Thrilling story in Japan’s ancient long-haired doll shrine

The hair-growing doll is considered one of the most famous horror stories in Japan. More specifically, it is a true story and so far, people can visit and see this creepy doll with their own eyes.
In the world, there are countless stories about dolls that make us shudder just hearing them. People often whisper about dolls with strange abilities or know to do things that no scientist can explain.

Among them, it is impossible to ignore Okiku, also known as “Haunted Doll” in Japan. A series of terrifying phenomena with no explanation happened around this doll. Even though the story happened over 100 years ago, people still shudder at the mention of Okiku dolls. In Japan, people still talk about the legend of a doll that grows hair with the soul of a girl – the ghost doll Okiku. Close-up of Okiku doll that can grow hair There have been many legends about Okiku in the past, but the story that people spread widely is that it was bought by 17-year-old boy – Eikichi Suzuki for his sister in 1918. This doll was bought by her. 3 year old baby Kikuko loves it. Every day no matter where he goes, Kikuko takes it with him and even hugs it when he goes to sleep. After an incident of cold and high fever, little Kikuko passed away. From there, things started to get weird. For the past 100 years, Okiku’s hair has continued to grow, despite being trimmed once a year. If before, Okiku’s hair was just chin-length, now it’s knee-length. Although often cut short, but the hair does not stop growing. They think this is a sign that in the doll there is the soul of the little girl Kikuko. Mannenji temple in Hokkaido In 1938, Kikuko’s family decided to move to another place. They think the best way is to send it to Mannenji temple, in the town of Iwamizawa , Hokkaido. Also share its secrets with the monks. Since then, Okiku has remained in the temple. After hearing the legend of this magical doll, many people came here to see it, but they were not allowed to take pictures. The Okiku doll’s brain continues to grow and it could grow longer if the monks don’t trim it regularly. One of the monks at the temple said he started doing so after having a dream that Okiku asked him to cut her hair. So far, no one can explain why the doll’s hair keeps growing so long. Some sources also believe that the doll’s hair has been tested and concluded that it is a child’s hair, although this information has not been confirmed. The story of the Okiku doll has since become the inspiration for traditional Japanese novels, films and plays. Okiku dolls with their hair growing day by day are placed in the Mannenji temple in Hokkaido. Because dolls still exist to this day and the phenomenon of long hair still occurs. So many people have come up with many theories to try to explain from the scientific point of view this legend. The first hypothesis that came up was that some of the cells weren’t completely dead yet. The hair glue has inadvertently become a source of nutrition for these cells to continue to grow. However, this theory has a flaw that cannot explain why hair can grow to shoulder length. In addition, changes in temperature and humidity from the surrounding environment also lead to rapid hair growth. Besides, it is also said that the long hair is actually because the doll is built with long curls but only reveals a short part, the remaining hair is hidden in the doll’s head. However, these explanations are still not fully convincing because the doll’s hair is in fact neatly combed and tied – something that would not be possible if the doll’s head still had long hair. Although science is very advanced, but because of people’s spiritual beliefs, scientific researchers cannot access to carry out the necessary research to definitively explain the mysterious phenomenon. For that reason, up to now, all explanations have only been hypothesized. Okiku doll’s hair continues to grow and it can grow longer if the monks don’t trim it regularly. One of the monks at the temple said he started doing it after having a dream that Okiku asked him to cut her hair. To this day, no one has been able to explain why the doll’s hair keeps growing so long.