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(Translated and arranged by Saya)
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| A Ryokan Room |
This happened to me personally, a long time ago.
At the time, I was working as a live-in part-timer at a ryokan (a Japanese-style inn).*1
It was just around the time I was starting to really enjoy the work.
One day, we had some strange guests.
The guests consisted of a group of four people. They all wore mournful expression on their faces.
One of them carried a portrait of a deceased person (it was a photo of a smiling woman). *2
To be perfectly honest, it creeped me out. I did my best not to look at the portrait while I showed them to their room.
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| A man carrying a portrait of the deceased |
Throughout the whole stay, I never for once heard any conversations coming from that room, let alone laughter.
Next day, after the guests had left, I went to their room to put away the futon.*3
It was then that I found something that chilled me to the marrow. There was that framed portrait of the deceased person on the futon.
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| Futon spread on tatami mats inside a ryokan room |
The eyes in the photo were staring directly at me. I stood nailed to the spot, not knowing what to do, because I was too afraid to touch it.
Just then, I heard some footsteps from behind and someone enter the room.
"Good. They've realised they've left this behind and come to get it. But how could they have possibly forgotten about it?" I thought in my mind.
But moments later, I came face to face with the real horror.
The person who came into the room to get the portrait was the very same person who was smiling in the portrait. I was thrown into sheer panic and I couldn't even utter a word.
Needles to say, I ran out of the room in terror.
I went back to the lobby and told the others what had happened, and they told me that they hadn't seen anyone go up to the room...
I went to the room again with two other staff to check it, and we found the portrait still inside.
But we were dumbstruck by what we saw.
The woman in the portrait was no longer smiling, and instead her face was distorted by intense sorrow and rage.
Eventually, no one came back for the portrait, so we took it to a shrine to purify it. *4
According to the kannushi(a Shinto priest), the portrait was smiling.
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Notes:
*1 -- Ryokan
*2 a portrait of the deceased person -- Iei (ιΊε½±) in the original text. It is a photograph of a deceased person, framed by a black ribbon, which is used for a funeral. Some people keep the portrait after a funeral and create a little altar around it at home.
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| Iei photo frame |
*3 put away the futon --- at a ryokan, the staff put out futon for guests and make a bed in the evening, and put it away after guests have left the room in the morning.
*4 purify it --- kuyo (δΎι€) in the original text. See the note *1 at the bottom of Otsukaresama
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⭐Other stories related to ryokan:
Comments
I hope you like this little story!
Thank you so much for leaving a comment! Have a wonderful weekend π§‘⭐π✨
I can't remember where I've read it, they said that a soul, especially of those near death, gets trapped in their last photograph. Of course, it may be a fictional description but the story really creeps me out.
I hope the employee is okay and not cursed or anything.
Thank you so much for your hardwork and for translating the story Saya-san!!! Have a lovely week! πππ
Was it because of the narrator's reaction?
Was she sad because her approach was rejected by the narrator?
Was she angry she got left behind?
Was she happy she got a new home at the shrine?
I CANT'T STOP THNKING ABOUT THIS !!!
Hi Saya!! Great story as always. I love it :) Enjoy the weekend!
~ nunu ~
That's great that you didn't read this before bedtime π€£π§‘
Thank you so much for your comment!
Thank you so much for your comment π₯°❤️
I usually just read those stories and I just go "hmmm wonder what happened?" And I don't think about anything anymore π€£✨ But I probably should thinking moreπ€£✨⭐
I'm so happy and grateful to hear that you love it ~π
Thank you so much and have a great weekend!⭐
Thank you so much for your comment!π
Thank you so much ~π⭐
I appreciate your comment!ππ΅
Even though this is inexplicable, I feel sorry for the ghost. I feel like she was just lost or perhaps unaware that she's dead, and I'm glad they're able to bring her to peace π At least, that's what I understood about the story.
I too wondered if she was smiling at the end because she was happy being purified at a shrine. Or if there were other sinister reasons for it!π±
I would like to imagine she was put to rest though!
Thank you so much for leaving a comment! ππππ
If this happened to me, I will surely run out of the room too π€£
I'm glad the portrait was smiling in the end (Optimistically assuming it's happy and it's not hiding anything sinister ww)
Thank you for another interesting tale!
倧δΈε€«、γγ€γ§γγ³γ‘γ³γγγ¦γπ
I hope it really is a happy ending π€£✨ The ghost deserves a peaceful rest!
What bothers me is why those people left the portrait behind! Maybe they didn't want the ghost to follow them around, like others said.
You're very welcome and thank you so much for your comment this week tooπ
Take care✨✨✨π⭐
I had a similar experience before. It happened 3 years ago. A delivery guy came one day to deliver a parcel. Im sure i did not purchase anything online but receive it anyway since my address is on it. When i remove the wrapper, on top of the box, there is a note that says, 'DO NOT OPEN! I'LL BE BACK FOR IT!" I assumed that it must be some stupid prank by someone i know yet i leave it aside and follow the instruction. I leave it in the store room and forget about it. Literally. 3 months went by and i suddenly remembered about the box. Curiousity got the best of me and went to open the box. There, I HAD THE BIGGEST SHOCK OF MY LIFE when i found a head of cat with a missing body, rotting away! What shock me the most is when i look at it, im sure it HISS at me once and went quiet right after! I'll called the police to lodge a report and till now, i've yet to hear anything from them and i hope this "mystery" person dont come back for it >< Gosh i can still remember everything clearly while typing. Anw, im looking forward to the next story Saya. Till then, SayaNara!
YOUR STORY IS MUCH SCARIER THAN MINEπ±π±π±π±π±π±π±π±
I'm sure it was just a prank to scare you, and no harm will ever be done to you, but what kind of SICK prank is that!!??
Stay safe ~ you poor thing π«π«π«⭐
I will pray for you!π✨
Take care and talk to you again soon!
But thank you for introducing to us a fun-sounding manga! I'm sure everyone appreciates itππ✨
My pleasure! Thank you so much for your comment!ππ✨
But you being a true philosopher, I guess nothing can disturb the peace of your mind π€£π€£π€£π΅⭐
Thank you so much for your fun comment!ππ✨
Ok since I'm pretty dumb instead of immediately thinking about a ghost I would have thought those people were being mean and were just pretending the other one was dead, and once I saw the person from the portrait I would have told them ah you're the one from the portrait and wait for their reaction π but the moment I would have seen the portrait change my soul would have left my body as I realized ππ
That's so scaryyy
If it were a practical joke, that would have been sick too! π⭐
Thank you so much for your comment πππ