English Version
In Japan, clapping is usually a gesture of joy, celebration, or blessing. You bring your palms together to applaud someone, offer congratulations, or show appreciation.
But according to certain urban legends, there is another kind of clap with a much darker meaning: ura hakushu, or “reverse clapping.” Instead of striking the palms together, the person claps the backs of their hands.
In folklore and online horror stories, this gesture is said to carry the meaning of a curse. It is sometimes described as a clap directed at someone you resent, someone who has harmed you, or someone whose happiness you wish to reject.
The Cursed Clap Known as Ura Hakushu
Ordinary applause is used to celebrate someone’s happiness. Ura hakushu is said to be the opposite: a gesture aimed at a person who is harmful to you, or toward someone you hold a grudge against.
Some legends claim that if ura hakushu is performed toward a person, that person may become cursed. In the most extreme versions of the story, the curse can even lead to death.
Because of this, ura hakushu is also sometimes called “the beckoning of the dead.”
Why Is It Linked to the Dead?
The idea behind ura hakushu is connected to an old belief that the world of the dead is “opposite” to the world of the living. In this way of thinking, the dead do things in reverse of how living people do them.
One example often given is funeral clothing. In this explanation, a body is dressed so that the left side is placed in front, while living people usually wear formal kimono for happy occasions in the opposite way. Whether taken as folklore or superstition, the key idea is that death is associated with reversal.
That is why clapping with the backs of the hands, the reverse of normal applause, came to be seen as ominous. It is not considered a lucky gesture, so even as a joke, many people would rather not do it in everyday life.
The Music Station Rumor
One of the most famous stories about ura hakushu involves the long-running Japanese music program Music Station, often called M Station, which airs on Friday nights.
According to a widely shared rumor, singer Ai Otsuka appeared on the show and performed her hit song “Planetarium.” During the climax of the song, the audience was clapping along, but one person was allegedly shown doing ura hakushu instead.
The broadcast in question is said to have aired in 2005. In the version of the story often repeated online, only one figure in the crowd was clapping with the backs of their hands while everyone else clapped normally.
The rumor becomes even more unsettling because another story claims that Ai Otsuka once had an ex-boyfriend who died in a motorcycle accident. When she later heard about the strange figure in the audience, she was supposedly moved and thought that her former boyfriend had come to see her.
However, the story continues that after a spiritual medium told her the supposed true meaning of ura hakushu, she immediately went to a temple for purification.
Fans have also speculated that “Planetarium,” with lyrics about longing to meet a lost love again at the end of summer, may have been inspired by that former boyfriend. This remains part of the rumor surrounding the song and should not be treated as confirmed fact.
The Midnight Drive
Another well-known scary story about ura hakushu takes place during a late-night drive.
One night, a couple was driving to a haunted spot. On the way, they got into an argument. In anger, the boyfriend left his girlfriend behind at the haunted location.
After a while, he realized it was dangerous to leave a woman alone there in the middle of the night, so he drove back to pick her up. They made up, got back in the car, and started heading home together.
On the road back, they noticed two children waving at them.
It was the middle of the night. Why would children be out there at such an hour? The couple thought something was strange. When they looked more closely, they realized the children were waving with the backs of their hands facing toward the car.
The girlfriend said, “Those kids look like they’re in trouble. Shouldn’t we help them?”
The boyfriend answered, “Look carefully. The way they’re waving is wrong. Their hands are reversed. They say that things that move opposite to normal aren’t from this world. That means those children are already dead.”
The girlfriend replied, “Wow, you know a lot. That’s amazing.”
And as she said it, she began clapping the backs of her hands together.
Final Thoughts
Ura hakushu is one of those small, simple gestures that becomes deeply unsettling once you know the story behind it. Whether you see it as superstition, folklore, or an urban legend, the image of a silent figure clapping with the backs of their hands is hard to forget.
If you visit places in Japan with haunted reputations, stay safe and respectful. Go only where public access is allowed, do not trespass, avoid abandoned buildings, and do not put yourself or others at risk for the sake of a ghost story.
