(Translator’s note: For ease of translation, Uketsu, the author, is addressed as Mr. or Master, although their gender is never specified. Any bracketed notes starting with a * is a translation of an image.)
This is a translation of a story by Uketsu, featured on their website: https://omocoro.jp/kiji/362872/. All images, materials, and content originate from there and belong to the author. I make no claim of ownership over these materials. Please consider supporting the author by purchasing their books and manga.
2022-09-29
Packages from an Unknown Sender
A monthly delivery of packaged food and daily necessities. But I have no idea who the sender is. Who exactly is sending these, and what is their intention......?
- Uketsu
“Every month, I get a package from someone I don’t know.”
In late August, I had this strange discussion.
Care Package
The man I spoke to was 40-year-old Mitsutoshi Urakawa. He lives alone in an apartment in Tokyo called “Little Makita Manor.”
He found me on social media, where I usually conduct interviews and investigations into strange events. He sent an e-mail asking for advice. This is what he wrote:
To Master Uketsu,
I apologize for contacting you uninvited.
My name is Mitsutoshi Urakawa.
[omitted]
The matter I would like to discuss with you concerns mail that comes from an unidentified person. Every month, a cardboard box containing food and various other items is delivered to my room.
Each time, they are sent under a different name, but I do not recognize any of the names at all. The photo I attached to this email is what I received early this month.
(Author’s note: This e-mail was received on August 20.)
I feel deeply unsettled and frightened. I would be very grateful if you could help me to uncover the truth of the matter.
Mitsutoshi Urakawa
One photo was attached to the e-mail.
(Author’s note: The company and brand names were blurred out by the author)
This is like a care package that a parent might send to a university student in Tokyo.
As I look at the photo, I don’t get the sense that it’s a prank or anything malicious, as if to say, “Let’s send weird packages and give him a scare.”
For that reason, I don’t know who would do this or why, and that makes this all the more strange.
Multiple Senders
Later, I phoned Mr. Urakawa to get more detailed information.
The following is a transcript of our conversation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Uketsu (author): Mr. Urakawa, thank you for taking the time to talk with me.
Urakawa: No, no…… I apologize for troubling you by suddenly asking you for advice.
He had a timid voice, and his humble nature could be sensed even over the phone.
Uketsu: Getting right to business, do you really have no idea who the sender could be? For example, your parents or a friend?
Urakawa: Both of my parents have passed on, and for the past decade I have had no social life at all…… I don’t have a wife or children. Who would send me a care package like this…… Nobody comes to mind.
Uketsu: I see……
Urakawa: So when I first received a package, I thought there was a mistake. I thought there was some other “Mr. Urakawa” living nearby, and it was supposed to go to him…… But when I looked around, there wasn’t a single household in the neighborhood with my surname.
Uketsu: Hmm…… Then perhaps it was meant for a previous tenant? There are many cases where a person may move out without informing anyone, and so packages are sent to a home they no longer live in.
Urakawa: I thought of that, too. But when I explained the situation to a real estate agent, he told me there are no records of anyone named “Urakawa” who lived here previously.
In other words, there’s no doubt that these packages were intended for Mr. Urakawa.
Uketsu: By the way, around when did you start receiving these packages?
Urakawa: Soon after I moved in. In early October last year, I started living in this apartment, and I received the first package late that same month.
Uketsu: What was inside that time?
Urakawa: More or less what you saw in that photo I sent earlier. Packaged food, everyday necessities and so on……
Uketsu: Any letters or messages?
Urakawa: Nothing at all. And up until now, a package gets delivered every month under a different name.
Uketsu: It’s strange that it’s always “under a different name”, isn’t it? Can you give any examples of these names?
Urakawa: Uh, well…… Every time I receive a package, I try to take a photo. I’ll send some to you by e-mail right now.
I checked my e-mail. Photos of the packages’ contents and shipping labels were sent to me.
5-15-2 Nishidai, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Prefecture
Little Makita Manor, room 102
Master Urakawa
243-0441
Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture
7-11-4 Isugi-machi
Satomi Mizoguchi
5-15-2 Nishidai, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Prefecture
Little Makita Manor, room 102
Master Urakawa
243-0439
Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture
4-26-8 Iwasaka
Shiori Ikeda
5-15-2 Nishidai, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Prefecture
Little Makita Manor, room 102
Master Urakawa
243-0440
Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture
4-31-1 Kamikura
Mina Sasaki
5-15-2 Nishidai, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Prefecture
Little Makita Manor, room 102
Master Urakawa
243-0440
Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture
5-12-6 Kamikura
Azusa Suzuki
5-15-2 Nishidai, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Prefecture
Little Makita Manor, room 102
Master Urakawa
243-0439
Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture
5-1-12 Iwasaka
Miho Ishida
5-15-2 Nishidai, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Prefecture
Little Makita Manor, room 102
Master Urakawa
243-0439
Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture
6-13-3 Iwasaka
Kaede Yamazaki
5-15-2 Nishidai, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Prefecture
Little Makita Manor, room 102
Master Urakawa
243-044
Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture
5-18-7 Isugi-machi
Ai Nishimoto
5-15-2 Nishidai, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Prefecture
Little Makita Manor, room 102
Master Urakawa
243-0440
Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture
3-21-6 Kamikura
Maiko Yokota
Uketsu: “Maiko Yukota”, “Ai Nishimoto”, “Kaede Yamazaki”…… Seems like the sender’s names are all female. Also, the addresses are different every time, but they all come from the city of Ebina in Kanagawa Prefecture…… Mr. Urakawa, does this place bring anything to mind?
Urakawa: ……No. I’ve never been to Ebina. I also don’t have any relatives or acquaintances who live there.
Uketsu: I see. Shall we look up all the addresses written on the packages?
Urakawa: I’ve already done that…… These are all non-existent addresses. The districts, block numbers, house numbers all seem to be random……
Fake addresses. So then, it isn’t multiple people, but one person changing their name and address sending multiple packages. In that case, these names must be fake.
But if they use a fake name to prevent Mr. Urakawa from knowing their real name, why must they change it every time? I don’t understand the sender’s motive.
Visitor
Uketsu: By the way, other than the packages, has anything unusual happened? For example, a silent phone call or something like that?
Urakawa: …………Yes, but……I don’t know if there’s any connection.
Uketsu: If there is something, please tell me, no matter how small.
Urakawa: Okay. In fact, just once, someone came to my door. It was right around when I moved in. I think it was the middle of October last year. At night, when I was about to go to sleep, I heard footsteps outside my door. They weren’t normal footsteps, it was like “kshh-kshh.” It sounded like they were dragging a leg. The footsteps stopped right in front of my door. I thought it was a visitor, but even after a few minutes, the intercom didn’t chime, so I became worried and decided to go check. When I came near the entrance, again I heard that “kshh-kshh” noise. When I opened the door, I saw someone walking away.
Uketsu: Meaning, when they sensed that you were about to open the door, they panicked and ran away. Did you get that person’s size or gender?
Urakawa: I think they had a small build……? As for gender…… It was night, and the passageway doesn’t have electricity, so it was dark. I don’t really know. But…… I do remember that it seemed like the left leg was dragging. I didn’t think there was any need to chase after them, so I just let them go.
