Uncanny Japan

Next time you're staring down into a rowdy school of koi, keep an eye out for the one that has a human face. This is a jinmengyo and rumor has it if you see one a tsunami is on its way. Or maybe if you're lucky, you'll get a glimpse of the nekomengyo/cat-faced carp. Which is much cuter until it grows those long legs and walks around at night. Visit the Uncanny Japan website to read the show notes...

The devils are coming! Or the ogres or demons, depending on how you translate the Japanese word oni (鬼). February 3rd is Setsubun in Japan and it's not just the day before spring according to the lunar calendar, it's also the day that oni prowl the streets and children must pelt them roasted soybeans to insure good luck for the coming year. In this episode of Uncanny Japan, I talk about Setsubun...

I'm starting 2019 off with the Seven Lucky Gods (Shichi Fukujin), or, well, more specifically ONE of the Seven Lucky Gods: Ebisu. He's the only one born and bred in Japan and, boy, does he have some seriously weird backstory. Come listen to me talk about Ebisu while binaurally recording a walk through Kyoto Station. Visit the Uncanny Japan website to read the show notes and transcript. Uncanny Jap...

The ojizo only wants to ease our suffering, and for that he gets tied up in ropes, doused in oil, and his head lopped off. Episode 27 of Uncanny Japan talks a little more about the ojizo statue, bringing to light some of the curious, unique, and bizarre manifestations of this beneficent deity. Visit the Uncanny Japan website to read the show notes and transcript. Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Mat...

An ojizo-sama is here to put aside his own enlightenment in order to save us all from the torments of hell. True story. He is especially partial to children, expectant mothers, firemen, travelers, pilgrims, stillborn, miscarried, and aborted babies. Do you have some kind of pain? He's here to take that away, too. The background binaural sounds are a small group of Japanese men and women playing a...

One, two, three... Okiku kneeling, counts the priceless plates that have been entrusted to her. Four, five, six... her samurai master, Tessan, stands, hands on hips, he watches her trembling hands. Seven, eight, nine... Okiku gasps. She checks the wooden chest, looks around panicked. There were ten. Now there are nine. Where did the other one go? Tessan enraged accuses her of stealing it, or perha...

Episode 24 of Uncanny Japan is a story, a Bedtime Story. Here I read to you my retelling and reimagining of a classic Japanese folktale Kachi Kachi Yama (Kachi Kachi Mountain). There are quite a few versions of the story out there. This one is very PG and everyone friendly. The more true-to-the-original and very slightly R-rated is over as extra content on Patreon. Visit the Uncanny Japan website...

I've had quite a few requests via email, DMs, and reviews for a show on Japanese urban legends. This episode is in answer to those requests. Here are two urban myths that have always intrigued me: The Slit-Mouthed Woman (kuchisake onna) and The White Thread That Comes from Your Ear (mimi kara shiroi ito). Visit the Uncanny Japan website to read the show notes and transcript. Uncanny Japan is autho...

Here are the last four Buddhist Hot Hells for your enjoyment. There is extreme heat, much screaming, and a flaming rooster. Also, I was able to catch a local summer festival on the binaural mics. That is very cool. Visit the Uncanny Japan website to read the show notes and transcript. Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other shows are Uncanny Robot Podcast and The Soothing Stories Podcas...

The first of two podcasts this month, Episode 21: Screaming and Crushing in Four Buddhist Hells, is just about that, four of the eight Buddhist Hot Hells. Come listen to what happens when you kill a mosquito, commit mutiny, or convince your drunken friend to do your evil bidding. Also, you don't want to lie, lest an oni pull your tongue out with red hot pliers. Look. That's what it says right up t...

The third Monday of July is Umi no Hi (海の日), Marine Day, so this month on Uncanny Japan I decided to talk about three otherworldly ocean creatures: Ship Goddesses, Boat Ghosts, and Sea Monks. Funa dama (船霊), funa yurei (船幽霊), and umi bozu (海坊主). This month's Bedtime Story (over on Patreon) is a folktale I translated called: The Umbrella Sea Monster. Please join our community forum! http...

This month's podcast is a special one. Not only did I do a podcast about a strange little creature called the amanojaku (天邪鬼), but at the end I attached one of my Bedtime Stories that I record monthly for my Patrons. So if you stay tuned after the podcast (a whopping 10 minutes), you'll be treated to my interpretation (the happy-ending version) of Urikohime (瓜子姫), The Melon Princess and the...

