''Kimodameshi'' ( or ; "test one's liver"), or test of courage is a Japanese activity in which people explore frightening, and potentially dangerous, places to build up
courage
Courage (also called bravery or valor) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in battle.
Physical courage is bravery in the face of physical pain, h ...
.
Kimodameshi is usually played in the summer, in group activities such as school club trips or camping. At night, group of people visit an ominous place such as a
cemetery
A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
,
haunted house or forest path to carry out specific missions there. The exercise teaches the group that, working together, they can overcome their fear.
See also
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Ghost hunting
Ghost hunting is the process of investigating locations that are reported to be haunted by ghosts. Typically, a ghost-hunting team will attempt to collect evidence supporting the existence of paranormal activity. Ghost hunters use a variety of ...
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Legend tripping
Legend tripping is a name bestowed by folklorists and anthropologists on an adolescent practice (containing elements of a rite of passage) in which a usually furtive nocturnal pilgrimage is made to a site which is alleged to have been the scene ...
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Haunted house
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Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai
was a popular didactic Buddhist-inspired parlour game during the Edo period in Japan.
Play
The game was played as night fell upon the region using three separate rooms. In preparation, participants would light 100 andon in the third room and p ...
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Kaidan
is a Japanese word consisting of two kanji: 怪 (''kai'') meaning "strange, mysterious, rare, or bewitching apparition" and 談 (''dan'') meaning "talk" or "recited narrative".
Overall meaning and usage
In its broadest sense, ''kaidan'' refers ...
, Japanese ghost stories
References
Japanese culture
Ghosts
Parapsychology
Pseudoscience
Hobbies
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