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Category: Japanese Culture 

Japan’s Three Great Ghost Stories (Ep. 157)

Today I'm going to read you an article I wrote for Sotheby's about the Nihon Sandai Kaidan, or Japan's three great ghost stories. And those stories are about the three lovely ladies, Okiku, Oiwa, and Otsuyu. Let me tell you about not just these ghostly, vengeful spirits, but about the artists who depicted them as well.
Drawings of the three great female ghosts of japan, okiku, otsuyu, and oiwa

Moshi Moshi! You’re About to Meet Some Demons! (Ep. 154)

Two fascinating phrases in Japanese that have very creepy origins. What are you really doing when you answer the phone "moshi moshi" anyway?
A person with glowing eyes and horns, wearing a dark outfit, stands on a quiet street with old buildings and dim lights at dusk.

Chopsticks: Godly Tools or Death Bringers? ( Ep. 151)

Discover the intricacies of Japanese chopstick etiquette and lore. Learn about godly chopsticks, taboos that can bring death, and the concept of 'wa' (harmony) in Japanese culture. Avoid social faux pas and deepen your understanding of this seemingly simple yet complex utensil.
Hands holding and stretching mochi over a decorative plate placed on a sketchbook with pen drawings of people and food.

Bug News: Body Parasites or Ghosts (Mushi no Shirase)? (Ep. 148)

Have you ever had a premonition or a foreboding feeling that turned out to be true? Was it a parasitic insect living in your belly or a ghost trying to tell you something?
Illustration of a traditional East Asian scholar holding a scroll, flanked by mythical creatures in a forest setting.

Ryomen Sukuna: Awesome Saint or Japan-Destroying Demon? (Ep. 145)

The two-faced, eight-limbed giant named Ryomen Sukuna has been around since very early Japan, still is he a Buddhism-protecting hero or a cursed demon who tried to destroy Japan?
Drawing of a two-faced creature with long hair sitting in a circle, with Chinese characters on the left and right sides.

Abe no Seimei & His Mysterious Place Near Me (Ep. 143)

Abe no Seimei was the greatest onmyōji in Japan. While he lived in Kyoto, he visited Shizuoka at some point and performed some magic, giving us another nanafushigi (seven mysterious things).
A disembodied hand begins to draw Abe No Seimei.

The All-powerful Five Elements and You (Ep. 141)

In Japan there are two types of Five Elements, the gogyo and the godai and you can find them all throughout Japanese culture-in tea ceremony, martial arts, acupuncture, herbalism, esoteric Buddhism, and even in cemeteries.
Handwriting calligraphy with black ink on white paper.

Joya no Kane: Japanese Temple Bells Ring Out 108 Sins at New Year (Ep. 139)

Here it is, the end of 2023, and I'm feeling that reflective anticipation we all get around this time. This is the last show of Season 7, and I'd like to take you up into the hills to my local temple, where I've spent every New Year's Eve for the past 25 years, or more.
Artist's hand drawing a serene Japanese landscape with a bell tower and rising sun, symbolizing 'Joya no Kane,' a traditional end-of-year bell-ringing ceremony, on a sketchpad, with watercolors and a brush, against a backdrop of artistic tools.
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About The Uncanny Japan Podcast

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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