Hanako-san or Toire no Hanako-san(トイレのはなこさん?, "Hanako of the toilet") is a Japanese urban legend about the spirit of a young girl who haunts school bathrooms. She allegedly appears when one shouts her name. Her origins vary from different sources; some say that she is the ghost of a girl killed during an air raid in World War II, while still others purport that she was murdered by a psychotic parent or stranger.
According to the legend, a person who goes to the third stall in the girls' bathroom on the third floor and knocks three times before asking "are you there, Hanako-san" you will hear a voice answer, "I'm here." If the person chooses to enter the stall, there will be a small girl in a red skirt.
Hanako-san is a popular and widespread urban legend, often played by school children as a rite of courage, or a method of hazing for new students, similar to the Bloody Mary urban legend in Western schools.
Variations
Hanako-san has been said to have various origins and behaviours, depending on the school or region. Her physical appearance can also vary, but is usually that of a young girl with bobbed hair and a red skirt. In the Yamagata prefecture, supposedly, after Hanako-san has answered and one enters the stall, he or she will find and be eaten by a three-headed lizard who had mimicked a girl's voice. In the Iwate prefecture, the legend purports that after one has called Hanako-san, a white hand emerges from the door. In the Kanagawa prefecture, a blood-stained hand will appear after Hanako-san is called.
"Hanako" was a common girl's name in Japan during the 1950s when the legend supposedly began.
Manga
Hanako-san is one of the main characters in Sakae Esuno's mangaHanako-san and the Terror of Allegory (Hanako to Gūwa no Terror).
Toire no Hanako-san is one of the death games the high school students play in Kami-sama no Iutōri II.
Films
Hanako-san appears in the 1995 film Toire no Hanako-san, also known as School Mystery.
Hanako-san appears in the 1998 film Shinsei toire no Hanako-san.
Hanako of the Toilet (2013)
Toire no Hanako-san Shinshō – Hanako vs Yōsuke (2016)
Anime
In the anime series Haunted Junction Hanako-san is a seductive spirit in an undersized school uniform.
In episode 2 of Hell Teacher Nūbē, the title character and two of his students seek for Hanako-san in the school toilets. Instead, they find the spirit of a little girl (apparently also named Hanako, though it is not confirmed), who died during the Tokyo bombings in World War II. Feeling sorry for her, Nūbē comforts the ghost girl and sends her to Heaven with his powers.
In episode 5 of Rin-ne, Hanako-san is a school spirit seeking revenge on exorcist Tsubasa Jūmonji for tarnishing her image five years ago.
In episode 60 of Yo-Kai Watch titled "The Recent Life of Hanako-san of the Toilet", Nate and Whisper hear Katie and her friends talking about a Hanako-san encounter in the third-floor restrooms. After school, Nate and Whisper ironically find her in the boys' bathroom out in the open. Hanako-san fancies herself as an entertainer and considers the third-floor girls' bathroom as her stage, but ends up in a personal predicament where her sightings have been reported too quickly thanks to the internet. Nate then suggests that she appear in other places instead and scare his classmates that way. She does so successfully but even scares Nate afterwards at his house (also successful). Nate acquires her Yo-Kai Medal afterwards.
Visual novels
Higanbana no Saku Yoru ni is a story that creates a legend similar to this one.
Video games
In the 12.5th installment of the danmaku shooter Touhou Project, Double Spoiler, Scene 12-6 features the spell card "Hanako-san in the Toilet", and when beaten, both playable characters mention Hanako-san and make references to the legend.
Hanako-san also appears in the 14.5th installment Urban Legend in Limbo as the character Marisa Kirisame's Last Word, named "Lovely! Ms. Hanako of the Toilet".
Hanako-san is one of the many yōkai the player can befriend in Yo-Kai Watch 2. A side quest in the game leads the player to discover Hanako-san is haunting the girls' bathroom at the elementary school.
Hanako-san appears on the game "Misao", where she could be spelled by calling three times on the door of the fourth stall, and then flushing the toilet on the first stall.
Hanako-san also appears in the game "Underworld Capital Incident". She hides in one of the girl's toilets on the second floor, where she blocks off the entrance to the third floor. In order for her to remove her barrier, you have to fetch the ribbon she lost.
Hanako is a little girl spirit with a red dress that gives you a voodoo doll item as reward if you play with her hide & seek in the park lot at downtown area in the NIS's video game Yomawari: Night Alone.
