Why are zombies not scary in Japan

It is believed that kabuki is Founded in the 17th century Over the past 400 years, it has not stopped developing, especially in terms of storylines. Classic works written during the Edo period are still the most popular, but the new scripts have been written. For example, in 2009, dramatist Kankuro Kudo wrote The Living Dead in Ohio, Kabuki story about the feudal zombies in Japan.

This was briefly screened in early July this year, part of the Kabuki Cinema Initiative, which brought the filmed Kabuki performance to the cinema. With a limited run every day, the cinema is filled with curious audiences, probably because there have been almost never been a zombie in Kabuki. In fact, it is rare in various forms of Japanese pop culture.

Poster of “Oedo Living Dead” | Cinema Kabuki

A night of laughter

Even if you haven’t seen any trailers yet, you’re in The Living Dead in Ohio No expectations, the play can clearly show what the story is like in the first few seconds by introducing the two actors in the fish costumes. poor And complain about their smell. Kusaya is a fermented fish from the Izu Islands characterized by their overwhelming and irritating aroma.

The story then incorporates the kusaya sauce used by supplier Oyo into the kusaya sauce, bringing the dead to life, while the enterprising Hansuke uses the same sauce to make the zombies work because they don’t bite the living people in the stinky smell. The show then becomes a comment on the development of Japanese temporary workers.

It’s a satirical comedy with darker moments. In one scene, when dozens of zombies suddenly push their immortal hand over Shoji Screen, you realize that this story could have been a straightforward horror.

“Zombies of Feudal Japan” is a cool premise, and the creative bloody makeup that could have been used in the drama to help. So, why did Kankuro Kudo go with a humorous attitude? Why do so many Japanese works view zombies as comedy feed from Kabuki to live-action movies and anime?

Still from Tokyo Zombies (2005) | IMDB

Zombies may be too strange

Tokyo zombies, Published in 2005 Dealing with the Zombie Apocalypse, but bringing the topic closer to a joke, like a major character thinks He didn’t die after being bitten, but it was actually very good because he was attacked by dentures.

ZOM 100: The Dead’s Repository List (2023) The anime features a more ending horror environment, but ultimately Exciting story About getting into the world and doing everything you want to do because tomorrow is not promised. Then Battlefield Baseball ((Jigoku Koshien), released in 2003, with content involving immortal baseball.

Despite many examples, such as Japan regards zombies as a serious threat, e.g. resident Evil Video Games,,,,, They are usually located in the West and have foreign protagonists.

This is why Japan doesn’t seem to be afraid of zombies. They see this idea as a Western invention, which is so stupid that it is frightening. Japan is very scary SeriouslyIn Japanese terror, vicious forces are often associated with nature and connected with certain aspects of modernity.

No matter how wonderful the premise is, Japanese horrors often rely on familiar elements to be twisted into sinister things, such as VHS tape as a sign of death ring. In Japan, corpses are not part of daily life at all.

It’s not that people don’t die here, but that after doing so, they are usually cremated, and the country has only a few Western-style cemeteries with exciting bodies placed on the ground.

Description of utagawa kuniyoshi’s revenge onryo spirit (c.1836)

Japanese Monsters and Western Zombies

This does not mean that Japan is not afraid of undead creatures. They can be found everywhere, including in Kabuki, folklore, myths, legends, etc. But they are very different from Western zombies.

When the dead are reborn in Japan, they usually Onryo Revenge ghost (Usually an abused woman)or Yokai Supernatural creatures. The two of them often cross the boundaries between the physical world and the spectral world. Although not always illustrative, they still interact with the life world or become tangible through strong emotions.

In general, Japanese monsters tend to be less than biology. Even Godzilla was once portrayed as a supernatural creature in the movie Godzilla, Mosla and King Gidora: Giant Monsters Full Attackwhen he was possessed by the ghost of the dead man in World War II. Zombies are almost entirely biological by definition, which has put them at a disadvantage when they are afraid of Japanese audiences.

hone onna (Bone Women) are the resurrection remains of women who died with strong love and continue to seek outside the grave. These creatures seem to be potential lovers’ lives and peaks, spending a night with ignorant necromancers, taking away their vitality until the victim dies. ofat the same time, It is a witch in Yangyangshan Mountain with bulletproof skin, knife teeth and a second mouth on the top of her head.

Indeed, zombies have numbers around them, but Japanese supernatural monsters are also in bulk. When thousands of different Yokai and Oni demon Parade on the streets, known as Hyakki YagyoThis is a theme that has been around Japanese art for hundreds of years. In this culture, it is difficult to take zombies seriously as horror opponents.

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