Kaidan Kimodameshi

Summer is a time for scares in Japan. As a way of chilling their bones in the heat, people challenge themselves to watch kaidan, or ghost stories. The Japanese word for this is: Kimodameshi.

Some say the reason for this tradition is that Obon, the festival of the dead, falls in August. Others attribute the phenomenon to Edo-period Kabuki theaters performing ghost stories outdoors in the summer to help audiences keep cool. Whatever the origin may be, we thought we’d contribute to this terrifying means of climate control!

In partnership with the Japan Society of Boston, we’ve programmed five films from Japanese filmmakers spanning 50 years of supernatural storytelling. From Kenji Mizoguchi’s masterful Ugetsu (1953), to the folk-horror fantasia Demon Pond (1979), through 2004’s hair-raising Hollywood horror The Grudge, and more, "Kaidan Kimodameshi: Chilling Tales from Japan" will certainly send a shiver down your spine this summer!

Plus, limited edition silk screen printed series posters are available for purchase online and at the box office!