Uketsu: Incidentally, was anything left at your entrance?
Urakawa: No, nothing.
If this mysterious visitor and the sender of those packages are the same person, then one possibility emerges.
Uketsu: Could it possibly be a stalker? Frequently leaving gifts, sneaking up to houses…… These are things I often hear about stalkers.
Urakawa: Would anyone stalk a man in his 40s……? I’m rather ashamed to say this, but lately I have lost a lot of hair, and I really don’t have the looks that women would find appealing……
Uketsu: A man who was popular can still be popular even after hair loss. It’s dangerous to ignore a stalker, so you’d better find a way to escape them, like contacting the police or simply moving out.
Urakawa: I did go to the police a short time ago. But just being given some packages didn’t seem to be a major crime, so they didn’t take it seriously. As for moving out…… I don’t have the money. Last year, the company I’ve been working for went bankrupt and corporate housing was shut down. So I basically had to take refuge by renting room 102 in Little Makita Manor. With the job I have now, I barely pay the monthly 20,000-yen rent…… The cost of moving is just too……
Nowhere to run away, and nobody to talk to. He’s completely trapped. He can only count on an occult writer that he doesn’t know. I really feel sorry for Mr. Urakawa.
Uketsu: I understand. I will do something about this. You must be nervous, but please wait for just a little while.
Urakawa: I truly thank you for this.
Uketsu: However, right now we don’t have enough clues…… Oh, right. Do you still have the packages you received?
Urakawa: Yes. I pretty much have all of them.
Uketsu: Would you be able to send them to me?
Urakawa: ……Well, let’s see. Each one is quite large, so sending them all……
Uketsu: I suppose that would be difficult. Then, could you send me what you received just this month?
Urakawa: Yes…… I can agree to that. I will send it to you soon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After hanging up, I looked at the photos.
The contents of the packages were everyday essentials like instant rice, packaged food, tissues, and kitchenware. By all appearances, it was a care package. Next, I looked at the shipping labels.
They all looked the same. The handwriting is similar, so it’s safe to assume they’re all written by the same person. There’s another thing to note about these pictures.
It’s the certification stamp attached next to the shipping label.
These types of stamps are stickers issued by staff at a post office counter in place of postage stamps.
Which means, all these packages were brought to a post office counter and shipped. (There was only one package without a sticker, but there were rips on the surface of the cardboard. Originally, a certification stamp was most likely attached, but was peeled off.)
I think that the sender deliberately chose this method so that Mr. Urakawa wouldn’t know any information about them.
If you send things through a convenience store or Yamato Transport, you not only have to give more details about your personal information, but the name of the person who handled the shipment is also recorded. They must have thought that there was a risk that their identity can be deduced from these.
Even so, there is information that cannot be hidden.
Like the name of the post office.
Every stamp has the name of the post office on them.
From the looks of it, the sender used these three post offices:
-
Kishie Shogakko-Mae
-
Kazami-Eki Mae
-
Suzuhara
And it seems every one of them are in the city of Ebina in Kanagawa Prefecture.
The addresses are fake, but it seems there’s no doubt the sender lives in Ebina.
The Real Thing
Later, I received a package from Mr. Urakawa.
Just like I saw in the photo, it was packed with food and daily necessities, but besides that, there was nothing strange…… No letters, messages, or anything like that.
But for some reason, I had a strange feeling as soon as I saw the real thing.
I had another look at the photo that Mr. Urakawa sent.
Right then, I noticed something strange about these photos. But it seemed so trivial that, at the time, I didn’t pay much attention to it.
But I later learned that it was an important clue about the root cause of the “package incident.”
Acquaintance
From the location of the post offices, I found out the area where the sender lived. But since they used a fake name, I couldn’t go door-to-door to find their location.
Several days passed, and I was no closer to the truth. I gave up on solving this myself and decided to ask an acquaintance for help.
His name is Mr. Kurihara, and he has helped me with my articles many times before. He is an architect by trade, but he is knowledgeable about many things and is very intelligent. So I decided to rely on him once again.
I summarized everything that happened until now in an e-mail, and in less than an hour I received a phone call.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kurihara: Hello. This is Kurihara.
Uketsu: Hello, it’s been a while. Have you read my e-mail?
Kurihara: Yeah, I got the gist of it. So in summary:
-
Mr. Mitsutoshi Urakawa, who lives in an apartment in Tokyo, receives a package from an unidentified person every month
-
Each time, the sender uses a different name and address
-
The names are fake, and they’re all women’s names
-
The sender sends packages from three post offices in Ebina in Kanagawa Prefecture
-
Around when Mr. Urakawa started living in his apartment, a mysterious person came to visit
-
This mysterious person stood in front of his door for about a minute, doing nothing
Uketsu: Whenever I think it over, I really do think the stalker theory’s the most likely. But I don’t know where to go from there……
Kurihara: Is that so? From the information I have now, I have a pretty detailed picture of the “culprit.”
Uketsu: What?
Kurihara: First of all, I don’t think the culprit is a stalker.
Uketsu: As soon as I say it, you dismiss my theory…… May I ask why?
Kurihara: There are many examples of stalkers sending presents to their victims. The reason they do that is because they want the victim to know about their existence. It’s an extreme way of asserting oneself, as if to say, “There’s ‘one person’ who loves you.” But the packages sent to Mr. Urakawa all had different names written on them. It was all arranged to look like multiple women were sending him gifts. This is nothing like the mindset of a stalker who wants to show off “themselves.”
Uketsu: Is that so……
Kurihara: On the other hand, could there be someone with a grudge against Mr. Urakawa harassing him?...... Again, I think that’s unlikely.
Uketsu: I agree. If that were the case, you’d think they would send something Mr. Urakawa would hate.
Kurihara: Yeah. So at this point, the culprit’s motive is unclear. It won’t help to keep thinking about things you don’t understand, so let’s deal with the smaller details first. First off, let’s start with the question about their “names.” Why does the culprit change their name every time? Mr. Uketsu, what do you think?
Uketsu: Hmm…… To make Mr. Urakawa think, “Multiple people are sending me packages”……? No, wait, if that were the case, it would be strange if the shipping labels all looked so similar……
Kurihara: Yeah. I looked at the photos, and even though the names are changed, it’s obvious that they were sent by the same person. In other words, the culprit had no intention of hiding the fact from Mr. Urakawa that they were a “lone culprit.”
Uketsu: Then, why would they……?
Kurihara: It was probably to deceive the post offices.
Uketsu: The post offices?
Delivery Refusal
Kurihara: Mr. Uketsu, are you familiar with the “delivery refusal” system?
Uketsu: I think I heard about it……
Kurihara: It’s a system where, if an item isn’t delivered to the recipient, it gets sent back to the sender. If it were me, I would refuse delivery of any strange packages from people I don’t know.
Kurihara: So in that case, the package would be returned to the sender. But if the sender’s address and name are fake, there’s nowhere to send the package. Packages without a destination are stored for a period of time and then disposed of. From the employee’s point of view, this was all a waste of time and effort.
Uketsu: It’s a disruption of business.
Kurihara: Yeah. So if a sender keeps doing that, their name will be blacklisted as a “malicious customer.” They wouldn’t be able to use that name to send packages again. Each time, Mr. Urakawa courteously accepts each package. But I don’t know when he will learn about the “delivery refusal” system and make use of it.
