Memories After Death and Past Life Memories

This story takes the form of a thread (a series of posts) on an anonymous message board. Here, the main character, known as the thread starter, talks about their past life and memories after death, while other anonymous participants react to it. In Japanese internet culture, there exists a place called “Occult Board” where such paranormal phenomena and mystical experiences are shared.

I have memories of my past life and after death. Any questions? About my past life memories, I’ve had them since I was little and always felt déjà vu. But I forgot until recently. I’m 46 now and completely remembered about 3 years ago. In my past life, my home was in an apartment complex near my current life’s home, Building B, 1st floor. I’m male in this life, but I was female in my past life. I think I was born in 1959 in my past life. That’s because I have a memory of going to see Picasso’s Guernica exhibition at the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo with my mother when I was about 3 years old. Since Guernica came to Japan only once in 1962, I know I was born in 1959. My first memory from my past life is standing up in a crib with railings for small children. I think I wasn’t even 6 months old. My mother and grandmother were surprised. By the way, my past life mother was a single mother. The next memory I remember is using the toilet alone, my mother asking “Are you sure you can do it?” The next memory is on our way back from somewhere, singing the Crow Song together. “Crow~ why do you sing? Because I have a cute baby crow in the mountains~”

The thread starter is describing memories from the Showa era in Japan (around 1959). The “Crow Song” is a traditional Japanese children’s song that is associated with childhood memories for many Japanese people.

The next memory is when I was about 3, traveling by ferry to Kyushu with just my mother. The next memory is going on a tour bus trip to Nanki Shirahama with my mother and grandmother, the three of us. I drew the sea on the bus. The next memory is staying at a youth nature house in Wakayama for about a week with just children. I remember having a campfire every night. After that, we all climbed a nearby mountain. Along the way, someone asked how old I was. I answered 4. When I was 4, my mother told me not to leave the house, but I was bored and went outside to play with dirt. A ball rolled across the road in front of me. Without thinking, I chased after the ball and ran into the road. A light truck was coming from the other direction and hit me. I hit my head hard and lost consciousness. I died at the young age of 4. After I died, I still had consciousness, and when I came to, my mother and grandmother were sitting beside my body, crying. I called out loudly. “Mom!” I called many times. But it seemed they couldn’t hear me, and they just kept crying.

• [9] How sad ( ; _ ; )

The story now transitions to a description of the afterlife. In traditional Japanese views of life and death, it’s believed that the soul may temporarily remain in this world after death.

Having no choice, I went outside. Though it wasn’t cloudy, the scenery was dim and seemed gray. For some reason I don’t understand, I walked toward the station. No one noticed me. When I reached the bridge just before the station, it happened. An old man saw me from the other side, shouted, and came running. I don’t clearly remember what that old man said, but I think he said something like, “Are you dead? How can I see you?” At that moment, the sky brightened. Looking up, two people who felt like an old man and a relative, yet not quite—how should I say, they felt familiar—came down. They took my hand and we rose into the sky together. And then I passed out again. When I came to, I was standing on a very sparkly, beautiful mountain. Of course, the mysterious two were there as well. Looking back, perhaps they were guardian spirits? The mountain path was full of people, sparkling, and festival-like. Red torii gates were lined up all the way to the top like Fushimi Inari, and around the mountain was a sea of sparkling light. It was truly beautiful. I was led up the mountain by the two who felt familiar. It was a truly fantastic scene. Many people were climbing the mountain. At the top of the mountain was a shrine office-like temple. It was my turn, so I went inside. Inside was a woman like a shrine maiden. The woman looked at me and said, “Is this the child?” Then she stroked the top of my head and asked, “What kind of life would you like next?” I couldn’t forget my mother from my previous life, so I said I wanted to be near my mother. The woman seemed troubled. She asked me once more, “What kind of life would you like?” I stubbornly insisted, “I want to be near my mother!!” Then I fell. Lol. Rather than fell, I was dropped. Right below was Earth, with the blue planet spread out before me. I fell toward Earth, slowly. How much time passed, I wonder? I fell to Earth over quite a long time. When I came to, I was born into my current life. Of course, right near my past life mother’s house! My current life gender is male, born in 1974. Even though not much time had passed in the afterlife, 15 years had passed here. The flow of time is different between this world and the afterlife. I think this world is a virtual world. That makes sense. The afterlife is the real world, the true world.

The thread starter’s description of “like Fushimi Inari” refers to Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto, where the scenery of thousands of vermilion torii gates in a row is one of Japan’s iconic landscapes. Also, “shrine maiden” refers to a woman who serves at a shrine and is often considered an intermediary between gods and humans in Shinto.

• [19] Interesting
• [24] Is your past life parent already dead?

>>24 There was no father. I only remembered 3 years ago. If my mother is still alive now, she’d be over 80. I wonder if she’s still alive… I want to find out, but I don’t have the courage. Is she still living in the same apartment complex… I don’t have the courage to check. Even if she’s alive and still living in the same place, how would I meet her and what would I say? A 46-year-old man suddenly visits and says “I am the reincarnation of your dead daughter”? I can’t say it… I can’t meet her… She’d call the police. Sorry, it’s one-sided. I have clear memories but haven’t verified them.

• [27]>>26 You do have a desire to confirm it, right?

In Japanese message board culture, “>>number” indicates a reply to a specific post number. “Ossan” is a colloquial term for a middle-aged man, with a somewhat self-deprecating nuance.

