Mystery Timeline｜1868–1945
From the age of The Legends of Tono to the days when Nessie and the coelacanth made headlines around the world: mysteries from the Meiji era to the end of World War II.
A grand, empty mansion said to be found by people lost in the mountains; taking something from it is said to bring good fortune. Yanagita Kunio's The Legends of Tono includes the story of a woman who became wealthy thanks to a red bowl that floated down the river from it.
A yokai told of in Nara Prefecture and elsewhere: when you walk alone on a night road, "beto beto" footsteps follow you from behind. It is said that if you step to the side of the road and say "Betobeto-san, please go ahead," the footsteps disappear.
A yokai that looks like an old man yet cries like a baby on mountain roads at night. If you feel sorry for it and pick it up, it clings to you and grows heavier and heavier, and some say it takes your life. It is told of in the mountains of Tokushima Prefecture and became famous as one of Kitaro's allies in the manga GeGeGe no Kitaro.
A yokai that startles people passing through deserted woods or near shrines by sprinkling sand on them from nowhere. It is told of in Nara, Hyogo and Shiga Prefectures. No one has ever seen it, but it became famous as an old woman in the manga GeGeGe no Kitaro. Some say it is the work of tanuki.
