Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama): Eight-Foot-Tall Terror of Japanese Urban Legend/Creepypasta

“Po, po, po.” What if you hear this strange sound from an unusually tall woman? Those who got a liking by Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama). They would be taken away and killed within a few days… I will share one of the most iconic Japanese urban legends (creepypastas) from 2chan that will surely scare you off.

What is Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama) in Japanese urban legends?

Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama/八尺様), also known as “Eight Feet Tall”, is a popular character in Japanese creepypastas. She first emerged as an urban legend story on the Japanese message board 2channel (often shortened as 2chan).

Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama) Urban Legend Story podcast

In 2008, a thread was created on 2chan. The boy who started the thread shared his terrifying experience there.

I will describe “I” as this boy from here…

↓Tap ｢+｣ to expand to read more, ｢–｣ to close each story chapter!

The first encounter

My Grandpa’s house is less than two hours drive from my house.

It was a farmhouse, and I liked the atmosphere there. When I got my driver’s license and motorbike in high school, I used to go there alone during the summer or winter holidays.

I remember my Grandpa and Grandma were always pleased to see me and warmly welcomed me.

But I haven’t been there for more than ten years now.
It’s not that I didn’t go, but I couldn’t. I will share why today.

It was just the beginning of spring break. I went to my grandpa’s house by motorbike and stayed there for a few days.

It was when I was at Engawa, a floor extension of a traditional Japanese house facing a back garden. It was cold, but it was getting warm at the same time with the nice weather, so I had a relaxing time there.

Then I heard.
“Po…Popo…Popo..Po…”

I heard a strange sound.
It was not a mechanical sound, but it sounded more like coming from a person.

As I wondered what it was, I spotted a hat on the hedge in the garden.
The hat moved straight to the side, and when it came to a break in the hedge, I saw a woman wearing a white dress.

But immediately, I realised something was wrong.

The hedge is about two metres high. It’s much higher than my height, and I believe it’s even higher than any person. How tall a woman could stick her head out of that hedge…

While I was trying to figure it out, the woman moved again and disappeared from view. That ‘po-po’ sound had also faded away.

At the time, I only thought it was either a tall woman wearing very thick-soled boots or a tall man wearing high-heeled shoes and dressed as a woman.

Unexpected reactions of grandparents

Later, over tea in the living room, I told Grandma and Grandpa about what had happened earlier.

“I saw a big woman earlier. I wonder if it was a man dressed as a woman.”

But they only said something like, “Ah, right.” They didn’t seem concerned about it at all.

Then I continued, “She was taller than the hedge. And she was wearing a hat and making strange noises like ‘po-po.'”

As soon as I said that, they stopped moving. They literally froze to silence and didn’t move at all.

Then Grandpa started asking many questions while looking super tense, like
“When did you see it?”
“Where did you see it?”
“How high was it above the hedge?”

While I was surprised to see the new side of my Grandpa, I answered the questions as I had seen earlier.

Then he suddenly fell silent again, went to the phone in the corridor, and started to call somewhere. The sliding door was closed, so I couldn’t quite understand what he was talking about.

Grandpa finished the phone call and came back and said, “Stay here tonight. Now, I can’t let you go home today.”

Have I done something wrong? I thought desperately, but I couldn’t think of anything. You know, I didn’t try to see that woman. She just appeared and came into my sight.

Grandpa also asked Grandma, “Can you take care of him now? I’m going to pick up Mrs K.” Then he left in a car and went off somewhere.

The legend of Hasshaku-Sama (Hachishakusama)

After we were left alone, I asked Grandma, “Hey, can you tell me what’s going on? Am I in some kind of trouble?”

She looked as tense as Grandpa and seemed to be shaking a little bit with fear.

After a short pause, “I think Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama) has got a liking to you. But Grandpa will take care of it. You don’t have to worry about anything.”
She said in a trembling voice.

I asked again, “What is Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama)?”
Then Grandma started talking about it. It was this kind of story…

There is a thing around the village called Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama).

Shaku is an old Japanese way to measure length, and one shaku is about 30cm. Hasshaku means eight shakus, so it is about 2.4 meters.
As her name suggests, she is a really tall woman, saying ‘popo popo’ in a man-like voice.

Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama) looks different depending on the person who saw her. Sometimes, she is a young woman in grave clothes or at other times, she looks like an older woman in a kimono. But what’s in common is that she is usually a tall woman, has something on her head and that creepy ‘popo’ laugh.

And there was one more thing for sure.
Those who got a liking by Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama). They would be taken away and killed within a few days.

Rumour has it that she haunted travellers to get into this village, but the origin is still uncertain. But at some point, to lock Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama) away in this area, old villagers placed Jizo, which is a Buddhist statue commonly seen in Japan.

We don’t know the logic, but there seemed to be only a limited number of roads along which Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama) could travel to other places. So, four Jizo were enshrined at the boundaries of the roads from east, west, north, to south.

