Kuchisake-onna: The Slit-Mouthed Woman
Kuchisake-onna
“Am I pretty?” she asks. Just pray you get the answer right…
It starts with a whisper on the wind. A chill in the air. A masked woman in a long coat, standing under a flickering streetlight. She’s beautiful—at least, until she lifts the mask.
Her mouth is split from ear to ear. The skin jagged, the smile too wide.
She asks, “Am I pretty?”
Say no, and she kills you.
Say yes, and she shows you what’s underneath.
Say yes again… and you might walk away—if she doesn’t decide to carve her smile into your face too.
Her name is Kuchisake-onna, the Slit-Mouthed Woman—and she’s one of the most haunting figures in Japanese urban legend.
👹 Who Is Kuchisake-onna?
Kuchisake-onna (口裂け女) literally translates to “Slit-Mouthed Woman.” She’s what Japanese folklore calls an onryō—a vengeful spirit, often a wronged woman who returns from the grave to torment the living.
She appears most often at night, dressed in a long beige coat and surgical mask. Her long black hair hides part of her face. In more modern versions, she sometimes wears hats, scarves, or even face masks that blend in with pandemic-era norms—making her more believable, more invisible, and even more terrifying.
Her voice is polite. Her presence is chilling. And her question is always the same:
“Watashi, kirei?”
(Am I pretty?)
🩸 The Deadly Question
Here’s how a typical encounter goes:
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She stops you on a dimly lit street or alley.
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She asks, “Am I pretty?”
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If you say no, she kills you instantly—usually with a pair of long scissors.
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If you say yes, she removes her mask, revealing a horrific wound: a deep, bloody smile stretching from ear to ear.
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Then she asks again, “Even now?”
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If you say no, you die.
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If you say yes, she may let you go… or carve your face to match hers.
Even if you run, she’s been said to reappear in front of you—or behind you—without explanation. Her presence feels inevitable, like a curse that’s already begun.
🏮 Origins: Beauty, Betrayal, and Revenge
The earliest roots of the Slit-Mouthed Woman legend may date back centuries, possibly as far as the Edo period (1603–1868). The most enduring origin story is this:
Kuchisake-onna was once a stunningly beautiful woman—vain and admired. Her husband, a jealous samurai or nobleman, suspected her of infidelity. In a fit of rage, he slit her mouth from ear to ear, shouting, “Who will think you’re beautiful now?”
She died—either from the wound or by suicide. But her rage and humiliation kept her anchored to the world of the living. She returned as an onryō, forever wandering and forcing others to answer the question that defined her death.
Other versions say she was disfigured during medical experiments in World War II or that she was a burn victim who went mad. Each version changes slightly, but the theme stays the same: beauty destroyed, vanity punished, and vengeance made eternal.
📰 The 1979 Panic: When Legend Became Reality
In 1979, the legend of Kuchisake-onna sparked nationwide hysteria in Japan. Children in Nagasaki and surrounding cities began reporting sightings of a woman in a surgical mask chasing them with scissors.
The reports became so widespread that:
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School officials issued public warnings
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Students were escorted home by teachers
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Police were patrolling school zones
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News media picked up the story, spreading fear nationwide
Parents were terrified. Children refused to walk home alone. Teachers shortened class hours. The panic became so intense that some urban areas experienced actual public disruption—all caused by a ghost story.
Though the panic died down after a few months, the legend never did. It had reawakened—and was now part of Japan’s modern mythos.
✂️ How to Survive Kuchisake-onna
Folklore offers several tricks to avoid her wrath. Some are clever. Others are just strange.
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Say “You’re average” or “So-so” (maamaa desu) – An ambiguous answer confuses her long enough for escape.
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Offer her candy, especially bekko ame (a caramelized sugar candy) – Said to be her favorite.
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Ask her a question in return – Disrupts the pattern and gives you a chance to flee.
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Tell her you’re busy or pretend you can’t hear – Distracts her and may make her move on.
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Throw objects behind you – In older yokai tales, some spirits are compelled to count scattered things (a form of distraction also found in vampire lore).
As with many urban legends, the rules are often contradictory. But the uncertainty only makes her more terrifying. There’s no guaranteed way out.
🪞 Symbolism: Mirrors, Masks, and the Price of Beauty
Kuchisake-onna’s horror cuts deeper than scissors. She’s a symbol of:
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Corrupted beauty – Her wound twists the concept of attractiveness into something violent and dangerous.
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Vanity turned punishment – A reflection of traditional societal shame placed on women who value their looks.
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Masks and deception – What’s hidden behind the mask isn’t just horror—it’s truth.
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Judgment and femininity – Her need to be told she’s pretty reveals the pressure to seek approval—and the rage that comes from being judged.
In many cultures, mirrors are seen as gateways to the spirit world or portals to the soul. Her obsession with appearance, her silent stalking, and her transformation from woman to monster all speak to a deep cultural fear of reflection—both literal and psychological.
🎭 Cosplay, TikTok, and the Modern Revival
Kuchisake-onna isn’t fading. She’s evolving.
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Cosplayers recreate her look at anime conventions and horror events. The surgical mask and dramatic makeup are a perfect combo for eerie accuracy.
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TikTok and YouTube horror shorts feature her stalking victims in parking garages and schools.
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Indie games and creepypasta channels constantly reinterpret her story, expanding it with new settings, rules, and outcomes.
Because her design is so iconic—and her question so simple—she thrives in visual media. One look and you know who she is. One line, and you’re hooked.
Even in 2025, the Slit-Mouthed Woman is just a screen scroll away.
🧠 Cultural Resonance: A Feminine Monster That Endures
Kuchisake-onna joins a long tradition of female figures in horror who are both victim and villain.
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Like La Llorona, she mourns what she lost—but takes her pain out on others.
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Like Bloody Mary, she appears through ritual and demands acknowledgment.
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Like Yuki-onna, another Japanese spirit, she is beautiful, tragic, and lethal.
She frightens us because she challenges assumptions:
That beauty is safe.
That women don’t rage.
That politeness means protection.
She shows us what happens when pain is silenced, when appearances deceive, and when the ghosts we carry start to walk beside us.
📚 From Blog to Book: Chapter 24 Sneak Peek
From “Urban Legends and Tales of Terror”
By Karen Cody
What starts as the perfect cosplay becomes a nightmare beyond imagination.
Megan thought she was just preparing for another anime convention—perfecting her Kuchisake-onna costume with meticulous research and flawless makeup. But some legends are more than stories, and some characters should never be brought to life.As her reflection begins to change in ways that have nothing to do with makeup, Megan discovers that the Slit-Mouth Woman’s curse has been waiting centuries to find the perfect vessel. Her months of research into the urban legend have awakened something ancient and hungry—something that transforms her deepest desire for recognition into a supernatural nightmare.
When she takes the stage at AnimeCity Con, the question “Am I pretty?” becomes more than just character dialogue. It becomes a curse that will spread through the convention center like wildfire, leaving screams, chaos, and a terrible transformation in its wake.
Some stories are better left untold.
Some characters are better left unplayed.
📌 Final Thoughts: The Smile You Can’t Escape
Kuchisake-onna doesn’t haunt abandoned hospitals or ancient forests. She walks right past you on the street. She hides behind the same mask that once symbolized health, respect, and safety.
And all she wants is for you to answer her question:
“Am I pretty?”
If you ever hear it—
Just pray you answer fast.
And pray even harder that you’re right.
Like stories like this?
Explore more chilling folklore and paranormal legends at Urban Legends, Mystery & Myth, or read more fiction in Urban Legends and Tales of Terror on Books2Read.
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