Uncanny Japan logo

Category: Japanese Folklore 

The God of Smallpox (Housougami) (Ep. 18)

In this episode I talk about the God of Smallpox (housougami). Come listen to the beliefs in this fearsome god and how dogs and the color red kept him at bay.
Housougami

Granny Dumping Mountain (Ubasuteyama) (Ep. 17)

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, or getting rid of mouths by sending your children to live with a wealthier family or hauling grandma or grandpa up into the mountains and leave them to fend for themselves.
ubasuteyama

Japanese Superstitions Part One (Ep. 6)

This month, I want to share three superstitions. These are quite commonly-known ones. But I did a little digging to find out if there was anything else on them. And I found some things that are kind of interesting so I wanted to share them.
Ukioe cutting toenails

Monkeys and Monkey Lore! (Ep. 4)

I wanted to do a podcast on one of my favorite animals, the monkey. Monkey lore and superstition is quite vast and complicated or just confusing, because history is so long, and monkeys can be good, and monkeys can be bad. So I'm going to stick to three things that I think are interesting: the monkey wordplay with "saru" (to drive away), monkeys protecting horses, and those creepy faceless monkey good luck charms you see all over Japan.
ukioe monkey
1 5 6 7

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.

© Copyright 2026 Uncanny Productions
Buy Me a Coffee at Ko-Fi