The Kodama
In Japanese folklore, the echo that answers you in the mountains is the voice of a kodama, a spirit that lives in an old tree.
What was reported
In Japanese tradition, kodama are spirits that live in very old trees. When a voice or sound echoes back from the mountains, it was said to be the kodama answering. Cutting down a tree that holds a kodama was believed to bring misfortune, and some old trees are marked with sacred ropes.
The ancient cedar forests of Yakushima island, where some trees are thousands of years old, are closely linked to the kodama in popular culture, and inspired the forest spirits in the film 'Princess Mononoke'.
Explanations offered
Echoes are sound reflecting off mountainsides and valleys. The kodama legend gives them a voice, and has helped protect ancient trees by encouraging respect for the forest.
- When
- Told for centuries
- Where
- Yakushima and the forests of Japan
- Witnesses
- Japanese tradition
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.