Uketsu’s writing resonates with the tropes and characteristics that separate Japanese horror from Western traditions of horror. Unlike American or British horror, which often relies heavily on violence or shocking imagery to elicit fear, Japanese horror preys on the reader’s psychology to suggest dread and build suspense. As a result, many modern Japanese horror stories are framed as mysteries, often involving supernatural elements that allude to traditional Japanese folklore.

Modern Japanese horror evolved from the Edo- and Meiji-era folktale known as kaidan, which translates to “strange narrative.” While kaidan could broadly refer to any kind of supernatural horror story, it featured certain tropes that came to define the genre, including vengeful ghosts and curses that haunt people long after someone has died in a wrongful way. In 1776, the story collection Ugetsu Monogatari (Tales of Moonlight and Rain) by Ueda Akinari codified some of these elements, adapting traditional Chinese and Japanese folktales.

The influence of kaidan is evident in modern Japanese horror like Koji Suzuki’s seminal 1991 novel, Ring. Ring concerns a cursed videotape, which is later revealed to have been created after a young girl with psychic powers was wrongfully killed and thrown down a well.