Japanese Cursed Poem: Tomino's Hell

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darkwing dook
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Hello:)
Hopefully this is the right category, since it's more of folklore than poem.

I'd like to share a story of a Japanese cursed poem titled Tomino's Hell (Tomino no Jigoku). The poem is about a boy named Tomino who was abused by his family, quite sad actually. It was popularized by Yomota Inuhiko's book "The Heart is Like a Rolling Stone" in 1998, and supposedly originated from Saizo Yaso's collection of poems in 1919.

It is said that if one recites this poem out loud, disasters or tragic events will happen. There are some testimonies who claimed that they had waves of bad luck after reading it out loud. But not sure if it's only happened when read in Japanese, or also applied when read in translation.

The poem is as follow:

Tomino no Jigoku
(Tomino's Hell)

Ane wa chi wo haku,
imoto wa hibaku,
kawaii Tomino wa
tama wo haku.

(Elder sister vomits blood,
younger sister’s breathing fire
while sweet little Tomino
just spits up the jewels.)

Hitori jigoku ni
ochiyuku Tomino,
jigoku kurayami
hana mo naki.

(All alone does Tomino
go falling into that hell,
a hell of utter darkness,
without even flowers.)

Muchi de tataku wa
Tomino no ane ka,
muchi no shubusa ga
ki ni kakaru.

(Is Tomino’s big sister
the one who whips him?
The purpose of the scourging
hangs dark in his mind.)

Tatakeya tatakiyare
tatakazu totemo,
mugen jigoku wa
hitotsu michi.

(Lashing and thrashing him, ah!
But never quite shattering.
One sure path to Avici,
the eternal hell.)

Kurai jigoku e
anai wo tanomu,
kane no hitsu ni,
uguisu ni.

(Into that blackest of hells
guide him now, I pray—
to the golden sheep,
to the nightingale.)

Kawa no fukuro ni ya
ikura hodo ireyo,
mugen jigoku no
tabi shitaku.

(How much did he put
in that leather pouch
to prepare for his trek to
the eternal hell?)

Haru ga kite soro
hayashi ni tani ni,
kurai jigoku tani
nana magari.

(Spring is coming
to the valley, to the wood,
to the spiraling chasms
of the blackest hell.)

kago ni ya uguisu,
kuruma ni ya hitsuji,
kawaii Tomino no
me ni ya namida.

(The nightingale in her cage,
the sheep aboard the wagon,
and tears well up in the eyes
of sweet little Tomino.)

Nakeyo, uguisu,
hayashi no ame ni
imouto koishi to
koe kagiri.

(Sing, o nightingale,
in the vast, misty forest—
he screams he only misses
his little sister.)

Nakeba kodama ga
jigoku ni hibiki,
kitsune botan no
hana ga saku.

(His wailing desperation
echoes throughout hell—
a fox peony
opens its golden petals.)

Jigoku nanayama
nanatani meguru,
kawaii Tomino no
hitori tabi.

(Down past the seven mountains
and seven rivers of hell—
the solitary journey
of sweet little Tomino.)

Jigoku gozaraba mote
kite tamore,
hari no oyama no
tomehari wo.

(If in this hell they be found,
may they then come to me, please,
those sharp spikes of punishment
from Needle Mountain.)

Akai tomehari date ni wa
sasanu,
kawaii Tomino no
mejirushi ni.

(Not just on some empty whim
is flesh pierced with blood-red pins:
they serve as hellish signposts
for sweet little Tomino.)

(English translation by David Bowles, http://davidbowles.us/poetry/tominos-he ... aijo-yaso/)

You can also find the poem in Creepy Pasta, apparently:)


"Often the truth is in front of your face, but your eyes and heart are so full of lies that you can't see it." Shannon L. Alder

"May you live in interesting times, may you be recognized by people in high places, may you find what you’re looking for."
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