Did I Wake You? Stories from 3AM

Darren Vickers

A video-documentary style podcast from Osaka, Japan that explores the anomalous, the stories that get shuffled in somewhere in between a dream and something else.

  1. Sep 21

    The Search for Seimei: Japan's Merlin

    THE SEARCH FOR SEIMEI: JAPAN'S MERLIN Did I Wake You? Stories From 3am Season 1 Episode 6 In the Heian Period, when Japan's imperial court feared curses, spirits, and the unseen forces that could topple an emperor, there was one man they trusted above all others. His name was Abe no Seimei, and history remembers him as Japan's greatest onmyoji, a court sorcerer whose reputation was so formidable that he would go on to serve six successive emperors. This is the story of my first documentary quest to find him. I traveled to the shrines built in his memory. Seimei Shrine in Kyoto, built on the site of his home; Abeno Oji Shrine in Osaka, connected to his family, the Abe Clan and Seimei Shrine in Osaka, marking his namesake and birth stone. Along the way, I dug into his legend. His otherworldly lineage and origin story. His famous divination duel against a rival sorcerer. His command over demons and spirits most people never dared to summon.But legends don't get you appointed as court diviner to six different emperors. Something about Abe no Seimei was real enough, or convincing enough, to keep him at the center of imperial power for decades. So which was it? Genius, showman, or something else entirely? Join me as I chase the truth behind Japan's own version of Merlin, the GOAT of Japanese sorcery. Abe no Seimei. #abenoseimei #didiwakeyoupodcast #didiwakeyou3am #onmyoji #onmyodo #seimeishrine #osakafolklore #japanesefolklore #kitsune #kuzunoha #japanesesorcerer #japansmerlin #japanesefolktale #divination #yinyangbalance #anomacon #somewhereintheskies #supernaturaljapan #paranormaljapan Thank you to Ryan and Suzanne at Somewhere in the Skies Podcast and Anomacon for the ongoing support and encouragement- this would not have happened without you. https://www.youtube.com/@SomewhereintheSkieshttps://www.anomacon.com/ The magical music used in this episode is: 1.) Spell Craft by Chris Martyn and Geoff Harvey- Purple Planet Music 2.) Magic in the Air by Chris Martyn and Geoff Harvey- Purple Planet Music 3.) The Magic Tree by Chris Martyn and Geoff Harvey- Purple Planet Music Courtesy of Chris Martyn and Geoff Harvey at Purple Planet Music and Licensed through PIXABAY.https://www.purpleplanet.com/home ------------------------------ Did I Wake You? Stories From 3am Logo done by Viva La Mort: https://vivalamort.com/https://www.youtube.com/@viva_la_mort All images, sound and likenesses are used under Fair Use and for educational purposes. --------------------------------------------- Disclaimer: Any acts of divination, generic sorcery, changing oranges into rats, enchantment by a fox spirit or enjoyment of a corn dog in a convenience store parking lot was done so under the watchful eye of an experienced onmyoji and should not be done at home. ----------------------------------------- Produced by Darren Vickers - Did I Wake You? Stories From 3amContact: didiwakeyou3am⁠@gmail.com

    The Search for Seimei: Japan's Merlin
  2. Sep 11

    Picking Up The Dead: Ghosts of 3.11

    On the night of March 11th, 2011, a wall of water swept across the Tohoku coast and took nearly twenty thousand lives in a matter of hours. In the years since, something strange has settled into the taxis of Sendai and the surrounding towns. Drivers report picking up passengers late at night, ordinary fares to ordinary addresses, only for the passenger to vanish somewhere along the route. Some drivers say nothing. Some quietly pay the fare themselves. A university researcher spent months collecting these accounts, and what she found suggests this isn't just local superstition, it's something closer to shared grief still finding its way home. Traditionally, the dead are meant to return during Obon and then go back to the other shore. But in Sendai, Ishinomaki, and Miyagi, some families have started doing something different: keeping their loved ones close well past those traditional days, choosing to hold them on this shore, not just the other one. Maybe that's not a haunting so much as a way of refusing to let go. This is the story of the ghosts who never stopped asking for a ride, and the drivers who kept picking them up.  #didiwakeyou3am #tsunamighosts #hauntedjapan #paranornaljapan #supernaturaljapan #spookystories #hungryghosts #spookystories #japaneseghosts #japanesefolklore All images and sounds are used under FAIR USE and for education purpose only. Sources: WikiCommons, Pixabay, Pexels, MSNBC, CNN, NNN, Tokoku Gakuin University

  3. Aug 22

    Human Accident- Behind the Yellow Line

    Season One- Episode ThreeJinshin Jiko is translated as human accident and is a term Japan's railways use on the platform announcements when a train is delayed. It's clinical, almost bureaucratic. But behind that phrase is something the country rarely talks about directly. In this episode, we go behind those announcements to hear what's actually happening, and why. We sit down with a current conductor from Japan's largest train company, who shares first-hand testimony from years on the rails including moments that go beyond the official reports, and encounters with those some believe never truly left the platform. Then author, journalist and investigator Jake Adelstein (Tokyo Vice, The Evaporated) joins us to unpack the darker social and economic pressures that may be driving these incidents in Japan. Finally, the edges of this episode are inspected and softened as we come to a close with a licensed therapist, because understanding a crisis and having every answer isn't always enough. Sometimes all you need is the next step.This is a story about grief, silence, and the systems built to manage both. If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out: In Japan: TELL Lifeline (03-5774-0992)English-language support In the US: call or text 988 You are not alone. Thank you to Jake Adelstein for appearing on this episode, you can see his work at: https://tokyopaladin.substack.com https://jakeadelstein.com Please check out his books: *Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan *The Devil Takes Bitcoin: Cryptocurrency Crimes and the Japanese Connection *The Last Yakuza: Life and Death in the Japanese Underworld *Tokyo Noir: In and Out of Japan's Underworld *Code Blue: The Serial Killer, the Cover-Up, and a Two-Generation Quest for Justice [Release in 2027] Listen and follow his podcasts anywhere you listen to podcasts: *The Evaporated: Gone With the Gods *Night Shift Contact me if you have a story or would like to be on a future episode: didiwakeyou3am@gmail.com All images, sound and video are used under Fair Use and used for educational purpose. #jinshinjiko #humanaccident #mentalhealth #suicideprevention #storytelling #hauntedjapan #japaneseghoststories #johatsu #karoshi #jakeadelstein #tokyovice #theevaporated #kyobashistationfirebomb #supernaturaljapan #paranormal

    Human Accident- Behind the Yellow Line

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About

A video-documentary style podcast from Osaka, Japan that explores the anomalous, the stories that get shuffled in somewhere in between a dream and something else.

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