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Category: Yokai 

The Most Merciless Yokai: the Korori (Ep. 85)

The obscure and terrifyingly deadly yokai, the korori, ravaged Edo Japan. On today's episode I'll tell you all about it, what it really was and how foreigners were the ones who brought it to Japan.
Korori Yokai

Ningyo: The Ugly (and Delicious!) Japanese Mermaid (Ep. 83)

A Japanese mermaid is called a ningyo (人魚) or human fish. Today I'll tell you about their history, the good, the bad, and the delicious!
Japanese mermaid ningyo

The Adorably Creepy Tofu Kozo (Ep. 80)

The Tofu Kozo is a seemingly innocent little yokai who appears on rainy days offering a plate of tofu to unsuspecting people. What could possibly go wrong?
Tofu Kozo / Tofu Kozou

Tanuki Buttons: This Unbelievable Story Will Blow Your Mind! (Ep. 73)

Tanuki Buttons what are they? What do they do? Listen to today's April first episode to find out!
Tanuki Buttons photo by Thersa Matsuura

Adorable Tanuki: Fluffy, Shape-Shifting, and Lucky! (Ep. 72)

Tanuki are those adorable, magical animals you find all through Japanese history. They're in folktales, art, legend, and even in modern day manga and anime. On today's episode I'll talk about these furry, shape-shifting critters, touching on all the well known facts as well as some more obscure ones.

#Uncannytober: Oct 6

Tanuki

Baku: The Eater of Dreams (Ep. 65)

The baku is a Japanese mythical creature that, when invited, slips into your room at night to gobble up your nightmares.
Baku by Katsushika Hokusai. Detailed illustration of a lion with a flowing mane and intricate fur texture, drawn on a parchment-colored background.

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.

Story Time – Sand Walls, Paper Doors (Ep. 50)

I'm really happy to say that this is my 50th episode of Uncanny Japan. I want to read a short story that's really dear to my heart. It's the short story that got me my book deal, my agent, and my best friend. Also, yokai, lots of yokai.
Shoji paper window

Close Encounter With An Amabie (Ep. 49)

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 been re-remembered all over Japanese social media with people posting their own adorable depictions of that long-haired, beak-faced, three-footed creature and wishing the current plague (Covid-19) to go away.
Amabie
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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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