Why did they decide to lock her in the area? Well, it is said that there was some kind of agreement with surrounding villages. It was like, “Okay, we will keep her here, so you can give us priority access to water. “

Yeah, that’s true. She still killed people. But it had happened only once every 10-15 years, more or less in the past. So maybe it was still a good deal for the old villagers to keep her for the benefit of the agreement. The most recent harm from Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama) was about 15 years ago, it was still an understandable choice.

After hearing Grandma’s story, it didn’t feel realistic at all. Of course, how could you possibly believe all of that at once? Anyway, there was nothing I could do but wait for Grandpa.

The night of survival

Eventually, Grandpa came back with one old lady. So she seemed to be the one called Mrs.K.

She said to me, “You’ve had a terrible time. Now hold this.”
And she gave me an amulet note.

Then she went upstairs with Grandpa and started doing something. Grandma stayed with me and even followed me to the toilet, not letting me close the door completely.

It was when I started to think that something was terribly wrong…

After a while, they made me go upstairs and put me in a room.
All the windows were covered with newspaper, and they were also full of amulet notes. Salt was placed in each corner of the room, and a wooden box with a small Buddha statue on it was also present.

There were also two potty things. I guessed I was supposed to do my business with these…

Grandpa told me, “Listen. The sun will be setting soon. And, you are not allow to leave this room until tomorrow morning.”

“I won’t call you, and I won’t talk to you. Neither will your Grandma. Don’t leave here until seven o’clock tomorrow morning. When it’s seven o’clock, you open the door and get out of the room. I’ll call your dad, so don’t worry about that.”

I had no choice but to nod silently, as Grandpa said with a straight face.

Mrs.K also said, “Have you heard your Grandpa? Do exactly as he said. Also, don’t leave the amulet note that I gave you earlier. And one more thing. If anything happens, ask for help in front of the Buddha statue.”

Then they left me alone in the room.

I was also told that I could watch TV, so I turned it on. But even when I watched it, I couldn’t get my mind off it.
Is Hasshaku-Sama (Hachishakusama) near me yet? What should I do?

I had no desire to eat the rice balls and sweets Grandma had given me, so I was wrapped up in the duvet, just shivering under the covers.

“Ummm”
When I woke up, I saw a late-night programme on TV. I realised I had fallen asleep without intention. I looked at my watch. It was 1 am.

Then, “Kotsu kotsu”
I suddenly heard a tapping sound on the windowpane.

It didn’t sound like small stones or some other objects thrown into the window. It was more like a light tap with the hand of a person.

I couldn’t decide if the sound was caused by the wind or if someone was really tapping, but I tried to convince myself desperately that it was the wind.
I took a sip of tea to calm down, but I was still scared, so I forced myself to watch the TV with the sound turned up.

That’s when I heard Grandpa’s voice.
“Hey, are you alright? If you’re scared, don’t force yourself.”

I approached the door without thinking but immediately remembered Grandpa’s words.
“I won’t call you, and I won’t talk to you. Neither will your Grandma.”

Then I heard the voice again.
“What’s wrong? You can come over here.”

It sounded really close to Grandpa’s voice, but it wasn’t his.
I didn’t know why, but I felt like it.

And as soon as I thought that, I got goosebumps all over my body with fear.
I looked at the salt in the corners and saw that it had turned black at the top.

At once, I sat in front of the Buddha statue, clutched the amulet note, and began praying desperately for help.

At that moment,
“Po-po, po-po.”

I heard that voice, and the window started thumping and thumping.
I knew she wasn’t as tall as the second floor, but I couldn’t help but picture the scene of that thing reaching out from below and tapping on the window.

All I could do now was pray to the Buddha statue.

Disguising in cars

It felt like an incredibly long night, but morning still came, and before I knew it, the TV I had left was showing the morning news. The time displayed in the corner of the screen was 7.13 am.

The banging on the glass and the voice had stopped without my noticing. Apparently, I fell asleep or passed out at some point. When I glanced at the salt, it had turned even darker.

Just to be sure, I looked at my watch and saw that it was the same time as TV. So I opened the door.

Grandma and Mrs K were standing in front of the door with worried looks on their faces.
Grandma burst into tears, saying, “Thank God, thank God.”

When we went downstairs, my dad was there too.
Grandpa didn’t completely look relieved and urged me to leave the house quickly.

When I went out into the garden, there was a one-box van. And there were some men in front of it.

The one-box was a nine-seater, and they sat me in the middle of the middle row. Mrs. K sat in the passenger seat, and all the men in the garden got in. They had seats around me, so I was surrounded on all eight sides.

“Hey, I’m sorry that you’re in a lot of trouble. But from now on, close your eyes and look down. We can’t see anything, but you most likely will. Be patient, and don’t open your eyes until we say it’s okay.”

Said an older man of about fifty years old sitting next to me on my right.

Then we left the house.
Grandpa was driving a mini truck in the front, followed by the van that I was in and my dad’s car behind.

We were moving at a fairly slow speed. The speed was probably not even 20 km/ h.
Soon after, Mrs K murmured, “This is it”, and began chanting some Buddhist mantra.

