’re posting again. This little story was enjoyable too. Please continue Sensei’s story as well.
• [46] Disciple-chan… could she be Misato-san?

[47] >>46 Ah, right. That part wasn’t finished yet. Anyway, today I’ll look through the past threads and try to remember how far I wrote. I’ll start writing the continuation again from tomorrow.

• [48] I just finished reading the past threads today and looked for a new one, finding this is amazing.
• [51] Thread maintenance
• [52] Thread maintenance

[53] Thank you for the casual thread maintenance. I’ll write just a little bit more.

• [54] Reread the past logs to prepare and waited ＼(^o^)／

[55] It’s been quite a while, so my memory might be a bit hazy in parts, please overlook that. Continuation of Sensei’s story. After Misato-san started acting strangely, she soon began muttering something while swaying her body. I tried hard not to focus my consciousness on her muttering and looked towards Sensei. Sensei, having finished the Sanninka, was looking down silently. Isn’t he going to prepare something? “Gamon” randomly appears nearby after “Nyoze” dies. So finding it depends largely on luck. Does Sensei have a method to find “Gamon”? Why isn’t Sensei giving me any instructions? Rituals are generally symbolic and ambiguous, and well, with enough knowledge and experience, you can make judgments accordingly, but as I demonstrated earlier when I jumped the gun and messed up the ritual, it’s easy to mistake what you’re currently doing for something else. That’s why it’s important to divide roles into Shuhan (主搬 – main practitioner) and Johan (助搬 – assistant), with the main constantly signaling the assistant to communicate intentions. Hand signals are one way, but since it’s often dark at night, other simple signals must also be used to proceed. And yet, ever since starting the “Tate,” Sensei hasn’t sent me any instructions. Even though I don’t know the procedure for the latter half of a “Tate”! Unable to do anything, I just stood there blankly in the darkness.

[56] While I was doing that, Misato-san’s condition changed further. She suddenly stopped muttering and started fidgeting uncomfortably. Then she started coughing, and then began vomiting violently. I thought she wouldn’t have anything left to bring up after vomiting so much due to the ginger water earlier, but judging from the sound, quite a large amount of something was coming out. But since I was standing behind Misato-san and it was dark, I couldn’t tell what she was vomiting. Then, Sensei, who hadn’t moved until now, approached Misato-san. And what did I think he was going to do? Sensei opened his mouth and said this: “You are going to die. You are going to die. You are going to die.” Not in a loud voice, but clearly. “You are going to die. You are going to die. You are going to die.” Over and over. “You are going to die. You are going to die. You are going to die.” He repeated it like that. Furthermore, he took something out of his pocket and started throwing it at Misato-san.

[57] I couldn’t tell what he was throwing in the dark. But I could hear the pesha, pesha sound of something wet hitting Misato-san’s body. In total, Sensei threw something six times. No, saying six items is strange. Sensei threw six times, but he might not have thrown just one item each time. Well, setting that aside, by the time he finished throwing, Misato-san had stopped vomiting and lay face down on the ground, motionless. I could barely tell she was alive from her pained breathing and the rising and falling of her back.

[58] That’s it for today.

• [59] Thank you for your hard work.
• [60] Thank you for your hard work.

[76] Continuation. Just then, strangely, I suddenly felt a lukewarm wind. On a seaside cliff, especially in the cold season, such a wind shouldn’t be blowing. Sensei seemed to feel it too, as he momentarily stopped his actions. Then, leaving Misato-san as she was, he walked towards me. “Can you see it?” Sensei signaled to me. Not understanding what he meant, I shook my head. “There. Don’t mistake it. There.” “There, brother, is.” Sensei pointed to a nearby spot and signaled further. I was so shocked I almost cried out loud. Brother? That brother? After confirming my reaction, Sensei sent the instruction, “Interfere,” and moved away from me.

[78] I have a test tomorrow too, so sorry it’s short, but I’m going to sleep now.

