We Opened a Cursed Box in a Japanese Temple and Unleashed the Ryomen-sukuna. Now I Fear I Won’t Live Long.

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Some things are best left undisturbed. This is a story from a Japanese online forum, a chilling account from a construction worker who stumbled upon something that should have remained sealed forever. What began as a routine demolition of an old temple quickly spiraled into a nightmare involving an ancient curse and a grotesque discovery. This is the tale of Ryoumen-sukuna.

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I work in the construction industry, and the other day we had to dismantle an old temple in Iwate Prefecture. This temple had no visitors anymore. As we were demolishing it, a colleague called me over. “Hey, come here for a sec.” When I went over, lying at his feet was a long, blackened wooden box.

Me: “What’s this?”
Colleague: “I’m not sure… It was in a sealed room at the back of the main hall. I’ll call the management company and ask.”

The wooden box was about 2 meters long and seemed ancient, the wood likely rotting. There was a white piece of paper attached to it, bearing some kind of script. The writing was archaic; I could barely make out a few characters. The paper was so deteriorated that it was almost impossible to read, but I could just barely decipher:

“Taisho ?? Year ?? July ?? Sealed with the curse of Ryoumen-sukuna.”

The box was nailed shut, so we couldn’t open it. The management company said they would ask an old head priest about it the next day. So, we left the box in a nearby prefab building for the night.

The next day, before arriving at the site, I got a call from the management company:

Company: “About that wooden box, the former head priest is absolutely furious. He said it must not be opened under any circumstances… He insists on taking it himself.”

To be safe, I decided to call the site supervisor about the box before getting there.

Me: “Um, about that box from yesterday…”
Supervisor: “Oh, that! The two Chinese part-time workers we hired opened it on their own! Please come quickly.”

A knot of dread tightened in my stomach as I rushed to the site. There were 5-6 people gathered around the prefab. The two Chinese workers were sitting in front of the prefab in a daze.

Supervisor: “These guys opened it out of curiosity last night. The problem is with what was inside… Take a look.”

To put it bluntly, there was a mummified human figure inside, posed with its hands like a boxer. The grotesque part was that it had two heads. It looked like a conjoined twin. I thought it was either a deformed person or a made-up figure…

Supervisor: “After seeing this, they seem to be in shock or something. These two haven’t said a word.”

The Chinese workers were unresponsive, even though they spoke decent Japanese.

I forgot to mention, the mummy had two heads on either side, four arms (two on each side), and two legs like normal. I had seen photos of various deformities on the internet and 2ch, so it was surprising but I thought, “Oh, it’s either a deformity or a fake.”

We decided to take the Chinese workers to the hospital and were discussing whether to contact the police when the former head priest (over 80 years old) arrived in a car driven by his son. The priest bellowed:

Priest: “Did you open it?! You fools! It’s the end if you open it…”

We were stunned by his fury, but then he turned his rage on his son. The priest’s dialect was strong, so here’s the standard version:

Priest: “You were supposed to send Ryoumen-sukuna to the temple in Kyoto! Didn’t you?! You idiot!”

The priest’s voice was unbelievably loud for someone over 80.

Priest: “Who opened it? The hospital? Those people are probably doomed, but I’ll purify you anyway.”

We were honestly scared, so we let him chant something over us and hit us hard on the back and shoulders with some kind of scripture. It took about 30 minutes. The priest loaded the box into the car and said as he left:

Priest: “I am truly sorry… but you are not long for this world.”

After that, one of the Chinese workers died of heart failure (the doctors were puzzled), the other was moved to a mental hospital, three workers fell ill with high fevers, and I stepped on a nail and needed five stitches. I don’t know the details, but I think that mummy was a deformed person who died with resentment due to discrimination. It had a terrifying expression… Maybe it’s related to the fact that the area had a Buraku settlement in the past. I want to live a long life.

My ID changed, but I’m 452. The computer suddenly shut down and scared me… I’m curious about these things since I browse the occult board, so I kept trying to contact the priest for the truth, but he ignored me. However, I found the contact information for his son (over 50, in real estate), who seemed more open. I have an appointment to drink with him tonight (late at night). I’ll write if I find out anything.

