I was just wondering if this story was inspired by any Japanese folklore? I know that it started as a Manga story book but I was just curious and I'm still trying to figure out what Tomie is. Is she a demon girl or is she a ghost taking vengeance against men but cursed to die the same way over and over again?
shareNope. The story was completely conceived by Junji Ito, author/artist of the manga. He got the idea for it in highschool, when one of his classmates died, and his fellow students were talking about how it wouldn't be unusual to just walk in the next day like nothing happened.
As for what Tomie is...well, she's some sort of demon girl who drives her lovers mad with jealousy. She seems to enjoy being killed, but always seeks out revenge. And when Tomie dies, hundreds more are spawned from her remains.
Wasn't she some experiment gone wrong in the manga? I seem to remember that skinny weird guy(who also gives the seeds to the people in the village that grow into more Tomies) coming to a mansion and cloning the owners daughter(Tomie).
Did you ever notice that people who believe in creationism look realy un-evolved? - Bill Hicks