0. The verdict: three unrelated mysteries have crashed into each other
A simple question—“Who is Masuda?”—somehow turns into a grinning hacker mask and a balding man who supposedly appears in everybody's dreams. Here is the spoiler: Masuda is a Japanese anonymous diary nickname; Anonymous is an English word and the name used by a loose activist network; This Man is a viral dream-face legend. They are not one franchise. The internet simply has a remarkable supply of suspicious-looking characters.
1. Who is Masuda? A Japanese pun pretending to be a surname
Masuda is a nickname for Hatena Anonymous Diary, a Japanese anonymous writing service. Say Anonymous Diary in Japanese as anonymasu daiarī: the sound masuda appears in the middle, and people wrote it as the ordinary-looking surname 増田. This was already being used in 2006.[1] Someone extracted four syllables from a service name and accidentally hired an imaginary office worker. There is no family tree to investigate.
2. The Masuda vocabulary: site, post, writer, original poster
Depending on context, Masuda means the site, an entry, an anonymous contributor, or the contributors collectively. Moto-Masuda (literally “original Masuda”) commonly refers to the writer of the post being discussed.[2][3] A Masuda replies to another Masuda about a Masuda: welcome to the grammar department's emergency room. Hatena Blog and Hatena Anonymous Diary are separate services. Anonymous public display also does not promise absolute technical or legal untraceability.
3. Anonymous: lowercase adjective, uppercase internet network
Lowercase anonymous means “unnamed” or “not identified.” Capitalized Anonymous is also a label adopted by a loose, decentralized online movement known for protests and cyber activity.[4] It is not accurate to treat every anonymous person as a hacker, or every action under that label as the work of a single headquarters. Being called Anonymous does not mean you received an official security badge from Mr. Masuda.
4. That smug smile is a Guy Fawkes mask
The thin eyes, curled mustache, pointed beard and profoundly self-satisfied smile belong to a Guy Fawkes mask. The design became famous through V for Vendetta and was later worn at Anonymous-linked demonstrations and other protests.[5][6] The masked face is a symbol, not a photo of one specific hacker. It looks like it knows your password; that is not proof that it does.
5. Why do hundreds of identical faces appear in a crowd?
The movie V for Vendetta includes crowds wearing the same mask. That is a possible source of the memory of one face multiplying across the screen.[5] But a hundred people wearing the same mask is different from a legend about strangers sharing dreams of one unmasked face. One is a costume scene. The other is an internet ghost story. Your brain can accidentally put both posters on the same wall.
6. Meet This Man: thinning hair, mighty eyebrows, faint smile
This Man is the black-and-white composite portrait of a man with a receding hairline, heavy eyebrows and a strangely calm mouth. The meme asks whether you have dreamed of him. The name is This Man, not “The Man.” Unlike the Anonymous mask, the picture is not a disguise: the entire mystery revolves around the bare face itself.[7] Imagine becoming a global meme without even having a confirmed real-world identity.
7. The supposed dream epidemic started with a story
The originating website claims that in 2006 a New York psychiatric patient drew a man from recurring dreams, and others around the world later recognized him.[8] That is the website's narrative, not verified medical evidence. It cannot establish that thousands of independent people actually dreamed of the same stranger. The concept is terrifying—and the fictional man's overnight travel schedule would violate every workplace regulation imaginable.
8. The reveal: a marketer invented it, and a newsroom fell for it
The This Man project was traced to Italian marketer Andrea Natella. The supposed worldwide dream mystery was a manufactured story.[9][7] In 2015, VICE published a feature and then a correction acknowledging that it had been fooled. The drawing had no press agent, yet the story collected international publicity and eventually a formal media apology. Outstanding performance from an employee who does not exist.
9. Why people mix them up
Masuda comes from a sound embedded in “anonymous”; Anonymous is an anonymity-themed online identity; and This Man is a memorable face attached to a creepy claim. Add the sea of identical Guy Fawkes masks in V for Vendetta and you get a plausible memory error: “the multiplying bald guy from Anonymous.” This is an interpretation of the mix-up, not a proven diagnosis or specific psychological study.
10. Final cheat sheet: identify the object, not just the vibe
Masuda: a punny nickname for Hatena Anonymous Diary. Anonymous: a word and a loose network; its recognizable visual is the Guy Fawkes mask. This Man: a receding-haired sketch at the center of a debunked dream legend. Ask: website, mask, or portrait? Check the origin and any later correction before sharing the spooky story. Masuda multiplies the meanings of a name, Anonymous hides faces, and This Man conquered the internet with a face alone. Three separate departments of the Weird Internet.
References (9)
- はてなキーワード「増田」：呼び名・語源・初出 d.hatena.ne.jp
- INTERNET Watch（2009）：増田の複数の意味 internet.watch.impress.co.jp
- はてな匿名ダイアリー「元増田」とは？：用法と匿名性 anond.hatelabo.jp
- GIGAZINE（2020）：Anonymousの起源と分散した活動 gigazine.net
- BBC News（2011）：ガイ・フォークスの仮面と抗議活動 bbc.com
- BBC News（2012）：『Vフォー・ヴェンデッタ』作者とAnonymousの仮面 bbc.com
- Know Your Meme：This Manの2009年ごろの拡散と正体 knowyourmeme.com
- ThisMan.org「History」：都市伝説の元の主張（独立した証拠ではない） thisman.org
- VICE（2015）：This Man記事を訂正し、でっち上げと認めた説明 vice.com
