Scary Story Time: "Go-Away Monkey" (Ep. 86)
For the spooky month of October, I'm reading my short horror story, "Go-Away Monkey" from my collection The Carp-Faced Boy and Other Tales. It's set i...
Uncanny Japan - Japanese Myths, Folktales, Superstitions, History and Language
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About
Speculative fiction writer, long-term resident of Japan and Bram Stoker Award finalist Thersa Matsuura explores all that is weird from old Japan—strange superstitions, folktales, cultural oddities, and interesting language quirks. These are little treasures she digs up while doing research for her writing.
The Most Merciless Yokai: the Korori (Ep.85)
The obscure and terrifyingly deadly yokai, the korori, ravaged Edo Japan. On today's episode I'll tell you all about it, what it really was and how fo...
Misemono: Edo Era Freak Shows (Ep. 84)
A misemono is like a carnival, museum, zoo, and freak show all rolled into one. Here you could see exotic animals, buy cure-all medicines, and check o...
Ningyo: The Ugly (and Delicious!) Japanese Mermaid (Ep. 83)
A Japanese mermaid is called a ningyo (人魚) or human fish. Today I'll tell you about their history, the good, the bad, and the delicious!
Obon Story Time: "At Yaidzu" by Lafcadio Hearn (Ep. 82)
It's Obon and today I want to read to you an essay by Lafcadio Hearn. He wrote it about the town he would stay at during summers, the town I've lived ...
Hitobashira: The Tragic Stories of Human Pillars (Ep. 81)
How do you build a bridge that stands up to storms and floods? Well, you have to appease the nature gods, of course. But how do you do that? Human sac...
The Adorably Creepy Tofu Kozo (Ep. 80)
The Tofu Kozo is a seemingly innocent little yokai who appears on rainy days offering a plate of tofu to unsuspecting people. What could possibly go w...
Mushi Okuri: Sending Off the Bugs (Ep. 79)
Let’s say you have a plague of insects, like millions of cicada awakening after a years-long slumber. Or worse, bugs that would rather devour your cro...
Utsuro-Bune: The Hollow (Space?) Ship (Ep. 79)
We’re being visited by UAPs, Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon. Or you might be more familiar with their older name: UFOs. There is a lot of interesting ...
Story Time – "Kaguya Hime: The Bamboo Cutter and the Moon Princess" (Ep. 77)
Today I'll read to you, "The Bamboo Cutter and the Moon Princess" called Kaguya Hime in Japanese. It's an old tale that some believe talks about other...