Uncanny Japan

A kappa is a small, scrawny, aquatic yokai with a parrot-like beak, a tortoise-style shell on its back, and an indentation on the top of its head full of water. They're found in rivers, lakes, ponds, ...

15 Maalis 202016min

Have you ever been sleeping and had a bout of kanashibari (sleep paralysis)? Then during that surreal--most likely frightening--experience, have you ever had what feels like a ghost child crawling on ...

27 Helmi 202019min

Have you ever woken up frozen, unable to move or speak? You're wide awake—or at least you think you are. You can hear everything around you, but you're completely paralyzed. In Japan, this experienc...

11 Helmi 202013min

Akemashite omedetō. Happy New Year. I'm surrounded by moving boxes in my new creaky house, but I want to share Japan's amazing New Year food tradition—osechi ryōri. It's a whole bunch of different d...

23 Tammi 202019min

In Japan when an inanimate object reaches its 100th birthday and perhaps it was mistreated, or lost, or thrown away, it gains a soul and might possibly start playing tricks on people. This is called t...

24 Joulu 201915min

When walking around Japan you might see a small rectangular piece of paper pasted near a front door or on a gate. On this paper is an image that can only be described as a demon or devil. While off-pu...

14 Marras 201915min

It's almost Halloween, so for this episode of Uncanny Japan I'm going to tell you a spooky tale called Yotsuya Kaidan, the story of Oiwa and her sad and vengeful ghost. The last ghost story I told her...

25 Loka 201925min

Why is the beautiful Spider lily also called a corpse flower? Why didn't samurai keep camellias in their gardens? Why do Japanese ghosts like to hang out under weeping willows? On this episode I'll t...

10 Loka 201915min