School Ghost Stories ; Early Influence on Japanese Horror1
Overview (Books + TV + Theatrical + Anime):
1-1990 Gakko no Kaidan (School Ghost Story) Children's Books:
"In the mid-1980s, a schoolteacher named Toru Tsunemitsu began to share ghost stories with his young students. Tsunemitsu originally began his focus on ghost stories around town, but found an unusually large amount of them centered on school. He began to narrow his focus to school-based ghost stories, and asked his students for them, which led to his receiving over 160 stories in two weeks.
In 1990, the first volume of these stories by Tsunemitsu was released under the title Gakkō no Kaidan. The stories were aimed at children and published by Kodansha and became very popular in Japan."
2-1994 Gakko no Kaidan TV Adaptation:
The stories were later adapted into television where they were bought by Kansai Television" for 11 episodes (wikipedia article says 6 but this seems incorrect when compared with Japanese sources)." Various TV anthology specials were later spun-off this series not based on the books but moreso an experimental ground for telling School Ghost Stories by horror film makers.
3-1995-1999 Theatrical Adaptation:
"the School Ghost Stories film was made" as a 4 part film series based on the books..."
4-2000 Anime Adaptation:
"the books were also adapted as "an anime produced by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex in 2000."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Television Timeline for "Gakko no Kaidan" (translated as "School Ghost Story"):
*1965-1994: Hankyu Drama Series
-The final airing of this program slot was the 1994 series entitled "Gakko no Kaidan".
*January 14th to March 25th 1994: "Gakko no Kaidan" (the airing the "Hankyu Drama series did).
-On August 19th, 1994 all 10 episodes of this series appeared on VHS except the 11th one due to rights issues.
*July 1996: Gakko no Kaidan R
-This was the 1st anthology TV special that was spun off of the 1994 series "Gakko no Kaidan". The "R" was simply for reference sake with no meaning.
*July 1997: Gakko no Kaidan F
*July 1998: Gakko no Kaidan G
-This 1998 TV special included two prequel shorts that led to the Juon franchise in Japan entitled Katasumi and "4444444444".
*March 1999: Gakko no Kaidan Haru no Tatari (meaning School Ghost Story: Spring Haunting Special)
*March 2000: Gakko no Kaidan Haru no Noroi
*March 2001: Gakko no Kaidan Mononoke
Background Information pertaining to 1994 Television Series:
A) This link (run through Google Translate) provides information on the "Hankyu Drama Series" that ended with the 1994 series "Gakko no Kaidan":
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%98%AA%E6%80%A5%E3%83%89%E3%83%A9%E3%83%9E%E3%82%B7%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BA
B) This 2nd link (again run through Google Translate) provides information on the 1994 series "Gakko no Kaidan". I tried to input the IMDB entry for this series with VHS cover but this link gives more information:
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AD%A6%E6%A0%A1%E3%81%AE%E6%80%AA%E8%AB%87_(%E3%83%86%E3%83%AC%E3%83%93%E3%83%89%E3%83%A9%E3%83%9E)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Theatrical Timeline for "Gakko no Kaidan" (this is theatrical unlike television entries cited above):
*1995: "Gakko no Kaidan"
*1996: "Gakko no Kaidan 2"
*1997: "Gakko no Kaidan 3"
*1999: "Gakko no Kaidan 4"
*2014: Kotodama – Spiritual Curse
-This film was inspired by the 1995-1999 film series but wasn't a direct adaptation.
Background Information pertaining to 1995-1999 Theatrical Film Series:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_Ghost_Stories
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anime Adaptation:
*22nd October 2000-25th March 2001: "Ghost Stories"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Stories_(Japanese_TV_series)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Later Properties with Potential Loose Inspiration outside horror genre:
2015 TV Series: The Girls Speech
2020-2022 TV Series: Youkai Sharehouse
1-1990 Gakko no Kaidan (School Ghost Story) Children's Books:
"In the mid-1980s, a schoolteacher named Toru Tsunemitsu began to share ghost stories with his young students. Tsunemitsu originally began his focus on ghost stories around town, but found an unusually large amount of them centered on school. He began to narrow his focus to school-based ghost stories, and asked his students for them, which led to his receiving over 160 stories in two weeks.
In 1990, the first volume of these stories by Tsunemitsu was released under the title Gakkō no Kaidan. The stories were aimed at children and published by Kodansha and became very popular in Japan."
2-1994 Gakko no Kaidan TV Adaptation:
The stories were later adapted into television where they were bought by Kansai Television" for 11 episodes (wikipedia article says 6 but this seems incorrect when compared with Japanese sources)." Various TV anthology specials were later spun-off this series not based on the books but moreso an experimental ground for telling School Ghost Stories by horror film makers.
3-1995-1999 Theatrical Adaptation:
"the School Ghost Stories film was made" as a 4 part film series based on the books..."
4-2000 Anime Adaptation:
"the books were also adapted as "an anime produced by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex in 2000."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Television Timeline for "Gakko no Kaidan" (translated as "School Ghost Story"):
*1965-1994: Hankyu Drama Series
-The final airing of this program slot was the 1994 series entitled "Gakko no Kaidan".
*January 14th to March 25th 1994: "Gakko no Kaidan" (the airing the "Hankyu Drama series did).
-On August 19th, 1994 all 10 episodes of this series appeared on VHS except the 11th one due to rights issues.
*July 1996: Gakko no Kaidan R
-This was the 1st anthology TV special that was spun off of the 1994 series "Gakko no Kaidan". The "R" was simply for reference sake with no meaning.
