THE SUICIDE FLORET- AOKIGAHARA

Mount Fuji - Japan

Aokigahara is woodland at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan. Also called the Sea of Trees;  Aokigahara Forest is known for two things in Japan: breath-taking views of Mount Fuji and suicides a destination for the desperate is a place where the suicidal disappear, often never to be found in the dense forest.

The forest has a historic association with demons in Japanese mythology and is a popular place for suicides; 54 completed the act in 2010, despite numerous signs, in Japanese and English, urging people to reconsider their actions.

Aokigahara and Saiko Lake, as viewed from Koyodai in 1995.

The trend has supposedly started after Seicho Matsumoto published his novel Kuroi Kaiju (Black Sea of Trees) where two of his characters commit suicide there.

"The perfect place to die." That's how Aokigahara was described in Wataru Tsurumui's bestselling book The Complete Manual of Suicide.

BOOK COVER

Reportedly the florest is the most popular popular place for suicides in Japan and second in the world after San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. Statistics vary. In the period leading up to 1988, about 30 suicides occurred there every year.

In 2002, 78 bodies were found within the forest, exceeding the previous record of 74 in 1998. In 2003, the rate climbed to 100, and in recent years, the local government has stopped publicizing the numbers in an attempt to downplay Aokigahara's association with suicide. In 2004, 108 people killed themselves in the forest. In 2010, 247 people attempted suicide in the forest, 54 of whom completed the act.

The Aokigahara Forest is a lonely place to die. So dense is the vegetation at the foot of Japan's Mount Fuji, it is all too easy to disappear among the evergreens and never be seen again.

Signs emblazoned with messages such as "Please reconsider" and "Please consult the police before you decide to die!" are nailed to trees throughout the forest. However, the woods have such a reputation that these minor deterrents do little to stop the determined. Local residents say they can always tell who is going into the forest for its stunning natural beauty, who is hunting after the macabre and who is planning never to return.

A short tale:
  
Taro, a 46-year-old man fired from his job at an iron manufacturing company, hoped to fade into the blackness. "My will to live disappeared," said Taro. "I'd lost my identity, so I didn't want to live on this earth. That's why I went there."

Taro, who did not want to be identified fully, was swimming in debt and had been evicted from his company apartment.

He lost financial control, which he believes to be the foundation of any stable life, he said. "You need money to survive. If you have a girlfriend, you need money. If you want to get married, you need it for your life. Money is always necessary for your life."

Taro bought a one-way ticket to the forest, west of Tokyo, Japan. When he got there, he slashed his wrists, though the cut wasn't enough to kill him quickly.

He started to wander, he said. He collapsed after days and lay in the bushes, nearly dead from dehydration, starvation and frostbite. He would lose his toes on his right foot from the frostbite. But he didn't lose his life, because a hiker stumbled upon his nearly dead body and raised the alarm.



Fortunately Taro survived to tell history but most people are never found again!