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Category: Japanese Language 

Another Chilling Children’s Song – Tōryanse (Ep. 104)

Do you remember when I talked about "Kagome Kagome"? A Japanese children's song that had curiously unnerving lyrics. Guess what. That's not the only goosebump-raising children's song in Japan. There's another. Well, at least one more. Today I'm going to tell you about "Toryanse". Like "Kagome Kagome", even Japanese people get a very off vibe from the lyrics.
Japanese Children Playing Games at Sunset

Yokai Related Sayings (Becoming a Tengu) (Ep. 54)

What if someone told you that you were turning into a tengu, one of those red-faced, long-nosed goblins? What would they mean? In this episode of Uncanny Japan, I talk about a handful of Japanese sayings that are based on yokai.
fuda iriya kishimoujin. Red stamp with Chinese characters surrounded by black handwritten characters on white paper.

Goroawase: Tricky Japanese Numbers (Ep. 12)

Japanese numbers can be tricky. Four is thought to invite death. Nine brings suffering and agony. But hey, Eight is good! Learn about goroawase.
goroawase

Musha-burui: Trembling Before a Formidable Task (Ep. 1)

I want to share something I learned from my mother-in-law many years ago here in Japan. It's this word that stuck with me, and honestly, I use it all the time. This is called *musha-burui* - literally "trembling like a warrior."
musha-burui
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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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