// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Aka Manto wear? A red flag.
Aka Manto (赤マント; "Red Cloak"),[1] also known as Red Cape,[2] Red Vest,[1] Akai-Kami-Aoi-Kami (赤い紙青い紙; "Red Paper, Blue Paper"),[3] or occasionally Aoi Manto (青マント; "Blue Cloak"),[3] is a Japanese urban legend about a masked spirit who wears a red cloak, and who appears to people using toilets in public or school bathrooms.[3] Accounts of the legend vary, but one consistent element of the story is that the spirit will ask the occupant of a toilet, a question. In some versions, he will ask if they want red or blue toilet paper, though other versions identify the choices as a red or a blue cloak, or as a red or a blue cape. Choosing either option will result in the individual being killed, so the individual must ignore the spirit, or reject both options and flee, in order to survive.
Legend
[edit]Author and folklorist Matthew Meyer has stated that the Aka Manto has been recorded as a schoolyard rumor dating back as early as the 1930s.[1] In that time, the word manto commonly referred to a sleeveless kimono-style jacket, whereas in the modern-day, manto is the Japanese word for cloak or cape.[1] Because of this, different generations have had differing views of Aka Manto's supposed physical appearance.[1]
Aka Manto is described as a male spirit, ghost, or yōkai who haunts bathrooms late at night.[4] Aka Manto is often said to haunt female bathrooms specifically, and in some versions of the legend, he is said to haunt the furthest wall in an individual's bathroom.[4] The spirit is said to wear a flowing red cloak and a mask that hides his face, and is sometimes described as being handsome and charming beneath his mask.[3][4] The true identity of the Aka manto has ranged from that of a serial killer to a ghost who appears as a tall man with a sickly, bluish-white face.[5]
According to legend, if a person is sitting on a toilet in a public or school bathroom, Aka Manto may appear, and will ask them if they want red or blue toilet paper.[3][6] Depending on the version of the story, the spirit may ask them to choose between a red cloak and a blue cloak,[7] or between a red cape and a blue cape. If they choose the "red" option, they will be lacerated in such a manner that their dead body will be drenched in their own blood.[8] The specific manner in which the person is lacerated differs depending on the account of the legend, including the person being stabbed or flayed.[1] If the individual chooses the "blue" option, the consequences range from that person being strangled to all of the person's blood being drained from their body.[9] In some versions of the story, the choices are between red and white paper, with the former resulting in a red tongue rising up out of the toilet to lick the student from below, and the latter resulting in a white hand fondling them from below.[1]
If an individual attempts to outsmart Aka Manto by asking for a different color of toilet paper, cloak, or cape, they will be dragged to an underworld or hell as a result.[10] In some versions, choosing a "yellow" paper, cloak or cape will result in the occupant's head being forced into the toilet, sometimes until they drown.[1][11] Those who bring toilet paper with them into the stall find that it vanishes before they can use it, allowing Aka Manto to present them with its options.[1] Ignoring the spirit, or replying that one does not want or prefer either kind of paper, makes the spirit leave.[11] In some accounts, rejecting both options and running away from Aka Manto will also result in the individual's survival.[1]
In some versions, the Aka manto is a hairy yōkai called a kainade who lives in the toilet. In the kainade’s case, a hairy arm of the chosen color will rise out of the toilet and fondle the student’s behind.[5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Meyer, Matthew (31 October 2016). "Aka manto". Yokai.com. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- ↑ "Japanese Scary Stories: Aka Manto". Japan Info. Japan Info Co., Ltd. 11 June 2015. Archived from the original on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Grundhauser, Eric (2 October 2017). "Get to Know Your Japanese Bathroom Ghosts". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- 1 2 3 Bathroom Readers' Institute 2017, p. 390.
- 1 2 "Aka manto | Yokai.com". yokai.com. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
- ↑ Joly 2012, p. 55.
- ↑ Briggs, Stacia; Connor, Siofra (16 June 2018). "Weird Norfolk: The haunting of Hardley crossroads". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
- ↑ Vago, Mike (15 May 2016). "Don't fall for Japan's urban legends". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- ↑ "トイレの花子さんは時代遅れ？ いまどきの学校の怪談とは" [Is Hanako-san in the toilet obsolete? What is the ghost story of the school of today?] (in Japanese). 18 June 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- ↑ Bricken, Rob (19 July 2016). "14 Terrifying Japanese Monsters, Myths, And Spirits". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 20 July 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- 1 2 Bathroom Readers' Institute 2017, p. 391.
Bibliography
[edit]- Bathroom Readers' Institute (2017). Uncle John's OLD FAITHFUL 30th Anniversary Bathroom Reader (Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Annual). Portable Press. ISBN 978-1684120864.
- Joly, Dom (2012). Scary Monsters and Super Creeps: In Search of the World's Most Hideous Beasts. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0857207647.
Further reading
[edit]- 文芸 [Literature] (in Japanese). Vol. 21. 河出書房新社 (Kawade Shobo Shinsha). 1982.
- Tanemura, Tokihiro (1989). 日本怪談集 [Japan ghost story collection] (in Japanese). Vol. 1. 河出書房新社 (Kawade Shobo Shinsha).
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