The story of Ryoumen-sukuna appears in the manga “Professor Munakata’s Tales of Mystery.” The Sukuna tribe, likely foreigners who came to ancient Japan, brought culture to ancient Japan. This led to the formation of Izumo culture and inspired the legend of the White Rabbit of Inaba and the story of Okuninushi no Mikoto.

Then, the Yamato Court invaded Izumo, and the Sukuna tribe fled to the Hida region. According to the Nihon Shoki, a monster named Sukuna in Hida killed people, so soldiers were sent to eliminate it.

In other words, Sukuna was a foreigner who brought culture to Japan before the Yamato Court and was likely involved in iron-making, bringing ironwork to Japan. A cave found in Izumo had a statue of Ryoumen-sukuna.

The Sukuna tribe came to Japan on a “Lama Boat” (a black, shining boat), and the name “Lama” comes from ebony. The blackened wooden box might also be made of this lama wood… Maybe Ryoumen-sukuna was a descendant of the Sukuna tribe who escaped to Iwate.

Sorry, this might not fit the occult board.

Sorry again, the priest’s son hesitated to meet directly, but agreed to talk on the phone. We talked for about 30 minutes. He was quite talkative. Here are the main points:

Son: “Sorry, my father insisted. Even a phone call is risky.”
Me: “No, thank you for accommodating. So, what exactly was that?”
Son: “That was a deformed person exhibited in a freak show during the Taisho era.”
Me: “So, it was a person who lived in that state? A conjoined twin?”
Son: “Yes. They lived in a certain Buraku in Iwate for a few years, but their parents sold them to a freak show due to financial difficulties.”
Me: “I see… But why is it mummified?”
Son: “It’s more like a Sokushinbutsu (a self-mummified monk).”
Me: “Does that mean they willingly became like that?”
Son: “Will you tell someone about this?”
Me: “To be honest… I want to talk about it.”
Son: “Fair enough. I won’t tell you everything, but it was forced. There was a cult that did this… I won’t name the cult, but it still exists quietly today.”
Me: “Would people recognize the cult if they heard the name?”
Son: “No, it’s very secretive and truly heretical.”
Me: “I see…”

Sorry, the PC shut down again…

Son: “The cult leader was a terrible man, using only forbidden methods.”
Me: “Forbidden methods?”
Son: “Yes, things you shouldn’t do. There was a fuss over Shingon Tachikawa-ryu being a heresy, but this was much worse.”
Me: “Like what?”
Son: “There are no records, and he used an alias. He wasn’t a public figure, but his name was Mononobe Tengoku.”
Me: “Mononobe Tengoku, an alias?”
Son: “Yes, an alias. He bought several deformed people, including the conjoined twin, from the freak show for a huge sum.”
Me: “And then?”
Son: “Do you know about Kodoku? A curse using insects?”
Me: “Is that where you put multiple poisonous insects in a pot, and the last one surviving is used for curses?”
Son: “Exactly! How do you know that? Amazing.”
Me: “Well, sort of… So what?”
Son: “Tengoku did that with humans.”
Me: “Humans in a sealed room? No way.”
Son: “I heard this from my father, so I don’t fully believe it either… Should I stop?”
Me: “No, please continue.”
Son: “Alright. He did this with several deformed people. He sealed them in a basement room at the cult’s headquarters or somewhere. The conjoined twin survived.”
Me: “How long were they sealed?”
Son: “I don’t know exactly, but imagine having to eat your companions’ flesh and your own waste to survive.”
Me: “I’d rather not imagine…”

Son: “Apparently, Tengoku rigged it so the conjoined twin would survive. He inflicted fatal wounds on the others and threw them in almost dead. The conjoined twin looked like an Ashura statue, which Tengoku found fascinating.”
Me: “I see…”
Son: “The survivor was just a tool for Tengoku, so it was soon isolated in another room and starved to death. It was preserved and made into a Sokushinbutsu. That’s what my father meant by completing Ryoumen-sukuna.”
Me: “What is Ryoumen-sukuna?”

