Story Time: The Mirror Maiden by Lafcadio Hearn (Ep. 146)
Today I'll read you Lafcadio Hearn's short story: The Mirror Maiden. [This description contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no a...
17 Apr 202419min
Ryomen Sukuna: Awesome Saint or Japan-Destroying Demon? (Ep. 145)
The two-faced, eight-limbed giant named Ryomen Sukuna has been around since very early Japan, still is he a Buddhism-protecting hero or a cursed demon who tried to destroy Japan? [This description co...
30 Mar 202425min
Teru Teru Bōzu: Cute, Magical, Unsettling Origins (Ep. 144)
You'll often see ghostly-looking dolls strung up in windows in Japan on rainy days. What do they mean and why are they a little creepy? [This description contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click...
15 Mar 202420min
Abe no Seimei & His Mysterious Place Near Me (Ep. 143)
Abe no Seimei was the greatest onmyōji in Japan. While he lived in Kyoto, he visited Shizuoka at some point and performed some magic, giving us another nanafushigi (seven mysterious things). [This d...
29 Feb 202423min
Nami-Kozō: The Creepy Little Wave Boy (Ep. 142)
A nanafushigi (seven mysterious things) and a local yokai, the Nami Kozō or Wave Boy has a number of variations to his story, some involving real historical monks. [This description contains Amazon ...
16 Feb 202421min
The All-powerful Five Elements and You (Ep. 141)
In Japan there are two types of Five Elements, the gogyo and the godai and you can find them all throughout Japanese culture-in tea ceremony, martial arts, acupuncture, herbalism, esoteric Buddhism, a...
31 Jan 202423min
A Rollicking and Powerful Year of the Dragon 2024 (Ep. 140)
Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu! Happy New Year! This is Thersa Matsuura and you’re listening to Uncanny Japan, Season 8. We just moved from the year of the Rabbit to the Year of the Dragon and I want t...
16 Jan 202415min
Joya no Kane: Japanese Temple Bells Ring Out 108 Sins at New Year (Ep. 139)
What happens when 108 temple bell rings wash away a year's worth of sins? Thersa has climbed the hill to her local Buddhist temple every New Year's Eve. The tradition is joya no kane—ringing out the...
28 Des 202317min