Uketsu: So you’re saying that the culprit anticipates this and changes their name and address to prevent themselves from being blacklisted…… But instead of going through the trouble of using fake names, wouldn’t it be better to send the packages anonymously?
Kurihara: That can’t be done. To prevent any problems, four things need to be written on the package:
-
The recipient’s name
-
The recipient’s address
-
The sender’s name
-
The sender’s address
Also, it must be taken to a post office counter. That’s why the culprit has to put in so much effort to come up with fake names.
Uketsu: So it’s a last resort.
Kurihara: The culprit must be desperate.
“Desperate”……Until now, the culprit was a suspicious and hazy figure, but with that word, I caught just a glimpse of their outline.
A person who is desperately coming up with schemes in order to keep sending packages to Mr. Urakawa. Yes, the culprit isn’t a monster or ghost, but a single human being. But I don’t understand.
Why go to such lengths to send packages to Mr. Urakawa?
Kurihara: I don’t know the sender’s motives. But I understand the logic behind their actions.
-
They wish to continue sending Mr. Urakawa packages
-
To do that, they want to avoid being noticed by the post offices.
If you focus on these two things, you can understand their otherwise incomprehensible actions. The reason for using multiple post offices is so that the post office workers won’t remember their face. And the reason the culprit always uses women’s names is because the culprit herself is a woman. If a woman sends a package under a man’s name, wouldn’t the staff think it’s strange? Isn’t this what the culprit was thinking?
Uketsu: I see. All this was to deceive the post offices……
The Fourth Post Office
Kurihara: You’re getting to know more and more about the culprit. Now, this is the important part. Focus on the location of the post offices.
Kurihara: The post offices the culprit used are scattered around Ebina in Kanagawa Prefecture, with Kazami Station at the center. That being the case, it’s natural to think that the culprit’s house is near Kazami Station.
Uketsu: That’s right.
Kurihara: But if that’s the case, one question emerges. Why doesn’t she use the train?
Uketsu: Huh?
Kurihara: The culprit went to Kishie Shogakko-Mae Post Office, which is more than two km away from the station. In that case, wouldn’t it be easier to take the train to go to the post office near the next station?
Uketsu: ……Well, now that you mention it…
Kurihara: There’s another strange thing. When I checked earlier, it looks like there’s another post office near Kazami Station.
Kurihara: “Sakuragaoka Post Office”…… In the same district as the other post offices. But she never used this one.
Uketsu: That’s……strange, isn’t it?
Kurihara: Wouldn’t there be a reason why the culprit can’t use Sakuragaoka Post Office? Keeping this in mind, I researched a bunch of things about this post office and found something interesting. “Sakuragaoka” means “Cherry Blossom Hill”, and as the name suggests, it’s located on a slightly elevated location. To get there by foot, you’d have to climb some stairs. All this is to say, the culprit, for whatever reason, seems to avoid using “trains” and “stairs.”
Uketsu: Trains and stairs……
Kurihara: Could it be that the culprit is on a wheelchair?
Uketsu: What……?
Kurihara: Probably someone elderly……or else, someone with an impaired leg.
A sudden chill runs down my spine. Mr. Urakawa’s words come back to mind.
“I heard footsteps outside my door. They weren’t normal footsteps, it was like “kshh-kshh.” It sounded like they were dragging a leg……”
Uketsu: Then, the footsteps Mr. Urakawa heard……
Kurihara: Without a doubt, it’s the culprit’s.
The sender is a woman with an impaired leg. She’s able to walk independently, but she usually uses a wheelchair.
In October last year, the woman visited “Little Makita Manor” where Mr. Urakawa lives. She left her wheelchair in front of the building, walked down the passageway, and limped her way to room 102. After a time, when she sensed that Mr. Urakawa was going to open the door, she hurried away.
But why did she do that?
Someone who usually avoids even going to the next station went out of her way to travel from Kanagawa to Tokyo…… It must have been for something very important.
Uketsu: Mr. Kurihara…… What was the culprit doing in front of Mr. Urakawa’s room?
Kurihara: There’s a hint for that on the shipping label. Please take a look at the recipient’s name and address.
(* Recipient info: 5-15-2 Nishidai, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Prefecture
Little Makita Manor, room 102
Master Urakawa)
Kurihara: “Master Urakawa”…… Why is only the surname written down?
Uketsu: ……That’s been bothering me for a while.
Kurihara: As long as the address is written down, you only need a surname to deliver a package. But it’s common practice to write the full name of the recipient. If the culprit wants to avoid the attention of the postal workers, she would avoid doing anything that would stand out even slightly. So why doesn’t she write the given name? Here’s my thinking. It’s not that she didn’t write it, but she couldn’t. Could it be that the culprit didn’t know Mr. Urakawa’s name?
Uketsu: ……But…… Even when she doesn’t know his full name, she sends a package every month…
Kurihara: It really is strange. It’s too absurd if you think about it normally. So we have to stop thinking about it normally. Unless you turn your thinking around 180° and throw away common sense, you won’t be able to follow the culprit’s thinking.
Uketsu: You tell me to throw away common sense, but even then……
Kurihara: Could it be that the culprit was sending packages, not to Mr. Urakawa, but to Mr. Urakawa’s room?
Uketsu: Huh?!
Room 102
Uketsu: So she’s giving gifts, not to the resident but to the room itself?
Kurihara: That’s right. If that’s the case, you can understand the reason why the culprit came to Mr. Urakawa’s room, then leave without doing anything. The culprit was looking at the nameplate. “I want to send a package to Little Makita Manor, room 102. To do that, I have to write down the resident’s name on the shipping label. But I don’t know who lives in room 102.” …That’s why she went to look at the room. Nameplates usually only have surnames written on them. So she could only write the surname on the shipping label.
Uketsu: But if she’s able to get to the room, it would be better to deliver the package herself……
Kurihara: That would probably be ideal. But it would be too much for someone with an impaired leg to carry a heavy package and travel from Kanagawa to Tokyo every month.
Uketsu: I guess…… Then why in the world would the culprit think to give a gift to “room 102” in the first place?
Kurihara: Even if I don’t tell you, you already have a hunch, don’t you, Mr. Uketsu?
Uketsu: ……
He saw right through me. There was already a sinister image growing in my heart. A room instead of a person…… In other words, she made deliveries to a “place.” Such an act would be called……
Uketsu: A memorial offering……
Kurihara: That makes the most sense. In other words, it’s a memorial service. At some point, someone died in room 102. The culprit sends an offering to that room every month as a memorial service. It’s like leaving flowers at the scene of an accident.
Uketsu: But……those packages contain everyday necessities. Isn’t it strange to give such things as an offering?
Kurihara: It could be camouflage. They were packed in such a way that, at first glance, they don’t look like an offering, but in fact they’re hiding the culprit’s true intention. After all, if it became known that the packages were an “offering”, then that would reveal important information.
Uketsu: Important information?
Kurihara: Namely, that the culprit is connected to a resident who lived and died in room 102.
Uketsu: Ah……
Kurihara: We found an important clue leading us to the culprit. Let’s see if anyone died in room 102.
