The Salt God and the Magic of Salt (Ep. 162)
During the 2011 Tōhoku tsunami, the water rose to the exact edge of Shiogama Shrine and retreated. At Japanese funerals, you're given salt to sprinkle on your shoulders before going home. Tiny salt py...
17 Dec 202415min
Turbo Granny: Japanese Urban Legend of the Highway Phantom (Ep. 161)
You're driving through a tunnel at 140 kilometers per hour when you hear knocking on the back window. You glance over your shoulder and see an old woman with long white hair running alongside your car...
3 Dec 202417min
Japanese Kanji Animal Names: Sea Pigs, Dirt Dragons & Poetic Language (Ep. 160)
In Japanese, some animals have names so creative they sound like fantasy creatures. Dirt dragons. Sea pigs. House protectors. Ocean moons. Today I'm testing whether I can make you fall in love with k...
18 Nov 202418min
Go-Away Monkey: Original Japanese Horror Story by Thersa Matsuura (Ep. 159)
A disease-ravaged town. A stranger with a captive monkey. One woman who refuses to become a monster. When traveling performer Hanshiro arrives promising to grant wishes through his trained monkey Fu...
1 Nov 202457min
Botan Dōrō: Lafcadio Hearn's Japanese Ghost Love Story (Ep. 158)
A young samurai loses a shuttlecock over a garden fence and finds something far more dangerous: a beautiful woman who leads him into her home, serves him wine, and dances for him. When he discovers sh...
15 Okt 202424min
Japan's Three Great Ghost Stories: Okiku, Oiwa, and Otsuyu (Ep. 157)
Japan's three great ghost stories feature the onryō (vengeful ghosts) of Okiku, Oiwa, and Otsuyu. These tales have captivated audiences for centuries through ukiyo-e woodblock prints, kabuki theater, ...
1 Okt 202415min
Japanese Supernatural Trees: Bloodthirsty Kodama & Cursed Jubokko (Ep. 156)
Walk through a Japanese forest alone and feel that ancient presence watching you. Maybe it's kodama, the protective tree spirits that appear as ghostly lights. Or perhaps it's something more dangerous...
16 Sep 202418min
Japanese Caterpillar Cult: The Tokoyo no Kami Uprising of 644 CE (Ep. 155)
In 644 CE, a man named Ōfube-no-Ō starts a new religion in Shizuoka Prefecture. His claim? A caterpillar living in mandarin orange trees is the god of eternal life. Worship it properly, and you'll gai...
1 Sep 202412min
