Dorotabo (Japan)

Dorotabo (Japan)

Dorotabo are the ghosts of farmers attached to the lands they once owned. In life, they spent their days working tirelessly, saving money to purchase a plot of land. Once they achieved their dream, they toiled on their lands—tending their crops with great care.

Following their death, if their lands are neglected by indifferent successors, the farmers return as dorotabo—restless spirits that manifest as grotesque, one-eyed, corpse-like apparitions coated in mud. Those interested in purchasing properties attached to old rice fields are advised to ensure no dorotabo are lurking nearby. At night, they might just witness one bursting out of the soil, moaning, “Give me back my land!”

The legend of the dorotabo is said to originate from a tale passing down since the Edo period. According to the story, a poor farmer worked hard on his small rice field to provide a better future for his only son. Farmland was scarce in Japan, even a small plot would cost a fortune. To the farmer, his land was a treasure.

Sadly, when the farmer passed away, the son failed to take care of the once cherished land, allowing it to become overgrown with weeds, and spent his days drinking and gambling. As he squandered his inheritance, on one fateful night, he encountered the angry apparition of his father wailing in anguish, “Till my land! Till my land!”