The Most Dangerous Games: Oyayubi Sagashi, Or, The Thumb Game

Previously: The Shuffle Game.

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The Japanese ritual game called Oyayubi sagashi (親指さがし) is all over the English-speaking internet these days; it’s just largely known by a different name: The Thumb Game. (This is despite the fact that the game’s original title translates more literally as something like, “Looking for the thumb.”) However, there’s very little usually given about the game’s background in English language sources — which is why I was a little surprised at what I found when  I started searching Japanese ones: In Japan, the game is mostly notably for its connection with a horror novel and a subsequent live-action movie adaptation of that novel.

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The novel, like the game, is titled 親指さがし. Written by YA horror novelist Yusuke Yamada (山田悠介) and published in 2003, it centers around a group of friends who, as children, dared to play Oyayubi sagashi — after which one of their number, Yumi, disappeared. Seven years later, the remaining friends gather together on the anniversary of Yumi’s disappearance to play the game once more and, hopefully, to find out what happened to Yumi. In 2006, the novel was adapted into a film; its Japanese title was, again, 親指さがし, although in English, it’s known as Vanished. (I don’t believe it was ever given a U.S. release.)

But although I’m reasonably certain that the game Oyayubi sagashi’s popularity now is largely due to Yamada’s novel, what I’m not totally sure about is whether the game existed before Yamada’s novel — that is, whether the novel has at its center an extant urban legend or piece of folklore, or whether the legend of the game was an invention of Yamada himself specificallyfor use in his novel.

For what it’s worth, a Google search for 親指さがし -“山田悠介” -“映画” — that is, a search for the game/novel’s title, minus both Yamada’s name and the word “movie” — with parameters set to limit results only to those posted to the internet prior to Dec. 31, 2002 (e.g. before the publication of the novel) didn’t bring up anything relevant. That doesn’t mean it’s not there, of course; it just means that if it’s there, it’s somewhere I’m unable to find or access it, given the limitations I’m working within (location, language barrier, etc.). And even if it’s not widely talked about on the internet outside of the context of the book and movie, that doesn’t mean the game is necessarily an invention of these pieces of media; people could well have been speaking of it offline long before the book or movie arrived.

It’s also worth noting that, even if the lack of a paper trail for the game online prior to 2003 suggests that it might be an invention, there are some drips and drabs of info around that internet that imply the opposite — that suggest the game might a longstanding tradition that goes back further than its documentation does. Consider an interview with Yamada published at Gentosha Books’ website a little while ago, for example: In it, Yamada states that he often gets inspiration for his stories from what’s actually going on the world — trends, events, and so on — as well as from his own lived experiences. He cites Oyayubi sagashi as an example of this principal in action, both describing the game and then noting, “この話は、子どもの時に実際にやった遊びがベースになっています。”—or, in English (roughly, via Google Translate), “This story is based on what I actually played as a child.”

So: Even if I haven’t been able to find a record of the game on the internet dating back further than the publication of the book, Yamada’s statement that he played it as a child means it dates back at least as far as the 1980s-1990s. (Yamada was born in 1981.)

In any event, the Thumb Game has a few things in common with the Little Finger Game and the White Kimono Game. That means, of course, that the same warning applies:

Play at your risk.

Players:

• At least three principals.

Requirements:

• A dark, quiet room where you are unlikely to be disturbed.
• An active imagination.
• Excellent searching skills.

Instructions:

The Journey:

1. Begin at any time.
2. Gather all participants together in the dark, quiet room in which you have chosen to play.
3. Draw the curtains and dim or turn out the lights.
4. Sit together in a circle on the floor. Make yourselves comfortable; you might be here for a while.
5. Reach out to the participant on your right and grasp the thumb of their left hand in your own right hand. Present your left hand to the participant on your left and, in the same manner, allow them to grasp the thumb of your own left hand with their right hand.
6. Have each participant enact the previous step. When it is complete, you should all be sitting in an unbroken circle, with each participant grasping the left thumb of the person to their right.
7. Close your eyes. All of you. Don’t let go of each other’s thumbs.
8. Imagine, in your mind’s eye, a small cottage: Comfortable and well-appointed, but not extravagant — the kind of place you would go to get away from the rush of your everyday life.
9. Keep your eyes closed. Don’t let go of each other’s thumbs.
10. Imagine the exterior of this cottage in as much detail as you can. What does the door look like? The windows? What are the building materials? Is it stone? Wood? Something else? What is the roof made of? Is there a garden? If so, what kind of garden is it?
11. Keep your eyes closed. Don’t let go of each other’s thumbs.
12. Now imagine the interior of the cottage. What does it look like? How many rooms are there? How is it decorated? Are there curtains on the windows? Shutters? Something else? What style is the furniture?
13. Keep your eyes closed. Don’t let go of each other’s thumbs.
14. Now imagine something… less comfortable: Imagine yourself in the cottage — in pieces. Imagine yourself torn limb from limb. Imagine yourself strewn about the cottage, bit by bit by bit.
15. This cottage, you see — this cottage you so carefully conjured up in your mind — isn’t an ordinary cottage. This cottage is where a young woman lost her life, cruelly torn apart and left to be found, scattered, throughout its rooms — all except one part: Her left thumb was nowhere to be found.
16. Do not shy away from the gruesomeness of this image.
17. Do not let go of each other’s thumbs.
18. And when you are ready — when you have imagined this scene in its entirety — then, finally: Open your eyes.