The son didn’t explain as thoroughly as 476, but he said it’s based on an ancient legend of a monster with two faces and four arms from the mythological era.

Me: “I see…”
Son: “Tengoku made Ryoumen-sukuna the cult’s main idol, a cursed Buddha. He believed it could kill people through curses, maybe even many people.”
Me: “Who were the targets of these curses?”
Son: “According to my father, the state itself.”
Me: “Japan as a whole? The man was clearly unhinged.”
Son: “He probably was. But the curse’s power wasn’t just that. Tengoku put something inside Ryoumen-sukuna’s stomach…”
Me: “What was it?”
Son: “The bones of ancient people, defeated rebels from the Yamato Court, the so-called ‘unsubmissive people.’ He ground their bones into powder and put it inside the stomach.”
Me: “Where did he get those bones?”
Son: “You’ve seen on TV or in the news about ancient ruins and tombs being excavated, right? Security was lax back then, so they mostly stole from those sites.”

Me: “It’s hard to believe such a story…”
Son: “I know. But there were many disasters during the Taisho era.”

1914 (Taisho 3): Sakurajima eruption (9,600 injured)
1914 (Taisho 3): Akita earthquake (94 dead)
1914 (Taisho 3): Hokutan coal mine explosion (687 dead)
1916 (Taisho 5): Hakodate fire
1917 (Taisho 6): East Japan flood (1,300 dead)
1917 (Taisho 6): Kirino coal mine explosion (361 dead)
1922 (Taisho 11): Oyashirazu avalanche (130 dead)
And on September 1, 1923 (Taisho 12), the Great Kanto Earthquake, 142,800 dead or missing.

Me: “So what?”
Son: “They all happened in regions where Ryoumen-sukuna was supposedly moved to.”
Me: “Really? Did the cult have branches everywhere? Sounds like a coincidence to me (I laughed).”
Son: “I think it’s a crazy story too. But on the day of the worst disaster, the Great Kanto Earthquake, Tengoku died just before the earthquake.”
Me: “He died?”
Son: “I heard he committed suicide. There’s a rumor he wasn’t a pure Japanese.”
Me: “How did he die?”
Son: “He slit his throat with a Japanese sword in front of Ryoumen-sukuna. He left a blood-written note…”

Japan Shall Perish

Me: “That was just before the Great Kanto Earthquake?”
Son: “Yes.”
Me: “A coincidence, right?”
Son: “Probably.”
Me: “Where were Tengoku and Ryoumen-sukuna at that time?”
Son: “Near the Sagami Bay coastline, close to the epicenter.”
Me: “How did Ryoumen-sukuna end up at the temple in Iwate?”
Son: “My father wouldn’t say.”
Me: “The head priest mentioned something about not sending it to a temple in Kyoto. What was that about?”
Son: “You heard that? About 30 years ago, I was supposed to succeed my father as a priest. Due to my negligence, it wasn’t sent, and the temple was left abandoned… That’s all I can tell you.”
Me: “Where is Ryoumen-sukuna now?”
Son: “I don’t know. My father’s been unreachable since he took it. He’s been followed by strange cars since then.”
Me: “You said you wouldn’t tell everything, but why did you share so much?”
Son: “My father told you that you wouldn’t live long, didn’t he?”
Me: “…”
Son: “That’s it. Don’t call again.”
Me: “…Thank you.”

That’s the gist of our phone conversation. Honestly, I don’t believe everything. I’m feeling uneasy, so I’ll log off for today. Sorry for the long posts.

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This is where the original posts end. Since then, the story of Ryoumen-sukuna has become a cornerstone of Japanese internet folklore. Is it a true account of a real curse, or a brilliantly crafted piece of fiction? We may never know. But the tale serves as a powerful reminder that some secrets are buried for a reason, and that the past, no matter how deep you hide it, has a way of coming back to haunt you.

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