>>27 Of course I want to confirm it. My past life memories were happy memories. But they can’t be recovered now. I know that. It’s too late to meet now. Even if my past life as a girl is me, it’s not all the same. It’s a different life. That’s why I talked about wanting to time leap by dying.

• [30]>>28 What kind of being did you think the shrine maiden-like person who dropped you into this world was? A god? Have you not been involved much with the occult? Did you live without caring about the existence of the soul, and then suddenly remember your past life?

>>30 She didn’t have a godlike presence. Looking back now, she seemed like an AI manager. I’ve always wondered why I was born into this world, I’ve struggled with that because my life has been difficult. I’ve searched through various texts, Buddhism, Christianity, etc. I didn’t suddenly remember; the memories have been there since I was little. But I thought they were early memories from this life. Since there were many discrepancies for them to be memories from this life, I gradually remembered, like opening a door to my memories. I think everyone can probably remember. That’s the way. Souls do exist. Death isn’t nothingness. Is that a given on the Occult board? First, everyone should try to completely remember their early childhood memories. Down to about age 1. Then you’ll notice memories from a different life mixed in. After that, just follow them to remember everything.

The story also incorporates modern elements. The expression “AI manager” shows a new interpretation that fuses contemporary technology with spiritual concepts.

• [33]>>31 AI manager… so there’s an office-like system in the other world too? You’ve had a hard life… that must have been tough… But since you’ve been born in this era, I think suicide would be a waste because from now on, humanity will experience unprecedented major events! It might even become possible to access the past. I don’t know the details myself, but it seems like something is going to happen soon.
• [34] Early childhood memories… I’ll try it though I’m not confident… Nothing in life is wasted! There must be meaning in this encounter.

>>33 Thank you! A major event! I’m looking forward to it! I believe in the Sun and Moon Divine Revelations too. Corona = 567 = Miroku’s world, wasn’t it? I hope the happy-happy world comes soon for everyone! >>33 The place I went to is apparently called the spirit realm. It seems to be a world where various thoughts swirl according to each person. It appears different for each person, from what I’ve researched.

The “Sun and Moon Divine Revelations” refers to a Japanese new religious prophetic text that includes apocalyptic predictions and world renewal prophecies. “Miroku” is the future Buddha in Buddhism who is said to bring an ideal realm. Finding special meaning in the number “567” is characteristic of modern Japanese spiritual culture.

• [36]>>31 >probably everyone can remember. My first memory is stepping on mochi at my grandma’s house. All of them are what you’d call current life memories, and I can’t trace back before that. My family is Catholic, so there’s no reincarnation, so I don’t feel any incongruity, but such mechanisms should have a single truth regardless of the religions humans have defined. It’s interesting that there are people who believe in past lives. I think there are very few people who know why they were born into this world. For myself, though it might sound a bit strange, I just think it’s good to live so that God’s plan can be realized (simply put, to make the world a little better by being kind and watering flowers, lol).

>>36 Try to remember memories from an even earlier age. I think that actually we shouldn’t have to go through reincarnation. Why should we repeat painful lives over and over? You have a wonderful outlook on life. May God’s blessing be with you.

• [41]>>39 One suspicious thing is that I nearly drowned in the sea when I was about 2, and I still can’t swim because of it, but neither my parents nor my brother remember it. Even though it was such a serious accident. Stepping on mochi was before that. At that time, everyone around me was from the current world. I have memories of being saved (by a stranger on the beach) so I’m not sure if I died then, because I also have memories of being fine.

>>41 Hmm, that’s suspicious. If you follow that, you might remember your past life.

• [44]>>38 Fear is said to attract fearful experiences! Please imagine a happy future! However, it seems that what happens is determined by the state of our hearts. We need to awaken, but if we’re already mostly awake, just a little alarm clock ring will do, but if there’s no sign of waking up at all, we might need to be slapped in the face—that’s how it seems to be. Now I need to sleep, so goodnight ( ?ω?)ｽﾔｧ

In Japanese internet culture, it’s common to use emoticons (( ?ω?)ｽﾔｧ) to express emotions or actions. The influence of modern spiritual thoughts such as the “law of attraction” can also be seen in the participants’ comments.

• [46]>>42 When I drowned, according to my memory, it was at Nomozaki in Nagasaki. I was playing with an inner tube and my father flipped me over. I drowned then, but the beach where I was saved was Takashima island. However, both are beaches in Nagasaki that I often visited, so it might just be confusion. If my father flipped me over and I drowned, it should have been my father who saved me, not a stranger. Maybe I wasn’t flipped over and drowned but just went underwater, and I’ve connected that with the memory of drowning, or maybe different memories are mixed up. My father has passed away, and my mother doesn’t remember, so it’s difficult to verify.

>>46 Different memories mixed up – this is the feeling. Please try to recall this thoroughly whenever you have free time. It might be past life memories. It’s not like you suddenly remember everything at once. It’s more like gradually remembering.

• [48]>>47 It was quite a while ago, so… I’ll try doing it thoroughly when I have time, like on long train rides. Earthquakes are really troubling. I think that the false alarm about Kudan can’t be a mistake made by the smartest people in the country, so there might be something to it.

“Kudan” is a creature from Japanese yokai folklore, said to appear as a harbinger of disasters. Here, it seems to refer to some kind of disaster prediction or false alarm.

>>48 Yes, please try it thoroughly. When you understand your past life, many things will make sense.