Tomino’s Hell is believed to curse or even kill anyone who reads it out loud. The poet behind this notorious poem, Saijo Yaso wrote the poem after the end of World War I. Apparently, many believe that the poem was his explanation of suffering as his father died during the war.
Another version said that the poem is related to Tomino’s descent to hell as the hurt of a soldier during a war. The poem gained people’s attention after many reported misfortune accidents after reading the poem. It was even said that a young girl passed away few moments after reading Tomino’s Hell. Others reported having sharp headaches, weird feelings, and malaise after reading the poem hence the raise of the word ‘cursed’.
Not much is known about Saijo Yaso, a Japanese poet that graduated from the University of Sorbonne. He lived in France for some time and worked as a university professor. His works that were primarily made for children were filled with weird symbolism and unsettling wordplay mainly influenced by French arts and history.
Saijo released his 27th collection of poetry called Sakin that means ‘gold dust’ in the English language. Tomino no Jigoku (Tomino’s Hell) was one of the poems from Sakin. It gained popularity when it troubled the readers.
After losing his sister and father during World War I, he wrote the poem and portrayed harsh emotions in the poem. However, there are several explanations given by other people regarding the dark poem.
The reason why there are several humungous explanations to the poem is that the poet left the readers to wonder about it. Tomino’s gender is not mentioned in the poem hence some describe Tomino as a girl while others depict him as a boy. The well-known and accepted myth is the version where Tomino was a girl in an abusive family. She wrote all her pain before passing out due to her health condition that worsens ever since she was locked in a cellar.
In another tale, Tomino was a girl whose sisters tormented her. She was extremely tortured by her sisters and wrote the poem to explain her feelings. Another one is the version where Tomino is a girl who murdered her parents. The poem mentioned that Tomino was heading towards “Mugen Jigoku” which means “Avīci”. In Buddhism, Avīci is the lowest of hells, and the one occupants’ torment lasts for eternity.
In 1974, “To Die in the Countryside”, a Japanese movie based on Tomino’s Hell was directed by Terayama Shuji. The film, too, was believed to be cursed when the director suddenly passed away after 9 years. The film’s storyline mainly focused on the suffering that Tomino went through.
Today, Tomino’s Hell remained an urban legend.