150 episodes
Uncanny Japan - Japanese Folklore, Folktales, Myths and Language Uncanny Productions
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- Society & Culture
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4.9 • 46 Ratings
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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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Falling Trees: Tengu or Furusoma (Creepy Dead Guy)?
If a you hear a tree fall in the woods, but can't find any sign of that fallen tree, is it the work of a tengu, a creepy dead guy ghost, or something else?
[This description contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you.]
Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Check out her books including The Book of Japanese Folklore by clicking on the Amazon link. If you'd like to help support the podcast and have a bedtime story read to you monthly, please visit Patreon.
Discord: https://discord.gg/XdMZTzmyUb
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura
Website: https://www.uncannyjapan.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UncannyJapan
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/uncannyjapan.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://famichiki.jp/@UncannyJapan
Twitter: https://twitter.com/UncannyJapan
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncannyjapan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncannyjapan/
Books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Thersa-Matsuura/e/B002CWZ73Y/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1500180689&sr=8-1
Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution): https://buymeacoffee.com/uncannyjapan
Credits Intro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura -
Story Time: The Mirror Maiden by Lafcadio Hearn
Today I'll read you Lafcadio Hearn's short story: The Mirror Maiden.
[This description contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you.]
Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Check out her books including The Book of Japanese Folklore by clicking on the Amazon link. If you'd like to help support the podcast and have a bedtime story read to you monthly, please visit Patreon.
Discord: https://discord.gg/XdMZTzmyUb
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura
Website: https://www.uncannyjapan.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UncannyJapan
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/uncannyjapan.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://famichiki.jp/@UncannyJapan
Twitter: https://twitter.com/UncannyJapan
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncannyjapan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncannyjapan/
Books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Thersa-Matsuura/e/B002CWZ73Y/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1500180689&sr=8-1
Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution): https://buymeacoffee.com/uncannyjapan
Credits Intro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura -
Ryomen Sukuna: Awesome Saint or Japan-Destroying Demon?
The two-faced, eight-limbed giant named Ryomen Sukuna has been around since very early Japan, still is he a Buddhism-protecting hero or a cursed demon who tried to destroy Japan?
[This description contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you.]
Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Check out her books including The Book of Japanese Folklore by clicking on the Amazon link. If you'd like to help support the podcast and have a bedtime story read to you monthly, please visit Patreon.
Discord: https://discord.gg/XdMZTzmyUb
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura
Website: https://www.uncannyjapan.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UncannyJapan
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/uncannyjapan.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://famichiki.jp/@UncannyJapan
Twitter: https://twitter.com/UncannyJapan
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncannyjapan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncannyjapan/
Books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Thersa-Matsuura/e/B002CWZ73Y/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1500180689&sr=8-1
Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution): https://buymeacoffee.com/uncannyjapan
Credits Intro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura
Der Kristall - The Glade by Sascha Ende
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/12250-der-kristall-the-glade
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license -
Teru Teru Bōzu: Cute, Magical, Unsettling Origins
You'll often see ghostly-looking dolls strung up in windows in Japan on rainy days. What do they mean and why are they a little creepy?
[This description contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you.]
Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Check out her books including The Book of Japanese Folklore by clicking on the Amazon link. If you'd like to help support the podcast and have a bedtime story read to you monthly, please visit Patreon.
Discord: https://discord.gg/XdMZTzmyUb
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura
Website: https://www.uncannyjapan.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UncannyJapan
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/uncannyjapan.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://famichiki.jp/@UncannyJapan
Twitter: https://twitter.com/UncannyJapan
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncannyjapan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncannyjapan/
Books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Thersa-Matsuura/e/B002CWZ73Y/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1500180689&sr=8-1
Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution): https://buymeacoffee.com/uncannyjapan
Credits Intro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura
Rain by Okami (龗) -
Abe no Seimei & His Mysterious Place Near Me
Abe no Seimei was the greatest onmyōji in Japan. While he lived in Kyoto, he visited Shizuoka at some point and performed some magic, giving us another nanafushigi (seven mysterious things).
[This description contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you.]
Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Check out her books including The Carp-Faced Boy by clicking on the Amazon link. If you'd like to help support the podcast and have a bedtime story read to you monthly, please visit Patreon.
Discord: https://discord.gg/XdMZTzmyUb
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura
Website: https://www.uncannyjapan.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UncannyJapan
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/uncannyjapan.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://famichiki.jp/@UncannyJapan
Twitter: https://twitter.com/UncannyJapan
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncannyjapan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncannyjapan/
Books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Thersa-Matsuura/e/B002CWZ73Y/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1500180689&sr=8-1
Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution): https://buymeacoffee.com/uncannyjapan
Credits Intro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura -
Nami-Kozō: The Creepy Little Wave Boy
A nanafushigi (seven mysterious things) and a local yokai, the Nami Kozō or Wave Boy has a number of variations to his story, some involving real historical monks.
[This description contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you.]
Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Check out her books including The Carp-Faced Boy by clicking on the Amazon link. If you'd like to help support the podcast and have a bedtime story read to you monthly, please visit Patreon.
Discord: https://discord.gg/XdMZTzmyUb
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura
Website: https://www.uncannyjapan.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UncannyJapan
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/uncannyjapan.bsky.social
Mastodon: https://famichiki.jp/@UncannyJapan
Twitter: https://twitter.com/UncannyJapan
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncannyjapan/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncannyjapan/
Books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Thersa-Matsuura/e/B002CWZ73Y/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1500180689&sr=8-1
Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution): https://buymeacoffee.com/uncannyjapan
Credits Intro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura
Customer Reviews
Wonder story telling and ambiance
Highly accessible and beautifully sound designed. Fascinating concepts and connection.
I just wish the ep.’s were longer!
Great Story-telling
This podcast is well worth your time
My Favourite podcast!
I’m very pleased to review this amazing podcast. It is well written and has interesting, attention catching themes. I am extremely interested in Japan, and all that it’s history has to offer, I myself I’m working through my Japanese fluency, and I look forward every month to this podcast. I’m always looking for pieces of information on Japan and it’s history that I haven’t learned, and this podcast has taught me so much. I’m very grateful that Mrs. Matsuura takes the time and shares an interest in old Japan and is willing to share her findings with the world. Her voice is calming and talks at a pace I can fully grasp and understand the concept. This podcast was my first ever, and I’m honoured to say that this podcast has my heart. Please never stop making episodes and please continue to pour your heart into every work of story your write. I will continue to look forward to future episodes, thank you so much for your dedication, time and effort you put into your work Mrs. Matsuura, not just for you but all of us, thank you.