"Western" Horror vs. J-Horror

  I never had much experience with Japanese horror beyond being terrified by the commercial for The Grudge and the plethora of anime that I’ve watched. I was very surprised to read Kwaiden by Lafcadio Hearn and discover that it isn’t how I’ve typically seen horror the way the western world sees horror. While reading, I noticed that it was more of a parable, with a lesson to be learned  as opposed to a scary story. I was constantly expecting the character to die in a gruesome way and I was repeatedly surprised whenever the story ended.  It makes me wonder what would happen if they attempted the horror the western way, or if we attempted horror their way.

    Western horror is very focused on scaring and creating nightmares. It usually includes a monster/creature and a lot of death. I think one of the main ideas is a loss of control. When faced with these nightmarish creatures, the characters face an extreme loss of control over their life. The only way to survive, is to somehow regain that control and defeat the monster. Whereas Japanese horror, as I mentioned before, seems to concentrate on the consequences of ones actions.

    I feel as a good example of this is the story “Oshidori” that can be read in Kwaiden. In “Oshidori” the main character, Sonjo, is a hunter and a falconer. On his way home, Sonjo killed a male duck who was swimming with his female mate. He did this although it was said not to be good because he was hungry. He later dreams of a woman asking him why he killed her mate and “you do not know-you cannot know what you have done! But tomorrow, when you go to Akanuma, you will see,-you will see” . At this point, I’m thinking that the female duck put a curse on him, that he is going to die somehow in a horrible way. However, the next day when he goes to Akanuma, he witnesses the female duck tearing open her body and dying in front of him. At this point, I was surprised but I still thought that something dramatic was going to happen. However, there is only one line left in the story…

    “Sonjo shaved his head, and became a priest.”

Not exactly the gruesome end I was expecting (unless becoming a priest is as scary of a prospect as dying).

    Now, examining something as simple as the differences between these two interpretations of genre can really show the differences in our cultures. A lot of the stories in the Kwaiden dealt with preserving and respecting nature. It also creates a punishment for not doing this and it serves more as a warning. In comparison, western horror is more about the thrill, the adrenaline rush gained by being scared.

I couldn't find a picture of a puppy to go with J-Horror, so enjoy this puppy in a jack-o-lantern.