(Voice actor) Ms.Carolyn Miller

Many stories of yokai have been passed down all over Japan since the old times. Yokai are monsters. Since the old days, various folktales have been told of those nonhuman monsters cooperating with or attacking and fighting against mankind. This story of the Snow Woman (Yuki Onna) is one of those old folklores about yokai. You may think of Niigata, Nagano or the Tohoku region of Japan when you hear the word snow. But this is a story that has been passed down in Ome city, Tokyo. Snow is rare in the present day Tokyo. But it snowed much more in the old days. The vicinity of Ome city in particular used to have a lot of snow in the winter. Everyday life goes on even when it snows. Lumberjacks still had to go in the woods to cut trees. Minokichi, a young lumberjack and old Mosaku were working together in the mountains. Snow started to fall harder by the time they finished working. Severe snow on a mountain means bad visibility. Furthermore, the night was falling already. To avoid getting stranded, Minokichi and Mosaku decided to spend a night at a nearby hut. During the night, Minokichi woke up to an unusual feeling. There was a woman inside the hut. She was very beautiful and her skin was white as snow. She was breathing on Mosaku’s face. Her breath was also white. Minokichi froze with fear. After a while, the woman stopped breathing on Mosaku and came closer to Minokichi. The woman spoke to Minokichi who was trembling with fear, “If you promise not to tell anyone about tonight, I will spare your life.” When Minokichi nodded, the woman just stood up and disappeared into the blizzard. Realizing she was gone, Minokichi hurried to Mosaku but he was already frozen to death. Minokichi then knew she was yokai, Snow Woman. He thought she would kill him too if he told anyone about this night, and kept his promise. His life afterwards did not change much. He returned to his village and was still a lumberjack. The only difference was that he married a woman a few years later, and they were blessed with children. And he never even told his family about that night. Until one day by some chance he slipped and told his wife about it. What do you think happened to Minokichi for breaking his promise with the Snow Woman?