Uncanny Japan

It was all over the news: Japan's Infamous Killing Stone that was housing a chaotic, disaster inducing nine-tailed fox spirit, broke in half on March 5th, 2022. Is the fox spirit free? I'll tell you all about it on this episode. Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other shows are Uncanny Robot Podcast and The Soothing Stories Podcast. Check out her books including The Carp-Faced Boy on Am...

On today's episode I'm going to tell you about an affliction that involved a strange growth on some part of your body that had the face of a human and did horrible things. Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other shows are Uncanny Robot Podcast and The Soothing Stories Podcast. Check out her books including The Carp-Faced Boy on Amazon. If you'd like to help support the podcast and have...

As a bonus for Uncanny Japan listeners, we would like to share a preview of our brand-new show, "Uncanny Robot Podcast." Yes, more Uncanny goodness! Wonderfully wild AI-created stories read by humans (that would be Thersa and Richard) with a little commentary thrown in, too. Thank you so much for subscribing and listening to Uncanny Japan. We really hope you like the new podcast as well. https://w...

The Human Pillar of Tango. This is a retelling of an old folktale that I've never seen translated into English. Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other shows are Uncanny Robot Podcast and The Soothing Stories Podcast. Check out her books including The Carp-Faced Boy on Amazon. If you'd like to help support the podcast and have a bedtime story read to you monthly, please visit Patreon. P...

Japanese oni are a very deep and varied subject. Learn about these mountain-dwelling ogres and what they do. Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other shows are Uncanny Robot Podcast and The Soothing Stories Podcast. Check out her books including The Carp-Faced Boy on Amazon. If you'd like to help support the podcast and have a bedtime story read to you monthly, please visit Patreon. Plea...

Who are these eccentric street musicians dressed in bright kimono playing drums, bells, clarinet, and saxophone marching down your street? What do they want? Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other shows are Uncanny Robot Podcast and The Soothing Stories Podcast. Check out her books including The Carp-Faced Boy on Amazon. If you'd like to help support the podcast and have a bedtime stor...

It's been a rough couple of years, so today let's talk about some Japanese good luck superstitions. Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other shows are Uncanny Robot Podcast and The Soothing Stories Podcast. Check out her books including The Carp-Faced Boy on Amazon. If you'd like to help support the podcast and have a bedtime story read to you monthly, please visit Patreon. Please join o...

A mayoiga is a house that magically appears when you're lost in the forest or mountains. If you venture in, what will you find? What should you do? Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other shows are Uncanny Robot Podcast and The Soothing Stories Podcast. Check out her books including The Carp-Faced Boy on Amazon. If you'd like to help support the podcast and have a bedtime story read to...

Today I'll tell you part 2 of the Sakuragaike Legend (and nanafushigi!) What was waiting at the bottom of the lake? Why was the snake-dragon suffering and how did his old follower help him? Where is Kouen Ajari The Snake-Dragon now? 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 Sooth...

The story goes that a large snake-dragon lives at the bottom of Sakuragaike Lake. It's waiting. But where did this snake-dragon come from, and who is it waiting for? I'll tell you about this still obscure myth -- and nanafushigi -- in this episode of Uncanny Japan. Visit the Uncanny Japan website to read the show notes and transcript. Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other shows are Un...

Kokkuri or Kokkuri-san is the name for the Japanese ouija or spirit board. It's also the name for the spirit who visits during the game. For Halloween, Richard and I decided to try our hand at this super creepy pastime and you'll never believe what happens. Headphones on and buckle up! Visit the Uncanny Japan website to read the show notes and transcript. Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. H...

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 in an older Japan in a small village that has been ravaged by smallpox. If you remember Episode 4 (Monkeys and Monkey Lore), you'll understand the monkey show coming to town to drive away all the bad luck and disease. But does it work? Written a full...

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 foreigners were the ones who brought it to Japan. 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 Podcast. Check out her...

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 out mermaid mummies among many, many other thrills. 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 Podcast. Check out h...

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! 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 Podcast. Check out her books including The Carp-Faced Boy on Amazon. If you'd like...

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 in for 25 plus years. Here he talks not just about the lantern floating ceremony, but also the ocean and ghost and gods and how we humans fit into it all. Visit the Uncanny Japan website to read the show notes and transcript. Uncanny Japan is author...

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 sacrifice seemed to have worked in the past. Today I'll talk about hitobashira or human pillars. An ancient tradition of insuring strong river banks, fireproof castles, and tunnels that won't collapse. Visit the Uncanny Japan website to read the show no...

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 wrong? 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 Podcast. Check out her books including The Carp-Faced Boy on Amaz...

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 crops. And let's say this is happening 200 years ago so you don't have your pesticides or DDT to wipe them out. What do you do? Why you have an absolutely delightful festival, with dances, and Buddhist or Shinto prayers, and taiko drumming, flute flutin...

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 news coming out these days. You've probably seen it. Well, guess what, they've been coming for quite awhile and I have proof. Today let's talk about the utsuro-bune (虚舟) or utsuro-fune, the legend of the hollow ship. Visit the Uncanny Japan website...

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 otherworldly visitors. Was the Moon Princess an extraterrestrial being? 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 Podc...

Who are Fujin and Raijin (the Japanese Wind God and Thunder God), where did they come from, and what do they do? Today I'll tell you about their origins in India and a Japanese Goddesses' decaying body. 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 Podcast. Check out...

Today's Story Time is one I found in an old collection of Japanese folklore. It's about a couple of conniving kappa and an innocent young girl. It's called "The Kappa's Abyss." 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 Podcast. Check out her books including The C...

The Hell Courtesan (Jigoku Tayuu) is a mysterious figure that appears in art and story in Japan since the 1600s. But who is this beautiful high-ranked oiran who wears a kimono covered in images of hell? In this episode I talk about her legend and relationship with the eccentric monk Ikkyuu. Visit the Uncanny Japan website to read the show notes and transcript. Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuu...

Here is it already April first and the cherry blossoms are blooming and spring is in the air. I think today is a good day to tell you a story I've been wanting to share for awhile now. Remember last episode when I talked about the tanuki? Well, keep all that in mind when you listen to today's episode. Things are going to get weird. This version is safe for 8 year olds and grandmothers. Visit the U...