Was told this by a colleague as I was walking through the office near EOD. I found some background reading on the subject as I was somewhat confused by what they were saying at first (if you’re interested)
https://wajikan.com/note/kutibue/?PageSpeed=noscript
TBH it sounds like something a mom would tell their kid to keep them from being annoying at night. I can’t help but feel like humming would make more sense since it’s generally lower frequency, but that’s really not the way superstitions work.
24 comments
In-laws say ghosts…. I get in trouble for whistling at night (even out in the woods away from houses)
don’t cut your fingernails at night, don’t lie down after you eat, if you get nervous before speaking pretend to eat 人 kanji out of your hand….
Lots of things the equivalent not stepping on cracks or picking up ‘lucky’ pennies
Today in Japan news: superstitions exist.
was alcohol involved in this
Edit: I was /s , evidently this wasn’t clear
Basically all superstitions to make kids shut up at night
You think that’s dangerous, try clipping your fingernails at night.
And actually, I heard whistling at night attracts burglars too
Burglars is always what I’ve heard
The real reason is not because of snakes, but due to people here not being able to whistle, and are too embarrassed to admit it.
This is why nobody here, without exception, has ever encountered a Japanese local who can whistle. And never will. It is simply impossible.
Snakes are more or less deaf – while they can pick-up ground vibrations and even airborne vibrations to a certain degree, they would detect higher pitches with great difficulty. So no, they wouldn’t really be drawn to whistling.
Does it actually work? I want to see some adorable snakes!
Yes I learned that in Kung Fu hustle
My wife also says this.
You’ll find that there’s a lot of superstitions that exist around the world which specifically target people traveling in isolated or dark places on their own. You don’t want to alert anyone who may be skulking in shadows that you’re alone, after all.
When I first moved here, I had had someone (in their 30s, spent like 10+ years living in America) get **very** mad at me for whistling at night, and also that I didn’t know that it would attract snakes like it’s a thing (which to be fair, it is in JP).
I was bewildered. We were sitting on the fourth floor of a mansion in the middle of a mid-sized city, far away from nature. I researched this to see if it was true, but my findings were not accepted.
It’s an Asian superstition. Koreans say ghosts.
This superstition is not solely a Japan thing only.
My family is from Ukraine, settling about 40 years ago in Canada. One night after returning home from an evening mass, we all piled out of the car and went into the house. My brother was lagging behind, and I realized I had forgotten my purse in the car. I leaned out the door and whistled to get his attention. This was when I got a slap across the back of the head from Baba, and a stern talking to.
We lived on the edge of a small forest, and apparently I had a death wish. Whistling anywhere around dusk will attract all sorts of creatures that hunt in the dark and is the spiritual equivalent of wearing bright yellow in no-man ‘s land . . . asking for it. A whistle could be akin to asking a spirit to possess you. Like inviting in a vampire or taunting a spirit when doing an ouija board session. Don’t do it. Apparently whistling a tune is even worse.
I have many superstitions that have been instilled in me from a young age, but this one was the most disturbing for some reason.
This is also a superstition in Canada. I believe many cultures believe whistling at night will attract dark creatures or spirits.
Makes sense if you think about most of the animals snakes eat make higher pitched noises. Mice squeak, birds chirp, rabbits…sniff.
I was very surprised to find that the exact same superstition is also present in India and being there of centuries. I sometimes wonder how centuries old superstitions are shared between two separate parts of the world which seemingly have little to no contact with each other prior to modern times. I bet the origin of this link would be very interesting.
I was told this in Russia too.
I was whistling at Kasumi and an old fella told me to stop so I “don’t bring the snakes in from the hills.”
Actually, whistle/flute. I’m from Hawaii, and I knew a flute player from Japan. She never played her instrument at night even though we don’t have snakes in Hawaii.
Some say a whistle in the night used to be a sign of yobai. If it was then it actually caused problems I guess.
>TBH it sounds like something a mom would tell their kid to keep them from being annoying at night.
TIL: I wish my neighbors were more “superstitious…”