青木が原 （Aokigahara)

Many centuries ago in feudal Japan there lived a very skilled samurai. Stories of his swordsmanship spread through the land and piqued the interests of many generals. They sought the samurai out and offered him a position in their army but every time he turned them down stating that his purpose was for a much higher calling; For you see the samurai was a demon hunter.

His task was seeking out the many demons of Japan and slaying them one by one. He was charged by no one and took the responsibilty on himself when his family was killed by a demon cat by the name of　化け猫 (Bake-Neko). 化け猫 came in the night and carried his parents and his sister away and since then he devoted his life to killing all demons.

He arrived at a town near the base of Mount Fuji where he had heard rumors of a river demon terrorizing the villagers. He was welcomed like a king for everyone in the town knew who he was, everyone except one maiden. She was one of the town elder's daughter and she was extremely beautiful. The samurai fell in love at first sight. The the maiden rejected his advances at first but soon she couldn't resist his charm. They had a whirlwind romance and were to be wed when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

One warm spring night they lay in bed together listening to the crickets outside when he thought he heard the soft thud of paws on dirt. He attributed it to one of the many mutts in the town and began to drift off again when just then there was a loud BANG! The front door had disappeard into a thousand splinters and in it's place was a giant cat eye.

 化け物　had returned for him. His maiden woke up and screamed at the sight of a large paw clawing it's way through the door. He leaped to his feet and grabbed his sword but it was too late. The paw had reached in and grabbed the maiden and her screams seemed to bring him back to that day so many years ago when his family was taken away from him. He ran after the cat as it disappeared into wood and he stopped at the woods edge for this was the demon's woods.

青木が原　(Aokigahara) Which means "sea of trees" is a forest said to inhabited by demons. He could not run in after her at night with him being the demon slayer he would not have survied so he waited till morning. He gathered his supplies and armor and ventured into the forest to find the cat. At the entrance of the forest he saw a thread of silk that seemed to extended deep into the trees. He knew that this was the same silk that his maiden was wearing when she was taken so he laid one hand upon the silk and ventured onward.

The silk led him to a cave where 化け物 lived. The entrance of the cave was strewn with the bones of both humans and animals. He couldn't turn back now and leave the love of his life at the mercy of the cat so he ventured into the cave. He found  化け物 and the maiden in a cavern deep within the cave. The cat had been expecting him and wanted to make a deal with him. He could exchange the maiden's life for his own.

The maiden tried to sway the samurai's decision but he had already made up his mind. He could not live life without her and he was sure she would find love eventually. The cat perked up his ears and in a sick smile before he pounced on the samurai. His death was instant, the cat made sure of that, and within a matter of seconds all that was left was the blood stained armor and sword of the samurai. The maiden was in shock, she could not believe what she had witnessed. She stood up and ran to the pile of armor that used to be her lover and began to weep.

化け物 began to laugh and his laughter echoed through the cave and through her soul. In an instant she unsheathed his sword and with one swipe took the head of the demon cat clean off. She then went to the cat's stomach and cut it open to reveal the lifeless body of her lover. She wept over his body for hours until the sun started to finally set. She could not bear the thought of leaving her love in the cave alone so she lay with him until darkness came.

The people of the town never knew what happened to the samurai and his love until one day a hunter discovered the thread of silk and followed it to find two skeletons in an embrace. He brought their bones back to the village where they were buried together and they remained together for all eternity.

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青木が原 Aokigahara is a real forest at the base of Mount Fuji and is the said to be the home of many demons. It is also the setting for many tragic love stories usually ending in the couples commiting suicide within the forest. Aokigahara is still one of the number one destinations for suicide in Japan. Victims usually enter and leave trails of colored ribbon, thread or caution tape to lead visitors to their body.

Here is a very interesting documentary that I have found for those who are interested in learning more about Aokigahara.