The Search:

1. What do you see?
   • If you have succeeded thus far: You will find, upon opening your eyes, that you are no longer seated in the room in which you began. You will instead find yourself within the cottage you previously imagined, with the place lit only by a single, solitary candle. You may proceed.
   • If you have not succeeded: You will open your eyes to find nothing has changed. Release each other’s thumbs and disband for now. You may try again another time. (See: Additional Notes.)
2. Now: Release each other’s thumbs. Rise. And begin your search — for this place in which you now find yourselves is the place in which the missing thumb may be found. (See: Additional Notes.)
3. Your goal is to locate the thumb. Search every nook and cranny for it; leave no area unexamined, no corner unexplored.
4. But: As you search, keep an eye on the candle. You have only as long as the candle burns to find the thumb; do not allow it to burn out.
   • If you find the thumb: Inform all participants that you have located it, pick it up, and gather together by the candle. Hold the thumb in your right hand; have all remaining participants clasp their own rights hands around the hand holding the thumb; and, together, lean in and blow out the candle.
   • If you do not find the thumb: Gather all participants by the candle while it is still burning. Grasp each other’s left thumbs with your right hands in the same manner as you did during The Journey, lean in, and blow out the candle.

The Return:

1. After you have blown the candle out, you may find yourself momentarily disoriented. When the disorientation clears, you will find yourself returned to the room in which you began. You may now release each other’s thumbs or hands, turn on the lights, and disband.
2. If you found the thumb before returning, pay careful attention to your luck in the days to follow; you may find it to improve somewhat, or in some way, shape, or form.
3. If you did not find the thumb before returning, you will see no improvement to your luck, but neither will you suffer any ill effects. You may try again another time.
4. If you did not return…
5. …I’m sorry.

Additional Notes:

In the original Japanese, what is referred to above as a “cottage” is written as “別荘.” This word is often translated into English as “villa”; its meaning, however, is specifically that of a holiday home  — a secondary or rental residence intended to serve as a vacation spot or a place to go for breaks or other respites, rather than a primary residence. From the Meiji era onward, these holiday homes have typically been constructed in the Western style, which may account for the common translation of the word as “villa.”

If you do not achieve success during The Journey using only the conjuring of the image of the cottage, you may, in a later attempt, choose to employ a chant sometimes suggested for use during this section. The chant, which should be spoken by all participants in unison after you have grasped each other’s thumbs and closed your eyes, is as follows:

“Oyayubi, Oyayubi, hear our voices.

Oyayubi, Oyayubi, grant our wish.”

This chant is not present in most Japanese sources; indeed, it is actually somewhat nonsensical: It treats the word “oyayubi” (親指) as if it refers to an entity or spirit of some sort, when the word itself means only “thumb” — as in, the appendage for which you are meant to be searching during later stages of the game. The chant is offered here for the sake of completeness; some players may find it useful — if only as a way to cue the moment at which all participants should open their eyes again to begin The Search.

Concerning The Search:

You may, while searching for the thumb, feel someone or something tap you on the back or shoulder. Should you feel this sensation, do NOT turn around.

Whether or not you find the thumb, you MUST blow the candle out and return your original location BEFORE it burns out on its own.

Should you fail to do so —

— Or should turn around upon feeling a tap on your shoulder —

— You will either expire immediately, or else become unable to return to your original location.

You may, in fact, become trapped within the very cottage you dreamed up in your mind.

You do not, under any circumstances, wish to become trapped within the cottage.

Concerning Your Own Thumbs:

Do NOT let go of anyone’s thumbs during The Journey, until you have arrived at the cottage. If you do, you… may find them to be missing when you return to your original location.

And it certainly won’t be a pretty sight.

The Thumb Game: FAQ.

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[Photo via MichaelGaida/Pixabay]