Yawata no yabushirazu, Japan

Yawata no yabushirazu is a small patch of forest located Ichikawa city of the Chiba prefecture in Japan. While the place itself might seem harmless at first glance, it would surely get your attention as the forest seems out of place between the tall buildings.

Yawata no yabushirazu

Namazu-tron

The forest is famous all over the country as a forbidden forest. People are forbidden to even set foot inside the forest and it has been fenced by a stone wall to prevent people from entering inside the forest. While Aokigahara takes all the limelight of being the most haunted forest in Japan, people who know stories about this forest regard this as an equally haunted place. The name is described as a maze-like thicket without any end or exit. This however does not mean that the forest is so large that you can get lost, the forest is literally a small patch and it is impossible to get lost inside the forest but it is believed that whoever sets foot inside the forest their soul gets spirited away and they can never return from there as it is a sacred place and those who dare enter the forest will face the divine wrath.

Yawata no yabushirazu

Shinmaebashi

This theory can’t be put to the test now as nobody is allowed to enter the forest or maybe we don’t even know people might have entered the forest but they didn’t survive to tell the tale. This legend has been passed down since the Edo period and people still firmly believe in this. People often dare themselves to go inside the forest but there isn’t a single report of anyone going inside the forest and coming out alive.

Some people blame this supernatural activity on a fox spirit-deity, while some claim that the forest is haunted by the vengeful ghost of some ancient samurai lord who was killed at this place. Some people even believe that there is a poisonous gas inside the forest responsible for this.

Inside of the forest

しんぎんぐきゃっと

Although you cannot enter the forest, a shrine has been dedicated to the gates of the forest and one can stop to pray on the gates. Japan is a curious country with many legends and this perfect blend of the present without damaging anything from its past is what makes japan one of the best countries.