Uketsu: Then should we ask a real estate agent?
Kurihara: No, a real estate agent’s no good. They won’t tell because they have a duty of confidentiality.
Uketsu: Then what do we do……?
Kurihara: The landlord. Little Makita Manor is an abnormal piece of real estate, costing 20,000 yen per month in Tokyo. Hate to say this, but the apartment’s a dump.
Uketsu: That’s a harsh thing to say.
Kurihara: Many landlords of these kinds of apartments are elderly people who’ve been running them since the Showa era (1926-1989). They’re emotional and are unaware of their duty of confidentiality. Shedding a few tears works wonders.
After my conversation with Mr. Kurihara, I called Mr. Urakawa. I was a little hesitant, but I candidly told him about the death in his home and about the memorial offerings. After listening calmly without becoming upset, he said this.
Urakawa: I do feel it’s a bit unsettling that I live in stigmatized property, but I’m not the type who believes in ghosts, so it’s okay. Aside from that, I’m relieved now that I know that the sender doesn’t have any hostile intentions. I’m going to go to the landlord and bring a box of cakes.
The Truth
A few days later, I received a phone call from Mr. Urakawa. His voice was more somber than before.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Urakawa: Today, I spoke with the landlord.
Uketsu: Oh! So…… How did it go?
Urakawa: I was told……there was never a death in room 102.
Uketsu: Eh?
Urakawa: It didn’t seem like he was lying or hiding anything. After that, I asked residents in other rooms, and sure enough it seems like nobody passed away in room 102.
Uketsu: Really……
Urakawa: What can I say, except…… I’m sorry.
Uketsu: No…! There’s nothing to apologize for…… But now we’re back to square one.
Urakawa: I suppose so…… Oh, but I did get something out of talking to the landlord.
Uketsu: Huh?
According to Mr. Urakawa, the landlord for Little Makita Manor is a woman who seemed to be over 70, just like what Mr. Kurihara predicted. It seemed like she lived alone and was feeling lonely, so she was delighted when Mr. Urakawa came to visit. As a result, they chatted for close to five hours, and in return, he was given a large gift.
She showed him a registry of people who lived in room 102. It listed the names and their then-current cell phone numbers of residents who lived there.
Of course, he wasn’t allowed to take notes, so he spent five hours frantically drilling the information into his head.
Urakawa: I could only memorize the past 20 years.
Uketsu: Even that much is amazing.
Urakawa: I’ll send you an e-mail right now.
When I looked at the list of past residents he sent me, I let out a gasp.
April 1999 – February 2005: Keiichi Mizuhara
April 2005 – March 2013: Eita, Sana Kuramoto (married)
August 2013 – March 2020: Mako, Yui Kirimura (parent and child)
June 2020 – September 2020: Yosuke, Miki Akiyama (married)
February 2021 – June 2021: Ryouichi Tanabe
October 2021 – : Mitsutoshi Urakawa
Out of everyone who lived there before Mr. Urakawa, I focused on Ryouichi Tanabe and the married couple Yosuke and Miki Akiyama.
April 1999 – February 2005: Keiichi Mizuhara
April 2005 – March 2013: Eita, Sana Kuramoto (married)
August 2013 – March 2020: Mako, Yui Kirimura (parent and child)
June 2020 – September 2020: Yosuke, Miki Akiyama (married)
February 2021 – June 2021: Ryouichi Tanabe
October 2021 – : Mitsutoshi Urakawa
Mr. Tanabe left the unit four months later, the Akiyamas three months later. Their stay was much too short. Suddenly, some thoughts crossed my mind.
Stigmatized property. Strange phenomena.
No, that can’t be. Nobody died in that room. In that case, the only other thing I can think of are……the “packages.”
Maybe even before Mr. Urakawa, packages were being sent to room 102. Could it be that these two families were unsettled by the packages and moved out as soon as possible?
For now, I decided to give Mr. Tanabe and the Akiyamas a phone call to verify this.
The Past
My call to Mr. Tanabe went to voicemail, but I got Mr. Yosuke Akiyama on his cell phone. When I asked about room 102, he talked about that time in a casual voice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Akiyama: Ooh, yes, yes. We often received those packages.
Uketsu: Really?
Akiyama: Each one was sent under a different woman’s name, so my wife gave me a hard time because she thought I was having an affair. It was really creepy, so we moved out right away.
As I thought, the packages were being delivered even before Mr. Urakawa. Next, I called the residents who lived there before Mr. Akiyama.
April 1999 – February 2005: Keiichi Mizuhara
April 2005 – March 2013: Eita, Sana Kuramoto (married)
August 2013 – March 2020: Mako, Yui Kirimura (parent and child)
June 2020 – September 2020: Yosuke, Miki Akiyama (married)
February 2021 – June 2021: Ryouichi Tanabe
October 2021 – : Mitsutoshi Urakawa
Mako and Yui Kirimura, a parent and child. They lived in room 102 for less than seven years. That’s longer than Mr. Tanabe and the Akiyamas.
When we talked……
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kirimura: Yes…… Hello?
Uketsu: Please excuse this unexpected call. Would this be Ms. Maiko Kirimura’s cell phone?
Kirimura: Yes…… That’s right, but…… Who am I speaking to?
It was a fairly young woman’s voice. I explained to her what happened so far. From the interjections she made, I could sense Ms. Kirimura’s voice becoming more and more nervous.
Uketsu: ……For that reason, I’m investigating the packages being sent to room 102. Would you know anything about them?
Kirimura: ……….I know nothing.
She rebuffed me in a small but clear voice.
Uketsu: So, are you saying that when you lived in room 102, no packages were delivered to you, Ms. Kirimura?
Kirimura: Didn’t I just tell you that?! Look, can we cut this short? I’m busy.
Uketsu: Ah, I’m terribly sorry. Uhh, I’d like to ask you one more question. Where do you currently live?
Kirimura: Why do I have to tell you that?! Please don’t call me again.
She hung up.
April 1999 – February 2005: Keiichi Mizuhara
April 2005 – March 2013: Eita, Sana Kuramoto (married)
August 2013 – March 2020: Mako, Yui Kirimura (parent and child)
June 2020 – September 2020: Yosuke, Miki Akiyama (married)
February 2021 – June 2021: Ryouichi Tanabe
October 2021 – : Mitsutoshi Urakawa
After that, I tried calling the residents before Ms. Kirimura, the married couple Eita and Sana Kuramoto and Mr. Keiichi Mizuhara, but they didn’t answer. They lived in room 102 more than 10 years ago. They probably already cancelled their cell phone numbers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kurihara: I see. The most suspicious person here would be the woman named Mako Kirimura.
Uketsu: Yeah. As soon as we started talking about the packages, it was obvious that something was strange. I feel like she’s hiding something.
Kurihara: Hiding something………. Speaking of which, she has a daughter, doesn’t she?
April 1999 – February 2005: Keiichi Mizuhara
April 2005 – March 2013: Eita, Sana Kuramoto (married)
August 2013 – March 2020: Mako, Yui Kirimura (parent and child)
June 2020 – September 2020: Yosuke, Miki Akiyama (married)
February 2021 – June 2021: Ryouichi Tanabe
October 2021 – : Mitsutoshi Urakawa
Uketsu: Yeah. A girl named Yui. Ms. Kirimura’s voice sounded young, so I thought she was still a young child.
