Kokkuri-san is the most famous scary game in Japan. It is similar to the ouija board and is mostly played by Japanese schoolchildren who want to summon a spirit so they can ask questions about the future.
“Kokkuri-san, Kokkuri-san, tell me, when is the date of my death?”
Two Japanese girls watch in breathless anticipation as a 10 Yen coin begins to slide across a sheet of paper, slowly spelling out the answer.
Kokkuri-san is Japan’s answer to the Ouija board and it has been played in schoolrooms across the country for years. The game became so widespread in Japan that it sparked several hysterias in the media and many schools officially banned students from playing Kokkuri-san.
Using a ouija board can be dangerous because it can accidentally summon demons or open people up to the possiblity of being possessed. Kokkuri-san is much less dangerous since the spirit who is summoned is a trickster spirit from the Shinto religion.
Kokkuri-san is the name of the spirit who is summoned during the game and provides the answers. It is an animal spirit that is a mixture between a fox, a dog and a raccoon. Kok = kitsune (fox), Ku = inu (dog), and Ri = tanuki (raccoon). The fox can be either a trickster or a teacher, the dog is loyal and protecting and the raccoon dog is full of mischief but also a bringer of good luck. All of these qualities are combined in Kokkuri-san.
Young people ask many questions like, “Kokkuri-san, who loves me?†or “Kokkuri-san, will I become rich and famous?â€, but just remember that there are some questions you are better off not knowing the answer to.
To play Kokkuri-san, you need at least two people, a sheet of paper, a pen and a coin.
Step 1: Take a blank sheet of paper and draw a “torii” (a traditional Japanese gate) at the top in red ink. Write “YES” and “NO” on either side of the torii. Beneath this, write one row of numbers (from 0 to 9) and three rows of letters (from A to Z).
Step 2: Open a window or a door so that Kokkuri-san will be able to enter the room. The torii represents the gateway to a Shinto shrine and the spirit will enter and exit through it.
Step 3: Place a coin on the red torii. Each person should put their index finger on the coin.
Step 4: Call the spirit by saying, “Kokkuri-san, Kokkuri-san, if you’re here, please move this coin.”
Step 5: You can ask Kokkuri-san whatever questions you like. It will move the coin to spell out the answer.
Step 6: To end the game, you must ask Kokkuri-san to leave by saying, “Kokkuri-san, Kokkuri-san, please return home.” The coin will move to YES and then come to a rest on the red torii.
step 7: When you are certain Kokkuri has left, you must destroy the paper. Either tear it to pieces or burn it. You must also spend the coin you used before the end of the next day.
WARNING: Kokkuri-san is not dangerous and it is a much safer alternative to the ouija board. However, we still don’t recommend that you play it. Many people can become upset and depressed if they receive answers they do not like. Also, always remember that Kokkuri-san is a trickster spirit and can easily lie to you.
SHE RUINED IT!!!!
Lets try this again with another friend…
XD
I wrote the board…
-_-
‘Kay I’m gonna try it now…..
I kinda wanna play it… But I’m sure my friend will mess it up or my mom will want to know what it is and freak out… Even if we assure her it is safe. Ughhhhhh. Why cant it be played with only one person?
If someone has played it can you please explain what happened?
Okay so basically we decided to play the game. We made the board with different colored pens, except we marked the gate in red. There were other people in the house who just did their own thing. We kept the door to the garage open and we kept on all the lights. We used a quarter as the coin. We started out laughing cause we didn’t think it would work. After a couple of minutes we asked if the ‘ghost’ was there and we got no answer. But, we ended up asking questions and each were answered. We asked if we were going to marry Koreans, we got a no, and my friend asked if she was going to marry a Bengali and she got a no. Later on we asked if Another girl was going to a good college and she got a yes. Another asked if she was going to be successful and she got a yes. We asked if any of us were going to hell, and it spelt my name out. I asked questions like what is my little brother’s middle name and we got it, but strange thing is, is that no one besides me, knew his middle name, so initially we found out. That this was real. We also asked my mom’s middle name and they got it as well. This was definitely not fake because I never told anyone and I hovered my finger over the coin. Luckily, the first time we asked to go, it let us. So we ripped the paper and tossed it off the balcony and we went to my friend’s mom, told her everything, and went to taco Bueno just cause we had to spend the coin and bought one chicken quesadilla which since we were paranoid we gave it to their brother. Now we got through the night and want to do it again sometime, but we are still scared. If you want to play this game, please do it properly or it may end up a disaster. Either way it was a new experience and it was fun. Don’t try it if you are alone. Bye
Ouija board is generally a lot more dangerous as bad and good, both spirits can contact you…. If I summon Kokkuri-san I will ask her my death date and year, if my crush loves me and the reason of my death… Also I will ask what will I have for my next meal….XD
That’s creepy 😨
i played the ouija bourd and met a ghost called josepht
I’m gonna ask if Eyebrows On Fleek likes me.
(Inside joke)
The guy I like has strong eyebrow game, so my friends and I call him Eyebrows on Fleek
I have played ouja board….. now gonna play this.
Wow! Sounds really cool!
It probably won’t work unless you use hiragana (the 1st japanese alphabet) not abc. you also have to use a 10 yen coin not any old coin
I am so doing this with my cousins in Lake Tahoe!
I played this with my friend and when we asked if he was there, the coin slowly moved to no.😢 I wanted to ask again but my friend was too freak out and we had to stop the game. 😔😚
I can’t play with ouija boards or these types of games, my mother played with the ouija board when she was in her 20s and she summoned a demon, it told her that if she or any of her kids played with the ouija board or this game, that she and her kids would die. My eldest sister played with the ouija board and before she was able to summon anything my mom burst into the door with me at her hip and took ouija board and destroyed it.
What if Kokkuri San put the coin on “No” when you asked him to go away, what would happen?
does it have to be red ink?
Wouldn’t it be ok just to give the coin to someone? For example, friend needs money so I hand him the coin I used plus the rest of the cash he needs.
Ok so I played this and it was fun at first. Then it acted like a Ouija board. I got a demon ZoZo and a girl named Zoey. It was freaky.
At my next sleepover I’m gonna do this!
Wow!! Cool game!!
I played it Today With a friend a my sister! We were trying over 5 times till it worked. It worked when School was over. I asked When is the day I am gonna die. I wanted to ask more questions but my friend wanted to top and go home since we where already over an hour late. By the day for my question, When Is the day I am gonna die, the coin moved to 1! Does it mean I am gonna die in 1 day, In 1 year, 1 month or 1 week!?! At first i though when the coin was moving that my friend was doing it but he asked me too if I was doing it. Then I played it with my sis But I think she moved the coin beacuse it didn’t felt the same as with my friend when the coin moved. I wanted to ask more questions like: “The spells I am doing with my sis and Friend, are they ever gonna work?” or “When is the new man from my mother gonna die” :D ;)
Someday I’m gonna try this!!!
This seems to be cool! =3
I already have some questions to ask >=D
I’m certain ur better off not doing it anyways….tempting though isn’t it? Haha.
Definitely trying this!!!
Cool! I would love to try this, but all of my friends and relatives I know are too scared to do it and you need two people:(