*July 1997: Gakko no Kaidan F
*July 1998: Gakko no Kaidan G
-This 1998 TV special included two prequel shorts that led to the Juon franchise in Japan entitled Katasumi and "4444444444".
*March 1999: Gakko no Kaidan Haru no Tatari (meaning School Ghost Story: Spring Haunting Special)
*March 2000: Gakko no Kaidan Haru no Noroi
*March 2001: Gakko no Kaidan Mononoke
Background Information pertaining to 1994 Television Series:
A) This link (run through Google Translate) provides information on the "Hankyu Drama Series" that ended with the 1994 series "Gakko no Kaidan":
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%98%AA%E6%80%A5%E3%83%89%E3%83%A9%E3%83%9E%E3%82%B7%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BA
B) This 2nd link (again run through Google Translate) provides information on the 1994 series "Gakko no Kaidan". I tried to input the IMDB entry for this series with VHS cover but this link gives more information:
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AD%A6%E6%A0%A1%E3%81%AE%E6%80%AA%E8%AB%87_(%E3%83%86%E3%83%AC%E3%83%93%E3%83%89%E3%83%A9%E3%83%9E)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Theatrical Timeline for "Gakko no Kaidan" (this is theatrical unlike television entries cited above):
*1995: "Gakko no Kaidan"
*1996: "Gakko no Kaidan 2"
*1997: "Gakko no Kaidan 3"
*1999: "Gakko no Kaidan 4"
*2014: Kotodama – Spiritual Curse
-This film was inspired by the 1995-1999 film series but wasn't a direct adaptation.
Background Information pertaining to 1995-1999 Theatrical Film Series:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_Ghost_Stories
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anime Adaptation:
*22nd October 2000-25th March 2001: "Ghost Stories"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Stories_(Japanese_TV_series)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Later Properties with Potential Loose Inspiration outside horror genre:
2015 TV Series: The Girls Speech
2020-2022 TV Series: Youkai Sharehouse
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- The long running Hankyu Drama Series on Kansai TV in Japan in the early 90's ended with an 11 episode series entitled "Gakko No Kaiden" (loosely translated as "School of the Ghost Story") that ran from January 14, 1994 to March 25, 1994 for 11 episodes. Each episode consists of a ghost story that takes place in a school.
- DirectorTakashi KomatsuStarsRina ChinenAya OkamotoMizuki Sano
- DirectorsKiyoshi KurosawaTetsu MaedaTakashi ShimizuStarsMedaka IkenoAki MaedaMasashi MutaFeatures four short horror films, among those are "Katasumi" and "4444444444".
- DirectorsKiyoshi KurosawaAkira OgataNorio TsurutaStarsTeppei AritaKazuhisa FujitaEri Fukatsu"Kaibyo Densetsu" - Maki (Chizuru Ikewaki), who finds it strange that her best friend appears as a living spirit, goes to check on her. "Nanika ga Tsuite iru" - (Atsushi Itô) performs at a live concert under the direction of a female teacher who appears in front of him, and learns the truth behind the mysterious incident. "Hanako-san" - In order to escape from the curse of Sakurako, who committed suicide because of them, a former member of the newspaper club and his friends begin the Hanako-san ritual.
- DirectorHideyuki HirayamaStarsHironobu NomuraKasumi ToyamaShiori YonezawaA young girl wanders into a wing of her elementary school that has been abandoned for years and is rumored to be haunted. When she doesn't come back, a group of her classmates go looking for her, only to find that they, too, are trapped inside. They must somehow find their way to safety, and quickly, because the rumors of ghosts are turning out to be true...
- DirectorHideyuki HirayamaStarsHironobu NomuraNaomi NishidaMasakane YonekuraA group of youngsters get stuck in a haunted school and have to deal with an assortment of ghosts.
- DirectorShûsuke KanekoStarsNaomi NishidaTakuma YoshizawaAki MaedaThird installment of the "Gakko No Kaidan" series follows the trek of several elementary school students as they wander into an alternate world that exists on the opposite side of a school mirror. Nishida Naomi (the hapless teacher in "Gakko No Kaidan 2") returns as the teacher who accompanies the children on their journey into the surreal universe.
- DirectorHideyuki HirayamaStarsMai ToyodaToshiki HiroseMatsunosuke ShofukuteiTaking advantage of their summer holiday, a boy and his little sister visit their cousin at Nozaki located at the sea-side. However, on the day they arrive, a typhoon hits the town for the first time in many years. At this time, their cousin tells them: When the storm hits, the spirits of those who perished at sea - will return.
- DirectorMasayuki OchiaiStarsHitomi AraiShôno HayamaKai InowakiAyano, Yuri, Miyu and Mei are high school female students victims of paranormal incidents that may be linked to a gas accident occurred to first-year students in class number 4, years ago.
- StarsTakako HondaKurumi MamiyaTomoko KawakamiA group of school kids and a possessed cat fight ghosts in their neighborhood.
- StarsSuzu HiroseRyûnosuke KamikiAnna IshibashiHigh-school student Haruna Tsubame becomes the student council president after being persuaded by her peers. With the help of a talented speechwriter, she aims to transform her school using the power of words.
- StarsFuka KoshibaMarika MatsumotoKatsuya MaigumaMio's life has not been going well. She does not have ambitions or the will to speak up for herself. She obtained a job, met a man and was the worse for it. Despertae she finds a room in a house with flat-mates. The house is inhabited by spirits. They take an interest in Mio.