Kurihara: I wonder if that child’s still alive?
Uketsu: ……….
I knew what Mr. Kurihara wanted to say.
In the past, the culprit lost someone important in room 102. Could it be that Ms. Mako Kirimura’s daughter, Yui, passed away in room 102?
If so, that would explain Ms. Kirimura’s strange behavior. She didn’t want anyone to know that she was sending those packages.
“Is your daughter doing well?”…… She wanted to end the phone call before I asked that question…… Or that’s what I think.
But……
Uketsu: If little Yui passed away in room 102, then Little Makita Manor’s landlord and residents hid that from Mr. Urakawa. For what reason?
Kurihara: Mr. Uketsu. I don’t think that Yui passed away in room 102.
Uketsu: Huh?
Kurihara: If little Yui did pass away, then I think it happened outside the apartments… More specifically, on the expressway.
Uketsu: The expressway?! Why are you suddenly…?
Kurihara: Well, this is merely speculation, but if you put together all the information we have so far, it becomes more likely that this is what happened.
Left Leg
Kurihara: Let’s assume that all my deductions so far are correct. In that case, one of Ms. Mako Kirimura’s legs is disabled and, in the past, she lost her daughter, Yui.
Uketsu: Right.
Kurihara: Speaking of which, which of the culprit’s legs is disabled?
It seemed like the left leg was dragging.
Uketsu: Mr. Urakawa saw that she was dragging her left leg.
Kurihara: That’s right, the left. So then, why was the culprit’s left leg disabled? I can think of many reasons, but here’s my deduction.
Kurihara: Little Yui was sitting to the left of Ms. Mako.
Kurihara: Let’s say, for example, that Ms. Mako made a mistake with her steering and the car got into a collision on the left side of the road.
(Translator’s note: Keep in mind, cars drive on the left side of the road in Japan, and drivers sit on the right-hand seat.)
In that case, the person who got the brunt of all that damage was little Yui, who was sitting on the left side. Also, Ms. Mako suffered a serious injury to her left leg.
Uketsu: So you’re saying, Yui died in an accident…… But if that’s the case, why are offerings being sent to Little Makita Manor, which has nothing to do with the scene of the accident?
Kurihara: ……….Mr. Uketsu. I’m changing the subject here, but do you know what “graves” are for?
Uketsu: Huh? What’s this all of a sudden………. Uh, so that those who pass away……can rest in peace?
Kurihara: Not so. It’s so that the living can visit their grave.
Uketsu: You’re quite the realist.
Kurihara: You see, when people die, they’re gone, disappointing as it is. They disappear, leaving only ashes. But those who still live can’t stand that. So they create a “place to stay” for the dead. That’s what a grave is. They decide to believe, “This is where their spirit is.” They deceive themselves. If they don’t deceive themselves to ease their loneliness, they can’t keep on living.
Uketsu: ……
Kurihara: Of course, graves aren’t the only “places to stay.” Buddhist altars and urns can also be that. When there’s a traffic accident, there are people who leave flowers by the side of the road. Those people “decide to believe” that there’s a spirit at the roadside. The living arbitrarily decide where spirits are. Little Yui died in a traffic accident. So then people may think that Yui’s spirit is at the side of the road. But Yui’s mother didn’t want to believe that. She didn’t want Yui to be in a place that reeks of exhaust fumes and filthy from all the people and cars. So she decided to believe that Yui’s spirit is “in” room 102 of Little Makita Manor.
April 1999 – February 2005: Keiichi Mizuhara
April 2005 – March 2013: Eita, Sana Kuramoto (married)
August 2013 – March 2020: Mako, Yui Kirimura (parent and child)
June 2020 – September 2020: Yosuke, Miki Akiyama (married)
February 2021 – June 2021: Ryouichi Tanabe
October 2021 – : Mitsutoshi Urakawa
The two of them spent less than seven years in room 102. According to your judgement, Mr. Uketsu, Ms. Mako is young, so Yui is still a little girl. In other words, Yui spent most of her life in room 102. For Ms. Mako, room 102 was probably the only appropriate place for little Yui to “be.”
Uketsu: ……
Even though I agreed with half of what Mr. Kurihara said, I still had doubts. If she wants to hold a memorial service for little Yui, she should’ve kept living in room 102.
It takes too much effort to live in a place far away, look up the name of whoever’s living there, and send offerings under false names. Moreover, the contents of the offerings are baffling.
If you hold a memorial service for a child, wouldn’t you naturally give sweets or toys as an offering? Packaged food and instant rice……are things I wouldn’t think to give to a child.
Uketsu: I wonder……if that’s how it really is……
Kurihara: Well, it’s just speculation.
After we hung up, I searched for “Yui Kirimura” on the Internet. If there was a fatal accident, there should be a news article somewhere.
However, no such information showed up.
I then looked up “Mako Kirimura,” “Yui Kirimura accident,” and “Mako Kirimura accident,” but still could not find anything. Perhaps the name was omitted because the deceased was a small child.
So then I searched for details of the accident…… I searched for “fatal accident due to car colliding with side of the road.” After searching for a few dozen minutes, one article caught my eye.
“Vehicle Collides with Tomei Expressway Roadside, One Dead.”
When I read the article, I was shocked.
Passenger Seat
Uketsu: Hello, Mr. Kurihara. I found one. An article about the accident.
Kurihara: Oh! You did it.
Uketsu: But……your deduction was a bit off, Mr. Kurihara.
Kurihara: What?
On March 19, 2013, an accident occurred on the Tomei Expressway near the Yokohama-Machida Interchange when a mini truck collided with the side of the road.
At the time of the accident, it is believed that the vehicle was travelling on the right-hand lane, and due to a mistake in steering, collided with the right-side wall.
The driver, Eita Kuramoto (age 27) died. His wife, Sana (age 27), who was sitting in the passenger seat, sustained serious but not life-threatening injuries to the left side of her body.
Mr. Eita was to start working for a company in Ebina in Kanagawa Prefecture in April, and the couple was in the middle of moving.
Kurihara: Eita and Sana……Kuramoto……
Uketsu: Yes.
April 1999 – February 2005: Keiichi Mizuhara
April 2005 – March 2013: Eita, Sana Kuramoto (married)
August 2013 – March 2020: Mako, Yui Kirimura (parent and child)
June 2020 – September 2020: Yosuke, Miki Akiyama (married)
February 2021 – June 2021: Ryouichi Tanabe
October 2021 – : Mitsutoshi Urakawa
Uketsu: A married couple who lived in room 102 from 2005 to 2013. The culprit was Sana Kuramoto.
Kurihara: ……But if that’s the case, why is her left foot………. Oh! That’s what happened……….
Uketsu: Yes………. Mr. Kurihara, earlier you deduced that, “Because of a mistake in steering, the car collided with the left side of the road. As a result, the culprit’s left leg became disabled.” But it was actually the opposite.
At the time of the accident, it is believed that the vehicle was travelling on the right-hand lane, and due to a mistake in steering, collided with the right-side wall.
…
His wife, Sana (age 27), who was sitting in the passenger seat, sustained serious but not life-threatening injuries to the left side of her body.
