Origin:
Kuchisake Onna's origin isn't exactly known, however we do know know that her first widely known appearance was in the December of 1978 in the Gifu Prefecture of Japan due to a report being made at that time. This incident was so well known that 99% of children at that time knew of her, and her presence was so intimidating to these children that they even refused to go to school out of fear and the schools even sent home these children early as a precaution. It is rumored that there were many police cars that did extra patrols to ensure the peace as well. It is still unknown however, the full details of what had happened in response to this incident. After these reports, her name became widely known by the media at that time, such as the radio, TV, or in newspaper reports.
Aside from this report, there are many speculations with where exactly she came from. In some urban legends, she is described as being a wife of a jealous samurai who cut her mouth to essentially make her undesirable. In another common urban legend, she was the result of a plastic surgery patient gone wrong, and due to her image being ruined she will reek havoc on anybody she encounters.
Appearance:
The depictions for Kuchi-sake Onna can take many forms, however the most common depiction of her is that she is a beautiful woman with long black hair, a log coat, and a medical mask over her mouth. She carries a sharp object, and in most depictions is a large pair of scissors. Under her medical mask, is a mouth that is slit or in some depictions, a large mouth that contains many sharp teeth. Due to her depiction if you encounter her, she is described as being very violent and will kill.
The Encounter:
If you encounter Kuchi-sake Onna, she will approach you and ask you, "Am I pretty" or "Watashi....kirei?" in Japanese. It is at this point, where you must make the right decision in order to go away unharmed. Depending on the legend though, it is hard to determine the alternate options between yes and no. If you answer with, 'no' she will kill you immediately. If you say, 'yes' then she will remove her mask exposing her mouth. She will then say something like, "How about now?" or "Kore demo?" in Japanese. If you say, 'yes' then she will slit your mouth just like hers using her scissors or whatever sharp object she has in that legend. If you say, 'no' she will kill you, and in some depictions by means of cutting you in half. If you try to run away, she will always appear in front of you due to an ability that enables her to shift between spaces, or in some depictions she will simply follow you home and appear in your home and kill you.
It depend on the legend, but there are some alternate options that can be utilized in order to escape freely. In some depictions you can confuse her by answering her question with a very vague answer such as, "you look normal" , "so-so" or in Japanese you can say, "Ma-ma". It is at this point, while she is confused, that you escape, and supposedly she will not follow. In some other cases, if you mention you have some important business to go to, she will supposedly leave you alone as well. There are other objects that can ward her off such as pomade. This is a hair gel that can be found in doctor's offices and in some stories if you say that three times it will make her go away or if you have it on you, the smell will drive her away. It is believed that this is apart of the legend because in one story she was a plastic surgery patient gone wrong, so it is possible that the smell reminds her of that incident and it makes her uncomfortable.
Apperances in other media and stories: