Rakugo

Raijin had been both surprised and delighted when his cousin had set to planning a traditional story-telling event for the pack. It brought him back to his youth, sitting around a fire with the adults and the other yearlings, sneakily sipping stolen Saki and listening to the Samurai tell stories of war and Yokai. He wanted his pups to have similar memories, to know of their heritage, so on the designated night he was quick to gather them all up and herd them to the meeting area.

Hattori had done a fine job with decorating and laying out the food and drink. Everything smelled delightful, and the dim lighting of the moon and the lanterns brought an eerie glow to their surroundings. The Kaicho was the first to begin, telling the time-old story of Okiku which he’d heard thousands of times growing up. It still never failed to send a chill down his spine, imagining the wails echoing through the village, and he eyed his children to make sure they didn’t get too frightened. They were a hearty bunch, so he didn’t expect much trouble, but if need be he would take them back to their hut and tuck them in.

When his cousin was finished, he allowed the silence to stretch for a moment, letting the mood settle, before clearing his own throat.

“It is said by many that, on warm, dark nights such as this, a woman walks the earth, perched between the planes of the living and the dead. She is dressed in a fine, silk kimono of the deepest red in color, and her fur is long and white, floating around her as if suspended in water. Her face, however, is shrouded by a Kitsune mask, with only her bright golden eyes peering out. In life, she was the most beautiful woman in her village, sought after by every man that set their eyes upon her. In the end, however, she was married to a prestigious Samurai who provided her with the finest food, clothing, food and housing one could ask for. Still, she was a greedy woman who lived off of the praise and attention of others. The love of one man was not enough to satiate her, so she sought the attention of others. When her husband found out about her affairs, he flew into a rage. Striking out at her, he slashed her face and split her mouth nearly ear to ear. She wailed in pain, humiliation, and anger at her beauty being taken from her. The Samurai bitterly looked at her, shouting ‘Who will find you beautiful now?’ before leaving. In her grief, the woman took a blade and plunged it into her own heart, preferring to die than to live a life with such an ugly wound.”

The man took a moment to breath, allowing the portion of the story to wash over the crowd while he, much like Hattori, took a drink of the smooth Saki to wash his throat. After a moment, he continued, “After her death, wolves began reporting coming across a woman of the description I initially gave, the ‘Kuchisake-Onna’ or ‘Slit mouthed woman’. She would walk up to them, the air around her pulling them in but also sending a chill up their spine. In her soft, sultry voice, she would ask ‘Am I beautiful?’ If they responded no, she would kill them on the spot, leaving them with a wound on their face similar to the one she was given. If they said yes, she would remove her mask and expose her mutilated face. She would ask again, ‘am I beautiful?’. If they said no, she would kill them the same way as before. If they said yes, she would allow them to leave, only to follow them home without them knowing and kill them in their beds. Some wolves have said that the only way to avoid death when encountering her is to give an ambiguous answer, such as ‘maybe’ or ‘perhaps’. This confuses Kuchisake-Onna and makes her think, giving the victim enough time to run away,” Raijin finished, looking to everyone for their reactions. “Some argue that it is the woman’s fault for not being faithful to her husband, others that it is the fault of the Samurai for mutilating her. Perhaps it is both, but surely the hope of the story is this: that you will never have the displeasure of encountering Kuchisake-onna on a warm, summer night.”

"Speech"