Welcome to May's Uncanny Japan. In this episode I talk about the God of Smallpox (housougami/疱瘡神). Come listen to the beliefs in this fearsome god and how dogs and the color red kept him at bay. Please join our community forum! https://japanforum.uncanny.productions/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura Website: https://www.uncannyjapan.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UncannyJ...

This month on Uncanny Japan I talk about Ubasuta Yama (姥捨山) or Granny Dumping Mountain. Back in old Japan when times were tough and there were too many mouths for one family to feed, they might do something called kuchi herashi (口減らし) or getting rid of mouths. One way to do this was to send one (or more) of your children to live with a wealthier family. Another way to cut down on the number...

Hitori kakurenbo (一人隠れん坊 ) means playing hide and seek by yourself. It sounds silly, but it's actually a super creepy, Japanese urban myth that involves you all alone at night with nothing but a stuffed animal, some red thread, and a knife. Come listen to this month's Uncanny Japan where I talk about how to play hitori kakurenbo while my binaural mics pick up all the sounds of sitting beside...

The rokuyo (六曜) or six days is the Japanese calendar that you consult when preparing to engage in various affairs: wedding, funerals, trips, and business dealings to name a few. Some days are good for some things, other days are good for others. Some days are just bad, bad, bad. If you take a good look at a lot of Japanese calendars and daily planners, they have two small kanji written in the co...

Listen to me talk about this wonderfully surreal thing I found: Living Buddhas (ikibotoke, 生き仏 or sokushinbutsu, 即身仏). The thing is, they're not really alive, at least not anymore. *cue scary music*... no, seriously, cue the scary music, things are going to get weird. Also, because I didn't mention it in the podcast the background of this month's Uncanny Japan was recorded at a local temple...

Everyone's busy. It's the end of the year. Come listen to me talk about how we spend December in Japan while you listen to a mochi-pounding event in the background on binaural mics. There is cleaning, haircuts, paying debts and staying up all night to avoid gray hair. Please join our community forum! https://japanforum.uncanny.productions/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura Website: h...

In Japan numbers can be tricky. Four is thought to invite death. Nine brings suffering and agony. But, hey! Eight is good! Please join our community forum! https://japanforum.uncanny.productions/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura Website: https://www.uncannyjapan.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UncannyJapan Mastodon: https://famichiki.jp/@UncannyJapan Twitter: https://twitter....

You have one. I have one. We all have one: a Devil's Gate. It's the place where oni (Japanese devils) sneak into your home, steal all your good luck and fine health, and scuttle away. It's the place you have to be very careful about and treat with respect. The problem is, most of us have no idea where our Devil's Gate (kimon) is, much less what to do to appease and/or keep out those pesky devils....

Careful. Living a life of luxury while being selfish and coveting your neighbors goodies just might lead you to another spin on this Wheel of Life. This means after you die you'll be reborn not as a human again, not even as a squirrel in someone's backyard. You might just come back as a hungry ghost, and let me tell you why that's not a very good thing. This month's podcast is about Japanese hungr...

This month's podcast is Obon Part Two, the time when you have to send ol' grandma and grandpa back to the World of the Dead. There are various ways of doing this. I talk about two, the chill, mellow way and the flinging-balls-of-fire-into-the-air way. Please join our community forum! https://japanforum.uncanny.productions/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura Website: https://www.uncann...

In Japan, Obon is the time of year when all the ancestors' spirits make the long haul back to the world of the living to pay a visit. It's kind of a big deal. Butsudan-altars are decorated to the hilt and families wait expectantly for grandma and grandpa, great grandma and great grandpa (not to mention great, great, great grandma and grandpa) to arrive and hang out. This month's podcast is part on...

The senninbari or one thousand-stitch belt is a magical kind of sash worn by soldiers in World War 2 to ward off enemies bullets and impart super human strength. Please join our community forum! https://japanforum.uncanny.productions/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura Website: https://www.uncannyjapan.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UncannyJapan Mastodon: https://famichiki.jp/...

Why can't you cut your fingernails after dark in Japan? What happens if you whistle at night? And why do spiders bring good luck in the morning but bad luck at night? These aren't just random rules—each superstition has roots in old Japan's daily life, from the tools people used to the dangers they faced after sunset. Some reasons are practical. Others are... unsettling. In this episode we explore...