Aokigahara Forest is located at the foot of Mount Fuji in Japan. The forest, where it is possible to see every shade of green, creates extremely beautiful images. But the forest; It stands out not with its beauty, but with its frightening side that does not look like horror movies. Aokigahara Forest is known as the “suicide forest” of Japan. Many people come to this forest to commit suicide. The number of people who commit suicide by coming to the forest reaches an average of 100 people per year. For this reason, the forest has been the subject of many horror movies. At the same time, various legends are told about the forest.
It is possible to see terrible corpses while walking in the forest. However, many tourists visit the region to experience the excitement of hiking in the forest and to take pictures of Mount Fuji. Visitors have to walk on the tracks prepared in the forest. It is extremely dangerous to go out of these prepared hiking trails. When lost in the forest, which has an incredibly dense cover, it becomes almost impossible to find its direction and be heard. Apart from suicides, there are also many deaths by disappearing. No one dares to leave the tracks. Those who dare are those who have already come for suicide.
Cause of Suicide in the Forest
It is said that Aokigahara Forest has a mystical place in Japanese history and is identified with dead spirits. In the stories about the forests, it is said that the first person to commit suicide was a Buddhist monk. The Buddhist monk wanted to be purified by starving himself and died in this way. Thereupon, other priests followed him and the forest became a death zone.
In some sources, it is told that the forest is cursed and it attracts people to death. According to one of the common beliefs among the people, the souls caught between the world and death purify themselves in this forest. It is said that frightening hums were heard in the forest and its source could not be found. The hums among people are thought to be the voices of spirits caught between the world and death.
One of the main reasons why the forest is famous for suicides is a book written about it. Japanese author named Seicho Matsumoto, two main characters in his book he wrote in 1960 commit suicide in this forest. Suicide cases in the forest, which became famous after the suicide incident mentioned in the book, started to increase. Over time, coming to the forest and committing suicide has turned into a ritual. In fact, Japanese sociologist and writer Wataru Tsurumi has published small booklets in the form of a handbook for those who will commit suicide, causing controversy. Booklets about the jungle are in the form of small booklets like ‘great place to die’ and ‘suicide guide’. It was seen that some of the dead people had these booklets on them.
Interesting Situations Encountered in the Forest
At the forest entrance, it is possible to see the abandoned cars of those who came to this forest for the last time. Moldy and rusty cars give information about what the forest is like. There are warning statements on the signs hanging in the forest, such as “please do not commit suicide, life is a gift given to you, think about your family and friends”.
When one moves deeper into the forest, it is possible to see objects or notes that are written as reproaches to those left behind and that give messages, nailed to the trees. In the forest, it is often possible to see the corpses of people who committed suicide by hanging themselves on trees or died by taking an overdose of drugs. There are even full or empty tents, some of which are estimated to have set up tents and stayed for a few days.
Even during the daytime, the forest is dark because it is extremely dense. For this reason, the authorities may encounter at least one corpse every time they go for a search. Since the number of suicides in the forest is encouraging and increasing every year, the Japanese government does not officially announce the number of suicides. However, it is estimated that there are an average of 50 to 100 people per year. The story of the forest has been the subject of various books and documentaries. Finally, it was the subject of a horror movie called ‘The Forest’ in 2016.
