Uncanny Japan - Japanese Folklore, Folktales, Myths and Language

I want to celebrate my fiftieth episode by reading my yokai story, "Sand Walls, Paper Doors" from my book . This is the one that got me my book deal, my agent, and my best friend. Also, yokai, lots of yokai. Thank you for listening, sharing, and...

An amabie is a Japanese yokai that is said to have predicted a plague and then encouraged people to share its image to protect them from that previously predicted plague. Or something like that. The amabie has recently all over Japanese social media...

A kappa is a small, scrawny, aquatic yokai with a parrot-like beak, a tortoise-style shell on its back, and an indentation on the top of its head full of water. They're found in rivers, lakes, ponds, and even coastal areas. But what do they do? While...

Have you ever been sleeping and had a bout of ? Then during that surreal--most likely frightening--experience, have you ever had what feels like a ghost child crawling on top of you? Or maybe late one night when you're all alone, you've heard an...

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 room...

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...

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 I...

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...

It's almost Halloween, so for this episode of Uncanny Japan I'm going to tell you a spooky tale called , the story of Oiwa and her sad and vengeful ghost. The last ghost story I told here was in (Bancho Sarayashiki). Well, Yotsuya Kaidan's main...

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 I'll take on a few more Japanese superstitions, but this...