Uketsu: The car collided with the right side. However, Sana Kuramoto sustained serious injuries to the left side of her body. It’s a little confusing, but if you think it through calmly, it’s quite simple. Sana Kuramoto was in the passenger seat.
(Translator’s note: Again, keep in mind the passenger seat would be on the left side.)
Uketsu: If a moving car does a sudden, sharp turn to the right, the law of inertia says that whoever’s in the passenger seat will slam against the left side of the car.
Kurihara: The reason Sana Kuramoto survived was, when her body leaned to the left, she narrowly missed getting the brunt of the collision on the right side.
Uketsu: Yes.
Kurihara: I see. I’ve been utterly defeated.
Uketsu: No, your guess about the “car accident” was correct, so you just about solved this mystery.
Kurihara: Well, if you put it that way, then it’s true.
Uketsu: That’s not being very humble…… But in that case, I’m worried about Ms. Mako Kirimura’s behavior. If she isn’t the culprit, then what was she trying to hide……?
Kurihara: Ah, it was probably………. No, I won’t say anything about that.
Uketsu: Eh? Why? If you know something, please tell me.
Kurihara: No, I think this is something I shouldn’t talk about…… I’m changing the subject here, Mr. Uketsu, but have you ever lived in poverty?
Uketsu: That’s really changing the subject…… Living in poverty…… No, I haven’t.
Kurihara: Same here. My father worked for a bank, and though we weren’t rich, we never had to go hungry.
Uketsu: Wait, having a good upbringing is all well and good…… But what does that have to do with this incident?
Kurihara: ……It could be that people like us can’t understand the true nature of this incident.
Uketsu: ……What do you mean by that?
Kurihara: Sorry. I need to head out and take care of something, so I’ll call you another time.
Leaving only those thought-provoking words, Mr. Kurihara hung up the phone. I then phoned Mr. Urakawa and told him everything we learned up to now.
Urakawa: Thank you. So that’s how it is. I just want to know the reason. I have no intention of complaining to the sender. This makes me feel much better. Really, thank you for everything.
“This makes me feel much better,” he said, but I sensed that his voice sounded anxious and depressed.
I had a feeling……
This isn’t over yet.
Phone
A few days later, the situation suddenly changed.
While I was working at home, I received a phone call from an unknown number. Somehow, the number seemed familiar. I racked my brain trying to remember.
One memory came to mind.
Sana Kuramoto…… It’s the cell phone number of the one who sent all those packages.
April 1999 – February 2005: Keiichi Mizuhara
April 2005 – March 2013: Eita, Sana Kuramoto (married)
August 2013 – March 2020: Mako, Yui Kirimura (parent and child)
June 2020 – September 2020: Yosuke, Miki Akiyama (married)
February 2021 – June 2021: Ryouichi Tanabe
October 2021 – : Mitsutoshi Urakawa
In the past, when I called the past residents of room 102, I called Sana Kuramoto’s cell phone but got no answer. But to think I’m now getting a call from her……
I nervously answered. I then heard a delicate female voice on the phone.
“Sorry for bothering you with this phone call. This is Rie Matsuhara.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. I never heard this name before. The woman continued.
“I believe you called my cell phone the other day… I’m now calling you back.”
“Yes…… I did give you a call…… Uh, I’m terribly sorry, but this wouldn’t happen to be Ms. Sana Kuramoto’s cell phone, would it?”
“Yes, that’s right. My apologies, I didn’t introduce myself properly. My name is Rie, and I’m Sana’s older sister.”
“What?...... Oh! Is that so? Please excuse me.”
I need to get this straight in my head. She got married to Eita Kuramoto, so Sana changed her family name to “Kuramoto.” “Matsuhara” must be her maiden name.
But why is Sana’s older sister answering her cell phone? There’s no point in wondering. I decided to explain the circumstances which led to this phone call.
Rie: Is that so…… I didn’t know……
Uketsu: As an older sister, were you not aware of this?
Rie: No. Because ever since Mr. Eita passed away, she shut herself inside her house for quite a long time, and hardly ever contacted the rest of the family.
Uketsu: Is that so…… Would Ms. Sana still be a shut-in even now?
Rie: No…… She passed away three months ago.
Uketsu: What?!
Rie: This spring, she found out that she had cancer…… By the time she found out, it progressed so far that there was nothing that could be done. She passed away in May. It all happened in an instant.
Uketsu: May…… Did she really pass away in “May”?
Rie: Yes……… Is there something……?
That’s strange. Mr. Urakawa received a package this month, in early August. If Ms. Sana died in May, then who……?
Uketsu: Uh…… Pardon me for asking, you wouldn’t happen to be……sending packages on behalf of Ms. Sana, would you?
Rie: No. This is the first time I’ve heard about my sister sending packages.
Uketsu: Yes, of course…… Ah, then, could it be that, for example……Ms. Sana asked someone to send packages on her behalf before she passed away?
Rie: No. In the last few years of her life, she didn’t seem to interact with anyone.
Uketsu: Is that so……
Rie: But…… It seemed like she was waiting for someone.
Uketsu: Eh?
Rie: While she was in the hospital, she was delirious, muttering things like “he isn’t coming” or “won’t he come” until she passed away.
Uketsu: ……Who could she have been waiting for?
Rie: I don’t know. It could be that medical treatment made her memory hazy.
After the phone call, I was in a daze for quite a while.
Ms. Sana passed away three months ago. But a package was still delivered this month.
So who sent this?
After thinking about it for a while, I suddenly remembered something. When I saw this package at the beginning, I had an unpleasant feeling I couldn’t quite put a finger on.
And then, there was the feeling of discomfort when I saw Mr. Urakawa’s photo that he sent me.
Until now, I didn’t pay much attention to it. But I wonder if this feeling of discomfort is a clue about the truth behind this incident.
Right then, I flashed back to the thought-provoking remark Mr. Kurihara made.
It could be that people like us can’t understand the true nature of this incident.
True nature.
Suddenly, I remembered the words I heard over the phone from Ms. Mako Kirimura. Those words which contained the refusal, “I know nothing.”
Could it be…?
The scattered pieces of information in my head were coming together. Before long, they connected into a single image.
The true nature of this incident is……
August
I phoned Mr. Urakawa.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Uketsu: Hello, this is Uketsu.
Urakawa: Aah! Thank you for all your help.
Uketsu: Mr. Urakawa, there’s something I would like to tell you. Please remain calm and listen.
Urakawa: Pardon?
Uketsu: It seems like the one who’s been sending those packages, Ms. Sana Kuramoto, passed away in May this year.
Urakawa: ……
After a long silence, he spoke in a small voice.
Urakawa: ……Just as I thought.
Uketsu: Just as you thought…… So you had some idea. Mr. Urakawa. Perhaps it’s time you told me the truth?
Urakawa: …………………………
Uketsu: Ever since I saw that photo you sent me, I thought something was strange.
Uketsu: There were only eight months’ worth of photos of those packages. The first package arrived in October last year. You said that “packages were sent every month.” If so……
Uketsu: There should be a total of 11 months’ worth of photos. So what happened to the other three months? There was a clue on the certification stamps.
