URBAN LEGENDS OF JAPAN

Ovaj rad se bavi opisom urbanih legendi, te istraživanjem kako i zašto se urbane legende prenose. Urbane legende su vrlo bitan dio svake kulture i pokazuju nam kako se ljudi koriste pričama. Urbana legenda je dio modernog folklora koji obuhvaća priče koje kruže kao istinite, ali za istinitost priča nema dokaza. Zapadne urbane legende usmjeravaju se na vještice i vile koje često možemo pronaći u poznatim bajkama toga područja, dok su japanske urbane legende usko povezane s religijom i vjerovanjima koja ukazuju na postojanje mnogih nadnaravnih bića. Ta nadnaravna bića mogu se svrstati pod yōkai-e i yūrei-e koji predstavljaju demone i duhove. Poseban naglasak rada je na šest urbanih legendi u Japanu koje su: Kuchisake-onna; žena s maskom za lice koja vreba nad djecom koja se vraćaju iz škole, Okiku ningyō; opsjednuta lutka kojoj raste kosa, Teke Teke; djevojka koja je dočekala nesretni kraj i sada proganja druge, Toire no Hanako-san; djevojčica koja boravi u školskom toaletu, Aka Manto; misteriozno biće u crvenom plaštu koji se može pronaći u ženskom toaletu, i Akai Heya; iskočna reklama koju je poželjno izbjegavati na Internetu. Legende su dio ljudske kulture, a ta kultura ne prestaje nastajati. Posebnost današnjeg življenja omogućava mnogima stvaranje vlastitih legendi koje se dalje dijele putem Interneta. Legende pridonose tome da se ljudi povezuju s drugima i lakše se nose s problemima svakodnevnog života. Spomenute legende, a i mnoge druge koje će tek nastati, nastavit će se širiti i razvijati.This paper deals with the description of urban legends, and the research of how and why urban legends spread. Urban legends are a very important part of every culture and show us how people use stories. Urban legend is a part of modern folklore that encompasses stories that circulate as truth, but there is no evidence for the truthfulness of stories. Western urban legends focus on witches and fairies that can often be found in famous fairy tales of the area, while Japanese urban legends are closely related to religion and beliefs that indicate the existence of many supernatural beings who can be classified as yōkai and yūrei, who represent demons and ghosts. Special emphasis of the work is on the six urban legends of Japan which are: Kuchisake-onna; a woman with a face mask lurking over children returning from school, Okiku ningyō; an possessed doll with growing hair, Teke Teke; a girl who has met an unfortunate end and is now haunting people, Toire no Hanako-san; a girl haunting the school toilet, Aka Manto; a mysterious creature in red mantle that can be found in a women’s restroom, and Akai Heya; pop-up advertising that should be avoided on the Internet. Legends are part of human culture, and that culture never stops being created. The peculiarity of today's living allows many people to create their own legends, which are further shared via the Internet. Legends help connect people and make it easier to deal with the problems of everyday life. The mentioned legends, as well as many others that are not written yet, will continue to spread and develop