For the spooky month of October, I'm reading my short horror story, "Go-Away Monkey" from my collection The Carp-Faced Boy and Other Tales. It's set in an older Japan in a small village that has been ravaged by smallpox. If you remember Episode 4 (Monkeys and Monkey Lore), you'll understand the monkey show coming to town to drive away all the bad luck and disease. But does it work? Written a full five years before the pandemic, it feels quite prescient to me. What do you think? Visit the Uncanny Japan website to read the show notes and transcript. Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other show is The Soothing Stories Podcast. Check out her books including The Carp-Faced Boy on Amazon. If you'd like to help support the podcast and have a bedtime story read to you monthly, please visit Patreon. Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution): https://buymeacoffee.com/uncannyjapan Join our Discord server: https://discord.gg/XdMZTzmyUb Twitter: https://twitter.com/UncannyJapan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncannyjapan/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncannyjapan/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmbTSrQe1cxBy522vxAI8Bg Website: https://www.uncannyjapan.com/ Credits Intro and outro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura

Uncanny Japan - Japanese Myths, Folktales, Superstitions, History and Language

Scary Story Time: "Go-Away Monkey" (Ep. 86)

The obscure and terrifyingly deadly yokai, the korori, ravaged Edo Japan. On today's episode I'll tell you all about it, what it really was and how foreigners were the ones who brought it to Japan. Visit the Uncanny Japan website to read the show notes and transcript. Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other show is The Soothing Stories Podcast. Check out her books including The Carp-Faced Boy on Amazon. If you'd like to help support the podcast and have a bedtime story read to you monthly, please visit Patreon. Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution): https://buymeacoffee.com/uncannyjapan Join our Discord server: https://discord.gg/XdMZTzmyUb Twitter: https://twitter.com/UncannyJapan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncannyjapan/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncannyjapan/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmbTSrQe1cxBy522vxAI8Bg Website: https://www.uncannyjapan.com/ Credits Intro and outro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura Taiko Warrior by Marron Fields Production

The Most Merciless Yokai: the Korori (Ep.85)

A misemono is like a carnival, museum, zoo, and freak show all rolled into one. Here you could see exotic animals, buy cure-all medicines, and check out mermaid mummies among many, many other thrills. Visit the Uncanny Japan website to read the show notes and transcript. Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other show is The Soothing Stories Podcast. Check out her books including The Carp-Faced Boy on Amazon. If you'd like to help support the podcast and have a bedtime story read to you monthly, please visit Patreon. Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution): https://buymeacoffee.com/uncannyjapan Join our Discord server: https://discord.gg/XdMZTzmyUb Twitter: https://twitter.com/UncannyJapan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncannyjapan/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncannyjapan/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmbTSrQe1cxBy522vxAI8Bg Website: https://www.uncannyjapan.com/ Credits Intro and outro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura Happy breeze by chilledmusic Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/7988-happy-breeze License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Misemono: Edo Era Freak Shows (Ep. 84)

A Japanese mermaid is called a ningyo (人魚) or human fish. Today I'll tell you about their history, the good, the bad, and the delicious!

Ningyo: The Ugly (and Delicious!) Japanese Mermaid (Ep. 83)

It's Obon and today I want to read to you an essay by Lafcadio Hearn. He wrote it about the town he would stay at during summers, the town I've lived in for 25 plus years. Here he talks not just about the lantern floating ceremony, but also the ocean and ghost and gods and how we humans fit into it all.

Obon Story Time: "At Yaidzu" by Lafcadio Hearn (Ep. 82)

How do you build a bridge that stands up to storms and floods? Well, you have to appease the nature gods, of course. But how do you do that? Human sacrifice seemed to have worked in the past. Today I'll talk about hitobashira or human pillars. An ancient tradition of insuring strong river banks, fireproof castles, and tunnels that won't collapse.

Hitobashira: The Tragic Stories of Human Pillars (Ep. 81)

The Tofu Kozo is a seemingly innocent little yokai who appears on rainy days offering a plate of tofu to unsuspecting people. What could possibly go wrong? Support us on Patron: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution): buymeacoffee.com/uncannyjapan

The Adorably Creepy Tofu Kozo (Ep. 80)

Let’s say you have a plague of insects, like millions of cicada awakening after a years-long slumber. Or worse, bugs that would rather devour your crops. And let’s say this is happening 200 years ago so you don’t have your pesticides or DDT to wipe them out. What do you do? Why you have an absolutely delightful festival, with dances, and Buddhist or Shinto prayers, and taiko drumming, flute fluting. It’s called mushi okuri, (虫送り) or sending off the insects.