Then,
“Po…Popo…Po…Po…POPOPO”

I heard that voice again.
I clutched the amulet note, closed my eyes and looked down as I was told. But I happened to open my eyes and looked outside a little.

What I saw first was a white dress. It was moving with the car. It was following the van with those big thighs.
Her head was outside the window, and I couldn’t see it. But she started to make a gesture of lowering her head as if she was trying to look into the car.

“Hiiiii…”
I couldn’t keep a little scream.

“Don’t look”, said the guy sitting next.
I squeezed my eyes shut and clutched the amulet note even tighter.

“Kotsu kotsu kotsu.”

The sound of tapping on the window started. The men sitting around me also made short noises like “eh” and “nn”.

They seemed to hear the sound even if they couldn’t see it. Mrs K’s mantra became more forceful.

Then, “Fuu, it’s out now.”
The voices and sounds had broken off, and Mrs.K breathed out. The men surrounding me also let out a sigh of relief.

Eventually, the car stopped at a wide part of the road, and I was transferred to my dad’s car.

As Dad and Grandpa were saying thank you to the other men, Mrs K approached me and said, “Show me the amulet note”.
I looked at the amulet note I was still clutching and saw that the whole note had turned black.

Mrs K. said.
“I think you’re all right now, but keep this for a while, just in case.”
She gave me a new note.

After that, my father and I went back home.

Afterstory

Later on, my father told me the details about that day.

He also knew about Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama).
And when he was a child, one of his friends lost his life to this. He also knew some people who had to move to other places because they were chosen as targets.

On that day in the van, I was surrounded by people who were related to me by blood.
Grandpa, who drove in front of me, and Dad, who drove behind me, were strongly related to me.

And the men in the van. They were all related to Grandpa’s family. In other words, they were related to me even though they were slightly distant.

They did what they did to deceive the eyes of Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama) as much as possible.

My dad asked my uncle, too, but he couldn’t make it overnight, so they had to get people to come who were less blood-related but could get together quickly.

Even though the plan was set, my Grandpa and dad knew it would take some time to get 7 more people, and also, it was considered safer in the daytime than at night. That’s why I was locked up in a room for the night.

When I spoke to Grandpa on the phone after I returned home, I asked him if he had approached and talked to me that night, but he assured me that he had not done so.

My dad also told me that it was more often young people, young children in particular, who were victimised by Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama).

When children are still in a state of extreme anxiety, and if they hear the voice of somebody close to them saying things like what I experienced, I assume they are likely to let their minds be carried away.

In the end, my dad said that I couldn’t go back to Grandpa’s house anymore.

==============================

Ten years later, when I almost forgot about the incident, I had a phone call from my Grandma.

By the way, Grandpa had died two years earlier, and of course, they both didn’t let me go to the funeral.

On a call, Grandma said, “You remember the Jizo statue that enshrines Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama)? One of them has been broken recently by someone. And it was the one in the direction of your house. I hope it’s nothing but…”

I also told myself that it’s just a superstition, but I’m still quite worried about it. What if I hear that voice again saying “Po…popo…”

Characteristics of Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama)

Enormous Height

Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama) is described as an abnormally tall woman, with the legend specifying her height as eight “Shaku”s. Shaku is an old Japanese way to measure length, and one shaku is about 30cm. Hasshaku (Hachishaku) means eight shakus, so it is about 2.4 meters.

Various Clothing and Appearance

The look of Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama) is different depending on the person who saw her. Sometimes, she is a young woman in grave clothes, or at other times, she looks like an older woman in a kimono.

But what’s in common is that she is usually a tall woman with something on her head. In the story on 2chan, she wore a white dress and a wide-brimmed hat.

“Po, po, po” Sound of the Ominous Voice

She emits a low, unsettling laugh often described as “po, po, po” in a man-like voice.

You can hear the “po, po, po” sound of Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama) in my podcast episode, so please listen if you would!

Predatory Nature on Children/Young Adults

Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama) is known to stalk and prey on children and sometimes young adults. Once she chooses a target, she relentlessly pursues them.

Luring Tactics by Mimicking Voice

Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama) can also mimic their loved one’s voices to lure them closer, and once they are near, her true nature is revealed…

The Fate of Those Caught by Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama)

According to the past legend, those who got a liking by Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama) would be taken away and killed within a few days.

Impact of Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama) on Japanese Pop Culture

Since the story was posted on 2chan, Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama) has become an iconic figure in Japanese urban legends and internet horror. Also, she’s been highly popular among illustrators around SNS recently, and there are mangas, games, and short films featuring her.

What if you hear “Po, po, po” Sound of hasshaku-sama(hachishakusama)?

When I discovered the Hasshaku-sama (Hachishakusama) story for the first time, I was really scared. I have listened to it many times, but this impression has never changed and provided a fresh scare every time!

I assume that her enduring popularity might come from her simple yet scary appearance and the mysterious story, as well as recent trends in pop culture, as I mentioned above.

Anyway, going back to the first question. What would you do if you heard the ‘Po, Po, Po’ sound near you?

↓Check out this related article as well to find out more about Japanese urban legends/creepypastas!