Hi Kelsey,

I believe that’s actually a typo. I meant to write Edo Period, not Heian Period. I don’t know of any kuchisake onna from the Heian Period, but there are stories in Edo Period sources (Kaidan rou no tsue, Ehon sayo shigure).

Kuchisake onna as we know her today really was born in the 70’s. Although the same story pattern appears in the past, the 1970’s version doesn’t seem to have been consciously based on it, and may have just been spontaneously reinvented.

Apparently, every now and then, there are “kuchisake-onna epidemics” where many people report sightings within a short period of time. These get into the newspaper when they happen. I guess it’s kind of a sort of mass hallucination, where if you hear about one incident you are more likely to imagine one up yourself.

And want makes this Yokai even creepier to me, was during my research on her I came across a Japanese newspaper that had been translated. It talked of a beautiful, self-absorbed woman who had been chasing kids around with shears. She wasn’t paying attention and got hit by a car. The underside of the car tore up her face, slitting her mouth from ear to ear.