Children's Day Iris Baths and Golden Boys: Japanese Traditions (Ep. 51)
Looking at the calendar, I see we're fast approaching Golden Week in Japan, and I wanted to share some of my favorite traditions from the most exciting holiday of all: Kodomo no Hi, or Children's Day....
30 Apr 202020min
Story Time: Sand Walls, Paper Doors (Ep. 50)
I want to celebrate my fiftieth episode by reading my yokai story, "Sand Walls, Paper Doors" from my book A Robe of Feathers and Other Stories. This is the one that got me my book deal, my agent, and ...
16 Apr 202036min
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 ...
1 Apr 202015min
The Kappa's Fart (Ep. 48)
A kappa is a small, scrawny, aquatic yokai with a parrot-like beak, a tortoise-style shell on its back, and an indentation on the top of its head full of water. They're found in rivers, lakes, ponds, ...
15 Mars 202016min
The Guest Room Child (Zashiki Warashi) (Ep. 47)
Have you ever been sleeping and had a bout of kanashibari (sleep paralysis)? Then during that surreal--most likely frightening--experience, have you ever had what feels like a ghost child crawling on ...
27 Feb 202019min
Kanashibari: Sleep Paralysis and the Pillow Flipper (Ep. 46)
Have you ever woken up frozen, unable to move or speak? You're wide awake—or at least you think you are. You can hear everything around you, but you're completely paralyzed. In Japan, this experienc...
11 Feb 202013min
Osechi Ryōri: Lucky New Year Foods in Japan (Ep. 45)
Akemashite omedetō. Happy New Year. I'm surrounded by moving boxes in my new creaky house, but I want to share Japan's amazing New Year food tradition—osechi ryōri. It's a whole bunch of different d...
23 Jan 202019min
Haunted Artifacts (Tsukumogami) (Ep. 44)
In Japan when an inanimate object reaches its 100th birthday and perhaps it was mistreated, or lost, or thrown away, it gains a soul and might possibly start playing tricks on people. This is called t...
24 Dec 201915min