Uketsu: In addition to the name of the post office, a certification stamp also has the date. When I rearranged the photos by date, I realized something was strange.
Uketsu: May, June, and July are missing. And on the package from August, the certification stamp was peeled off for some reason. I didn’t pay much attention to it, but when I really thought about it, I thought it was strange. Certification stamps are much like postage stamps. They’re made so that they can’t be easily peeled off. In other words, someone intentionally tore it off. So who tore it off……? It could only be you, Mr. Urakawa.
Urakawa: ……Yes………. As you said, I tore it off……
Uketsu: Right. You didn’t want me to see the certification stamp from the August package. Why? Because the printed date said “May.” So really, that package was delivered to you in May.
Uketsu: Ms. Sana passed away in May. That means that delivery of the packages should have stopped after June. You pretended that the “last” package that arrived in May is “the package that arrived in August.” You wanted me to think, “Even now, packages are being sent.” As for why, the clue was inside the package.
Uketsu: When I had a look at the package you sent me, I felt that something was off.
Uketsu: It was because I felt something was different when I looked at the photo. But I didn’t know exactly what.
Uketsu: It was the best-before date written on the side of the package of curry. The one in the photo says “2023.12.29”, but the actual package you sent me says “2014.1.24.” They’re quite different, aren’t they? Not only the curry, but the packaged food, the instant rice, everything is probably different. They may look the same at first glance, but the contents were replaced entirely.
Urakawa: ……….
Uketsu: I made a request to you, saying, “Please send me the package that came in August.”
Uketsu: However, right now we don’t have enough clues…… Oh, right. Do you still have the packages you received?
Urakawa: Yes. I pretty much have all of them.
Uketsu: Would you be able to send them to me?
Urakawa: ……Well, let’s see. Each one is quite large, so sending them all……
Uketsu: I suppose that would be difficult. Then, could you send me what you received just this month?
Urakawa: Yes…… I can agree to that. I will send it to you soon.
Uketsu: At that point in time, the food in that package was all gone, wasn’t it? So you rushed to buy the same foods that was in the package, put it in the box in the same way, and sent it to me. All this just so nobody would find out the food was already gone. Why did you do that? And where did all the food in the package go?
Urakawa: ……….Now, could you go easy on me……?
Uketsu: Go easy……? I don’t think you did anything wrong. You ate the food that was in the package, didn’t you?
Over the phone, I heard Mr. Urakawa groan.
Uketsu: “Nobody would eat stuff from a mysterious package sent by an unknown person”…… I thought that was a matter of course. But that’s probably just an assumption made by someone who lived in good circumstances. My acquaintance Mr. Kurihara said, “People like us can’t understand the true nature of this incident.” What did he mean by “people like us?” Now I know. He meant, “people who live without ever knowing hunger.” In October last year, you lost your job and took refuge by renting a room in Little Makita Manor. You had trouble even paying 20,000 yen a month for rent since you didn’t have the money. Then, all of a sudden, a package was delivered. Some food was inside. You must have felt conflicted. You couldn’t eat food if you didn’t know where it came from. It would be a shameful act, as if you threw away your humanity. But your stomach was empty. You had no money. In the end, you couldn’t take it anymore and you ate the food. After that, a package was sent to you every month. You continued to eat the food. From your standpoint, this unknown sender was a benefactor helping you survive. But after June this year, the packages stopped coming for some reason. You perhaps thought, “Something might’ve happened to the sender.” But the addresses on the shipping labels doesn’t exist, and the names are fake. Searching was fruitless. So you turned to me. Your true goal was to find the sender’s location and to check on their well-being. But if you told me that honestly, you would reveal that you were “eating food from an unknown source.” Your pride didn’t allow that. So you arranged a fake consultation by saying, “I’m troubled by these packages being sent to me, please find out the truth.” Isn’t that so?
Mr. Urakawa was sniffling. Eventually, he spoke with a trembling voice.
Urakawa: I’m sorry……for deceiving you…… At that time, I was starving. Just going to job interviews…… My money was gone from traveling expenses and other things, and I couldn’t even get a part-time job……
Uketsu: It must have been tough……
Urakawa: If I don’t eat for several days……I really wouldn’t be able to even move. My arms and legs don’t respond, as if my nerves are disconnected…… This is what I mean when I say that my life was in critical danger. I didn’t eat because I was hungry or because it tasted good, I ate because I didn’t want to die. I ate to protect my life. It was the first time in my life I felt that way.
Uketsu: ……
Urakawa: In April this year, I finally got a job again. It’s at a small factory, and the monthly wage is low, but I’m no longer worried about food. A short time after that, the packages suddenly stopped coming. I didn’t know who the sender was or what her intentions were. But if it weren’t for those packages, I would have died. She saved my life. At the very least, I wanted to thank her……
Uketsu: ……….I hesitated to tell you this, but you weren’t the only one who was saved by those packages, Mr. Urakawa.
Urakawa: ……What?
Conclusion
Next, I phoned Ms. Mako Kirimura.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kirimura: ……Hello?
Uketsu: I’m terribly sorry for interrupting your busy schedule. I’m an Internet writer…
Kirimura: You again?! Please stop talking to me!
Uketsu: Please excuse me! After this, I will never call you again. But there’s just one thing I wanted to ask you before you hang up. A woman named Ms. Sana Kuramoto sent packages to room 102 of Little Makita Manor. It seems like Ms. Sana passed away three months ago.
Kirimura: What……?
She said that with some surprise. As I expected……
Uketsu: When you were living there, Ms. Kirimura, packages were being sent to you as well.
Kirimura: …………………That woman, why did she pass away?
After that, Ms. Kirimura told me about her past, bit by bit. As I thought, she was in the same situation as Mr. Urakawa.
10 years ago, when she was 18 and living off a part-time job, she became pregnant by a senior co-worker. The day after she told him, he disappeared. She had no expectations, so she didn’t feel dejected. But she had money troubles.
In August 2013, with nowhere to go and the newly born Yui in her arms, she rented a room at Little Makita Manor. With her duties taking care of a baby, she didn’t have any spare time to work.
In those days, she earned some money from affiliate sites, but even then she fell way behind in rent. She refrained from eating. Even without eating, she still produced breast milk. “If my child has a full stomach, then this is fine”……is what she thought.
But…
Kirimura: If the mother doesn’t eat, then she doesn’t produce much milk.
Every day, her baby’s cries throughout the night became more intense. She was hungry. At a time when she needed nutrition the most, she wasn’t getting enough milk.
Ms. Kirimura tried to produce as much milk as she could. In desperation, her breasts became covered in wounds, and she was bleeding more than she was producing milk.
“I have no nutrition to give to the child”……is what her body told her, against her wishes.
She despised her own body. She was miserable.
At that time, a packaged was delivered. Inside was some food.
Without a shred of hesitation, she devoured it. She crammed food into her mouth and stomach, not just to live, but to survive.
A few years later, when little Yui was able to go to daycare, Ms. Kirimura finally got a job. And then, two years ago, she moved out of Little Makita Manor and into another apartment.
Little Yui will be nine years old this year.
Kirimura: She’s so full of energy, so she’s a real handful. She’s like a boy, always getting into trouble and running off somewhere by herself. Every day is tough.
