Adaptation Part B: Initial Ideas

One of the topics that I suggested to Alan that I was interested in was Japanese mythology. I felt like there was a good opportunity to be quite stylistic with this, so I went ahead and researched into ones that I liked. I want to focus on adapting a character for an animation for this project.


Yotsuya Kaidan (四谷怪談):
The story of Oiwa and Tamiya Iemon, is a tale of betrayal, murder and ghostly revenge. Arguably the most famous Japanese ghost story of all time.
Unscrupulous ronin Tamiya Iemon lies and kills to obtain the woman and future he desires, all the while feigning to be an upright and noble samurai. But when he causes the painful and sorrowful death of his once beloved wife Oiwa, her ghost vows justice and vengeance.

Oiwa is an onryō, a ghost who seeks vengeance. Her strong passion for revenge allows her to bridge the gap back to Earth. She shares most of the common traits of this style of Japanese ghost, including the white dress representing the burial kimono she would have worn, the long, ragged hair and white/indigo face that marks a ghost in kabuki theater.

There are specific traits to Oiwa that set her apart physically from other onryo. Most famous is her left eye, which droops down her face due to poison given her by Iemon. This feature is exaggerated in kabuki performances to give Oiwa a distinct appearance. She is often shown as partially bald, another effect of the poison.

Style influence from Ukiyo-e paintings and kamishibai (paper drama):

The way in which I would want to present the character is to be told descriptively and as a ghost story.