[JapanUrbanLegend] Inunaki Village

 

Inunakimura (犬鳴村, Inunakimura) is a Japanese urban legend set in the Inunaki district of Miyawaka City, Fukuoka Prefecture. Despite its proximity to Fukuoka City, the Inunaki Pass and the surrounding area are remote and sparsely populated, and are famous on Japanese internet as a ghost spot with many related legends. The legend generally revolves around the idea that there is a terrifying village where Japanese law does not apply, and anyone who enters cannot return alive.

The rumors surrounding Inunakimura are as follows:

  1. Official documents and maps in Japan have completely erased its existence, but it is claimed that the village actually exists at that location.
  2. A sign at the village entrance allegedly reads, "Japanese law does not apply from here."
  3. Due to severe discrimination since before the Edo period, villagers supposedly cut off contact with the outside world and live in self-sufficiency.
  4. Living in an isolated society, the villagers are said to engage in consanguinity, resulting in many dangerous individuals with genetic disorders.
  5. A short distance from the entrance is a village square with a dilapidated sedan and a shack filled with piles of skeletons.
  6. Inside the old Inunaki Tunnel, there are barricades, and crossing them triggers an alarm system, causing a villager with an axe to come running.
  7. Near Inunakimura, all cell phones are reportedly out of service, and public phones do not connect to 110 (emergency services).
  8. A young couple who visited Inunakimura as a prank were allegedly found dead.

In reality, the legend is based on the Inunaki Tunnel murder case of 1988. The background of such stories includes various forms of discrimination, such as that against Burakumin and Korean residents, or the expression "a village in Fukuoka suffering discrimination since the Edo period." There is no actual village corresponding to the rumors, and Inunakimura as described does not exist. The Inunaki Pass is crossed by the Sanyo Shinkansen.

In the 21st century, with the increased accessibility to information, the credibility of such legends has significantly decreased. Modern tools like Google Street View allow real-time verification of various details, and the rise of internet broadcasting has diminished the longevity of such legends. Ultimately, the legend of Inunakimura remains as an outdated urban myth from the analog era that no longer holds much validity in the modern world.

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