I saw this …

Via Idol 2.0

… and was just going to post it up by itself in a way of artistically expressing, wordlessly but powerfully, how profoundly moving and compelling of introspection Hanako-san truly is, a perfect example of performance art.

And then I started to Google.

Like, literally, all I was trying to do was get a decent banner image for the young woman, and everything in the image search kept turning out what looked like some kind of urban legend, and then that’s exactly what it turns out to be!

So, in a nutshell (or you can Wiki it like I did after a minute), Hanako is sort of the Japanese Bloody Mary, the alleged spirit of a schoolgirl who was killed around World War II, in a school’s toilet stall; if you go into a restroom and say her name, she’ll apparently call back and yeah it gets a little scary.

But now it all makes sense, from the outfit to the throwing toilet paper to the imperial flag, all of it.

Hanako-san is performing as this spirit, or as a manifestation of the spirit. And it’s as what looks like a troupe of horror performers (her profile).

I think I have even more respect for her now.