And if you ever see someone doing something strange with the backs of their hands late at night, you may want to keep your distance.
Japanese Language
人間が何かを喜んだり祝福したりするときに行う行為を「拍手」といいますね。手のひらと手のひらを打ち付ける行為を拍手といいますが、他にも恐ろしい拍手があるのです。それが「裏拍手」です。。裏拍手は、手の甲を打ち合わせる形のことを言います。この裏拍手には人を呪うという意味が込められています。この裏拍手にまつわる恐ろしい話などがいくつかあるのでご紹介してきたいと思います。▶本気の霊視を体験してみたい方はここをクリック 。呪われた拍手「裏拍手」。。
普通は手のひらを打ち合わせ、人の幸せなどを祝福するときに使用します。一方裏拍手は自分にとって不利益な存在、または恨む存在の人物に向かって行う行為です。この裏拍手を相手にすることによって呪われたり最悪の場合死んでしまうという言い伝えが残っているのです。別名「死者の手招き」とも呼ばれる裏拍手の起源。。裏拍手は死者が手招きしているといわれているのです。遠い昔から、死後の世界に関係することは「すべてが反対」といわれていて、現世で生きる人間が行うことをすべて反対で行うといわれているのです。
わかりやすい例で挙げると、お葬式の際にご遺体に死装束を着せるともいますが、左側が前になるようにきせます。現世で生きている私たちは、成人式などおめでたいことがあるときは着物などを右側を前にして着るのが一般的なのです。このように、死者の世界では行われることが逆の場合が多いのです。あまり縁起の良い行為ではないので、日常生活で行ったりすることはやめておきましょう。裏拍手にまつわる有名な怖い話。。M ステに移りこんでしまった裏拍手。毎週金曜日の夜 20 時から放送される人気音楽番組 M ステ（ミュージックステーション）。
大塚愛が出演した際に裏拍手が映し出されてしまい放送事故になったという話が存在します。大塚愛の代表的な歌は「プラネタリウム」ですが、 M ステでこの「プラネタリウム」を熱唱している時に裏拍手が写ってしまったのです。2005 年に放送された M ステですが「プラネタリウム」のクライマックスの場面で感覚が手拍子をしているところに、一人だけ裏拍手をしている人物が写りこんだというものです。広く伝えられている話では、大塚愛の元彼はバイク事故で亡くなっているそうです。
大塚愛は後日子の話を聞いて、元彼が来てくれたと感激をしていたそうです。しかし、霊能者からの裏拍手の本当の意味を知らされた時は、すぐにお寺に行きお祓いを受けたとのことです。この曲は夏の終わりの失恋した相手に再開したいというような歌詞になっていることから、元彼を元に作成されたのではないかと囁かれています。深夜のドライブにて。ある日の夜。カップルが車で心霊スポットへ向かっていました。しかし、そんな道中に二人は口論になってしまい、彼氏は彼女を心霊スポットに置き去りにしてしまいます。
さすがに、真夜中に女性一人にするのはまずいと思い、彼氏は再び彼女を迎えに行きました。彼女とは無事仲直りができ二人で変えることになりました。帰り道、二人で手を振ってくる子供を発見しました。時刻は深夜、こんな時間に何だろうと不思議に思う二人。どう考えておかしいと思いつつ、子供二人をよく見てみると、手の甲をこちらへ向けて手を振っていました。彼女「子供が困っているから助けてあげたほうがいいんじゃないの？」。彼氏「よく見ると手の振り方がおかしい。
手の甲を振っているでしょ？普通とは逆に行動するのは、この世のものじゃないって意味らしい。だからあの子供は死んでいるってことだよ。」。彼女「 へ～、よく知ってるね。すごーい 」。と手の甲を反対にたたきながらそう話したといいます。まとめ。いかがだったでしょうか？。最後に話した怖い話はどうでしたか？。心霊スポットへ行く機会も少なくはないと思います。手の甲で何かをしている人には注意が必要ですよ・・・