Like Mr. Urakawa, she felt guilty about eating food from an unknown source. But when we talked about Ms. Sana, her thinking seemed to change.
Before we hung up, she asked me this.
Kirimura: If it’s okay with you…… Would you tell me where her grave is......? I’d like to take my daughter and give her my thanks.
Uketsu: Sure thing. I got in contact with Ms. Sana’s older sister, so I’ll ask her.
Kirimura: Thank you.
Her Goal
Everything was finished. The mystery was solved.
……Or should have been.
But in the back of my mind, there were some lingering thoughts. There were some things I didn’t agree with at all.
Was the reason for Ms. Sana Kuramoto sending packages to room 102 really to give an “offering”?
Each time I look at these photos, my suspicions deepened. It doesn’t look at all like an “offering.”
The instant rice is one thing, but I’ve never seen anyone offer packaged food to the dead.
No matter how I think it over, these packages were meant for living people. But for what purpose? What did Ms. Sana have to gain from sending care packages to residents of room 102?
Thinking there may be another clue hidden there, I looked at the photo one more time.
Just then, there was one photo where I noticed one thing strange.
The package sent last year in October. There was one thing that caught my attention.
This part must have been torn off when the packing tape was peeled off. The edge of the thin top layer was torn off, showing what was underneath. Something was inside there.
The color of this thing is clearly different from the cardboard. What is this?
After some thinking, I jolted in surprise.
Cardboard is made up of a corrugated core in between two sheets of paper. Therefore, cardboard has lots of empty spaces inside. If you want to hide something, wouldn’t this be the perfect place?
I ripped open the top layer of the package I had. When I did…
As I thought, something was hidden.
I carefully took it out.
It looked like a piece of paper rolled into a cylinder.
I opened it up.
乞母神、以此魂代价、使霊回生. “Beg mother goddess, through substitution this soul, use spirit resurrect.”
Words written with a brush. It seemed to be Japanese mixed with Chinese. As I began to understand the meaning, a chill ran up my spine.
“Plead to the mother goddess, and this soul will be taken as compensation to resurrect the dead.”
Compensation
When I searched the term “乞母神、以此魂代价、使霊回生“ on the Internet, one site showed up.
Necromancy According to Folklore
Fri October 12, 2012 – Investigator, Author: Mitsuru Kageno (ODD Editorial Department)
In many parts of the world, there are customs where people attempt to communicate with the dead through necromancy. In Japan, this practice was commonly called “Hotoke-oroshi” (calling down the dead) for over 1,800 years.
Many necromancy methods involve a dead person’s spirit possessing a living person’s body. This possessed person (that is, the person who lent their body to a spirit) is called a “yorishiro”, or a “vessel” possessed by a spirit. Because a vessel requires a high level of spiritual power and skill, professional necromancers, shamans, and mediums are typically hired.
Of course, it’s not impossible for an amateur to perform a séance. For example, “Kokkuri-san” (similar to an Ouija board) was popular with children since ancient times because anyone can experience what it’s like to communicate with the dead. However, Kokkuri-san can only summon so-called low-class spirits like foxes and raccoon dogs. In the case of summoning human spirits, a specialist would be needed.
However, among all the methods to communicate with the dead, there are a small number where a specialist is not needed. I will introduce some of them, but please do not do any of these out of curiosity as they are extremely dangerous.
Method 1 - Kuchidooshi
One method is “Kuchidooshi” (through the mouth). This is folk necromancy based on Chinese Buddhism. It differs from other methods in one respect, which will be discussed later.
Instructions
First, handwrite the message “乞母神、以此魂代价、使霊回生.“ This is an oath written to a god.
Get some rice grains and mirrors and isolate the person who will be the “vessel” in the house where the deceased used to live. While the vessel is holding rice grains in their mouth and looking at a mirror, place a paper soaked in the blood of a relative or spouse of the deceased in between the vessel’s lips. According to this ritual, the spirit of the dead will inhabit the body of the vessel.
In addition, this ritual differs from other methods of necromancy in the following ways:
Many necromancy techniques achieve the revival of the dead by having a vessel “lend” their body. But in “Kuchidooshi”, the soul of the vessel is offered to the mother goddess, and in exchange, the spirit of the deceased is “returned” to the body of the vessel. In other words, it’s an exchange of the living for the dead. As a result, the person being used as a vessel will never again go back to how they were before.
I’ve never heard this before, and there’s no other site that talks about this “kuchidooshi” ritual.
This was probably made up by the author of this article. But let’s say that, while she was alive, Ms. Sana stumbled upon this site and took it seriously……
Get some rice grains and mirrors and isolate the person who will be the “vessel” in the house where the deceased used to live.
Mirrors and rice grains…… Something came to mind.
The daily necessities inside the package that I always wondered about.
Aluminum foil, aluminum bowl, aluminum plates…… All of these are mirror-like in nature. Furthermore, each package has instant rice stuffed into them.
These are rice grains and mirrors.
It can’t be… Could it be that Ms. Sana was using residents of room 102 as “vessel,” and using necromancy to call down Mr. Eita……?
“But it seemed like she was waiting for someone.”
“While she was in the hospital, she was delirious, muttering things like “he isn’t coming” or “won’t he come” until she passed away.”
Does that mean Ms. Sana was waiting for Mr. Eita, who possessed one of the residents?
No, but there’s no use. It’s pointless sending implements of “necromancy” to room 102 if the residents won’t perform the ritual. From Ms. Sana’s point of view, it may have been a plan to plead before a deity, but her hope was too slim.
Above all that, key implements were missing.
While the vessel is holding rice grains in their mouth and looking at a mirror, place a paper soaked in the blood of a relative or spouse of the deceased in between the vessel’s lips.
“Paper soaked in blood”…… That kind of thing was nowhere inside.
What she had was not enough.
When I thought this, an unpleasant idea came to mind.
The packaged food.
The food items in the package were mapo tofu, chicken curry, tomato paste…… All liquids with a strong red color. If, for example, a hypodermic needle was used to mix blood into the food packages, it would be unnoticeable if it’s only a small amount.
This unpleasant thought started to expand.
Mr. Urakawa and Ms. Kirimura ate the food that they were sent. They probably ate the instant rice along with the packaged food.
Grains of rice in their mouth. Their lips smeared with food containing blood. And then……
They wipe it with tissues. Then blood gets soaked into the tissues.
While I was thinking about that, my eyes were inadvertently drawn towards the aluminum items in the package.
It wasn’t impossible.
While the vessel is holding rice grains in their mouth and looking at a mirror, place a paper soaked in the blood of a relative or spouse of the deceased in between the vessel’s lips.
It happened. Everyday actions became a ritual for communicating with the dead. Did she really plan for all this to happen?
No, even if she did, what does it matter?
Mr. Urakawa and Ms. Kirimura are alive and healthy. I feel sorry for Ms. Sana, but the necromancy ritual had no effect. To begin with, the idea that blood, rice, and mirrors could resurrect the dead is completely ridiculous.
But…
What Ms. Mako Kirimura said about her daughter, Yui, went through my mind for a moment.
She’s so full of energy, so she’s a real handful. She’s like a boy, always getting into trouble and running off somewhere by herself. Every day is tough.
I quickly dismissed it.
(The End)