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Japanese Myths, Folktales, Folklore and Language

Episodes

Kishibojin: The Mother of All Devils (Ep. 5)

Kishibojin: an ogress with a penchant for feeding human babies to her own children, but who was able to see the error of her ways and not only repent but reinvent herself as a goddess. That's what I call chutzpah!
kishibojin

Koshin Shinko: The Three Worms in Your Body (Ep. 3)

Koshin Shinko is the belief that you are born with three worms (called sanshi) inside your body, and that these creatures' only purpose is to shorten your life so they can be free again.
koushin shinkou

Hatsuyume: Your First Dream of the New Year (Ep. 2)

Hatsu-yume is the first dream you have in the New Year. In Japan there is a saying: ichi fuji, ni taka, san nasubi, which means the luckiest dream you can have is of Mt. Fuji, the second luckiest thing to see in a dream is a hawk, and the third is an eggplant.
hatsuyume

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

Musha-burui is that trembling with excitement, anticipation, and fear one has before engaging in a formidable task. It comes from the idea of a samurai going headlong into battle.
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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