Mushi Okuri: Sending Off the Bugs (Ep. 79)

We’re being visited by UAPs, Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon. Or you might be more familiar with their older name: UFOs. There is a lot of interesting news coming out these days. You’ve probably seen it. Well, guess what, they’ve been coming for quite awhile and I have proof. Today let’s talk about the utsuro-bune (虚舟) or utsuro-fune, the legend of the hollow ship. Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other show is The Soothing Stories Podcast. Check out her books including The Carp-Faced Boy on Amazon. If you'd like to help support the podcast and have a bedtime story read to you monthly, please visit Patreon.

Utsuro-Bune: The Hollow (Space?) Ship (Ep. 79)

Today I'll read to you, "The Bamboo Cutter and the Moon Princess" called Kaguya Hime in Japanese. It's an old tale that some believe talks about otherworldly visitors. Was the Moon Princess an extraterrestrial being? Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other show is The Soothing Stories Podcast. Check out her books including The Carp-Faced Boy on Amazon. If you'd like to help support the podcast and have a bedtime story read to you monthly, please visit Patreon.

Story Time – "Kaguya Hime: The Bamboo Cutter and the Moon Princess" (Ep. 77)

Who are Fujin and Raijin (the Japanese Wind God and Thunder God), where did they come from, and what do they do? Today I'll tell you about their origins in India and a Japanese Goddesses' decaying body. Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other show is The Soothing Stories Podcast. Check out her books including The Carp-Faced Boy on Amazon. If you'd like to help support the podcast and have a bedtime story read to you monthly, please visit Patreon.

Fuujin & Raijin: The Gods of Thunder and Wind (Ep. 76)

Today's Story Time is one I found in an old collection of Japanese folklore. It's about a couple of conniving kappa and an innocent young girl. It's called "The Kappa's Abyss." Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other show is The Soothing Stories Podcast. Check out her books including The Carp-Faced Boy on Amazon. If you'd like to help support the podcast and have a bedtime story read to you monthly, please visit Patreon.

Story Time: The Kappa's Abyss (Ep. 75)

The Hell Courtesan (Jigoku Tayuu) is a mysterious figure that appears in art and story in Japan since the 1600s. But who is this beautiful high-ranked oiran who wears a kimono covered in images of hell? In this episode I talk about her legend and relationship with the eccentric monk Ikkyuu. Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other show is The Soothing Stories Podcast. Check out her books including The Carp-Faced Boy on Amazon. If you'd like to help support the podcast and have a bedtime story read to you monthly, please visit Patreon.

Jigoku Tayuu: The Mysterious Hell Courtesan (Ep. 74)

Here is it already April first and the cherry blossoms are blooming and spring is in the air. I think today is a good day to tell you a story I've been wanting to share for awhile now. Remember last episode when I talked about the tanuki? Well, keep all that in mind when you listen to today's episode. Things are going to get weird. This version is safe for 8 year olds and grandmothers. Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other show is The Soothing Stories Podcast. Check out her books including The Carp-Faced Boy on Amazon. If you'd like to help support the podcast and have a bedtime story read to you monthly, please visit Patreon.

Rated G Tanuki Buttons: This Unbelievable Story Will Blow Your Mind! (Ep. 73.5)

Here is it already April first and the cherry blossoms are blooming and spring is in the air. I think today is a good day to tell you a story I've been wanting to share for awhile now. Remember last episode when I talked about the tanuki? Well, keep all that in mind when you listen to today's episode. Things are going to get weird. Warning: This episode violates the Third Commandment, contains references to male anatomy and has uncensored words that could infect your soul, curve your spine, and keep the country from winning the war. Not safe for 8 year olds. Listener discretion is advised. Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other show is The Soothing Stories Podcast. Check out her books including The Carp-Faced Boy on Amazon. If you'd like to help support the podcast and have a bedtime story read to you monthly, please visit Patreon.

PG-13 Tanuki Buttons: This Unbelievable Story Will Blow Your Mind! (Ep. 73)

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.

Uncanny Japan - Japanese Myths, Folktales, Superstitions, Hi...