• [79] Good night.
• [80] Thank you for your hard work.
• [93] I believe yokai exist, and ghosts too. However, in threads of this type, the pattern of only accepting one’s own experiences as affirmation has taken root. That bothers me. They say fortune tellers and psychics are mostly the assertive type, and it’s exactly like that. “I have never met a ghost that can physically do anything. Therefore, they don’t exist.” When examples outside of what they’ve seen are written, they deny it with full force. Aren’t you denying it in >>5? Don’t assert they don’t exist. It’s unpleasant. You just haven’t encountered one yet. I hope you do someday. The point of this is not to deny. Are other people’s experiences that you haven’t had all delusions? When asked “Yokai don’t exist, they’re made up,” didn’t you answer “Maybe they exist”? You don’t like your own words being denied, yet you deny others’ stories? What’s that about? This happens because the image is fixed in your mind.

[94] >>93 You’re right. It’s just that I haven’t encountered them yet, and Sensei taught me “This is a yokai,” creating that fixed concept, and I ended up speaking pretentiously myself. I reflect on that. Honestly, personally, I’m doubtful if I’ve even encountered yokai. It’s embarrassing for someone doing this kind of work, but since I have no spiritual sensitivity, I’ve never clearly seen ghosts or yokai with my own eyes. So, what I say isn’t necessarily the truth. The yokai and ghosts I talk about are merely “the subjects of my work,” and for the convenience of the job, they are classified that way in my industry.

[95] In other words, what I mean is, we have decided to take on jobs related to strange things that move objects. Jobs related to strange things that cannot move objects, we don’t accept and refer them elsewhere. And since we call ourselves yokai exterminators, well, we’ve defined the targets of the jobs we handle as yokai, and dismissed the ones we can’t handle as “That’s a ghost, it’s outside our expertise.” So, in the true sense, it’s not like I’ve seen or met them, hence I apologize for offending the eyes of those more knowledgeable and making them feel unpleasant.

[135] Continuation. Even if told to “interfere,” the opponent is Sensei’s older brother. From what I heard from Sensei’s stories in the past, he’s probably become a “Migawari” (身代わり – substitute/scapegoat?) yokai now, so I know the necessary countermeasure, but somehow I felt hesitant. I think I mentioned “Migawari” before, but to recap: suicide spots, in a sense, become a type of yokai, and if you die there, your soul gets trapped. For the trapped soul to escape, it needs to kill another human to take its place. Well, the trapped human itself is also called “Migawari,” so it’s a rather vague concept without strict definition. In the past, “Migawari” was quite representative of scary yokai, and grandparents would teach countermeasures. If you encounter one, first turn your back. Then, pee on the ground. In most cases, the opponent will flee. But thinking it’s Sensei’s brother, well…

[136] This gets into very graphic description, so please skip if you’re sensitive. Reluctantly, I headed towards the indicated spot. Around where I thought it was, I turned my back and lowered my pants and underwear. Suddenly, I felt like my private part was grabbed by something incredibly cold, and unable to hold back, pee came out, “joro joro~.” However, the state of the pee was a bit strange. Guys might understand this, but when you pee standing up, steam rises from the urine, right? Especially on a cold day, a lot of vapor comes out. But this time, there was none at all. And even after I finished peeing, the sensation of being grabbed remained, and worse, a cold feeling started spreading throughout my whole body from there, zowa zowa. I tried to put myself away, but my hands were trembling so much I couldn’t move them. “This is bad,” I panicked inwardly. Most “Migawari” supposedly give up if you turn your back and pee, but that’s just most. Long-established “Migawari” are persistent, though rare, and such ones don’t let their prey escape easily. After all, having been a “Migawari” for so long, they probably want to find relief quickly.

• [137] You came.
• [138] Been looking forward to this.
• [84] OP, you came. Looking forward to the continuation, post again soon.