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.
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episode 46: Kanashibari and the Pillow Flipper (Makura Gaeshi)
The makura gaeshi, or pillow flipper, was thought to cause kanashibari, otherwise known as sleep paralysis. It happens when you believe you've woken up in bed, but you're actually somewhere between wakefulness and sleep. You’re aware of the...
episode 45: Auspicious Cuisine (Osechi Ryori)
Want to increase your chances of a new year filled with health, prosperity, and an abundance of children and grandchildren? All you need to do is eat some delicious osechi ryori. Osechi is Japan's New Year's cuisine that includes such delicacies as...
episode 44: Haunted Artifacts (Tsukumogami)
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 tsukumogami, or haunted artifacts. In this episode...
episode 43: The Great Horned Master (Tsuno Daishi)
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-putting at first, this creepy little fellow isn't...
episode 42: Story Time - Yotsuya Kaidan (The Ghost of Oiwa)
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 here was in episode 25, Okiku and the Nine Plates...
episode 41: Japanese Superstitions II: Spider Lilies and Ghostly Trees
(Transcript below) 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 of Uncanny Japan I'll take on a few...
episode 40: Daruma - He Cut Off His What?!
His eyelids. He cut off his eyelids. But that is not all that the Daruma (Bodhidharma) is famous for. He's the man who brought Chan to China and Zen to Japan. Some say he taught the Shaolin monks how to fight while other tales talk about how he...
episode 39: Behind the Curtain: Advice for people coming to Japan
Episode 39 of Uncanny Japan is different, it's special. Today I forgo my usual format and invite my friend, fellow long time expat, and Sound Dude, Rich Pav, to join me in answering some listener questions about advice when coming to Japan. Here we...
episode 38: Story Time - Cicada (Lafcadio Hearn)
In Episode 38, you can listen to Lafcadio Hearn's whimsical take on the cicada (semi) while enjoying some real time cicada singing in the background. A lot of the poems didn't make it into the podcast. Here are a few: "A very large number of...
episode 37: The Ogre App to Discipline Your Child (Oni Kara Denwa)
Ever since I saw a mother discipline her child by threatening to call an oni/ogre, I've been wanting to do talk about this. Then I found out it really is a thing, an app called Oni Kara Denwa (A Call From an Oni, or as it's translated in Japanese:...