What Was the Inspiration Behind the Iconic Horror Movie ‘The Ring’?
Here are two primary gruesome suicides in Japan that became the central motifs in The Ring.
Suzuki Koji, the author of The Ring crafted this iconic horror novel inspired by a series of real-life suicides in Japan.
He also incorporated elements from Japanese folklore myths, particularly the archetype of sorcerers, to deepen the psychic talents held by Sadako Yamamura, a vengeful spirit captivating horror enthusiast.
First motif of The Ring: Chizuko Mifune
In Japan, there was once a psychic named Chizuko Mifune. She was born with the sensitivity to sense supernatural energies.
At the age of 24, she empowered her spirit through breathing and meditation exercises, eventually becoming a self-proclaimed clairvoyant, able to see through solid objects and perceive things that were not visible.
At that time, she used her capability to ‘see’ what was happening to the soldiers from Kumamoto’s Sixth Division, who were fighting in the Russo-Japanese War. She accurately described what she observed at sea: the soldiers’ ship departed from Nagasaki but shortly returned.
After this, she claimed to “see” worms hidden beneath the bark in a nearby tree while sitting inside her room. When the bark was stripped away, worms of the same length she described were found right where she said they would be.
Her abilities caught the attention of Dr. Tomokichi Fukurai of Tokyo Imperial University, and he conducted a serie of experiments with Mifune behind closed doors and was convinced by the high success rate in every test.
He persuaded Mifune to ‘perform’ in public in front of a panel of scientists and journalists. Like the previous experiments, Mifune read what was written in a sealed envelope, but when the letter was shown, the phrases were different from what she said.
Even though the envelope was later allegedly switched off by some observers. The public and the press began to criticize harshly the hoax that Dr. Tomokichi Fukurai and Chizuko Mifune orchestrated.
Furthermore, some self-proclaimed psychics publicly condemned Mifune in an attempt for fame to themselves.
Chizuko Mifune, who was just an innocent girl from a farm family, could not bear and understand the public hatred, discrediting criticism and humiliating insults, was forced into a severe depression and ended her life by poisoning at the tender age of 25.
The second motif of The Ring: Sadako Tanaka
Sadako Tanaka was the daughter of Japanese military officer Tanaka Shinichiro. After Japan’s defeat in the war, Tanaka Shinichiro committed seppuku, leaving behind his wife and two children.
Due to financial difficulties after the war, Sadako’s mother sent one kid to be raised by others. However, she still could not endure the hardship of raising Sadako alone.
Therefore, she killed her daughter, Sadako, and dumped her body into a well, then committed suicide.
Two real-life tragedies became the origins of The Ring.
One was the public contagious negative bullies, and the other one was a normal family tore up by war.
We are afraid of demonic curses, sickening rituals, and evil possession, but once we look deeper, these are all made by humans who tortured the most innocent and vulnerable minorities into horrors to truly have their voice.
The next post will be about the difference between the novel and the movie. Hope to see you there, thank you.
Comments