Uncanny Japan

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 dishes meticulously prepared in the days leading up to January 1st. Once finished, they're placed very artfully into jūbako—these gorgeous lacquered stackable boxes. Think of bento boxes, but much more elegant and only used for serving osechi.

Come with me as I explore these lucky New Year foods, what they symbolize, and how my father-in-law's kamaboko factory became part of our family's New Year traditions.

[Please Note: Some of the links are affiliate links (both Amazon and other). This means that at no cost to you, if you use and purchase through them I receive a small compensation. This is paid by the retailer. It also helps support me and my artistic endeavors. Thank you.]

Follow Uncanny Japan

Credits

Music by Julyan Ray Matsuura

About SpectreVision Radio

SpectreVision Radio is a bespoke podcast network at the intersection between the arts and the uncanny, featuring a tapestry of shows exploring creativity, the esoteric, and the unknown. We're a community for creators and fans vibrating around common curiosities, shared interests and persistent passions.

spectrevisionradio.com
linktr.ee/spectrevisionsocial

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 tsukumogami, or haunted artifacts. In this episode I talk about the tsukumogami and some traditional ones you could run across on a dark spooky night.

Visit the Uncanny Japan website to read the show notes and transcript.

Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other shows are Uncanny Robot Podcast and 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.

Please join our community forum! https://japanforum.uncanny.productions/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura Website: https://www.uncannyjapan.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UncannyJapan Mastodon: https://famichiki.jp/@UncannyJapan Twitter: https://twitter.com/UncannyJapan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncannyjapan/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncannyjapan/

Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution): https://buymeacoffee.com/uncannyjapan

Intro and outro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When walking around Japan you might see a small rectangular piece of paper pasted near a front door or on a gate. On this paper is an image that can only be described as a demon or devil. While off-putting at first, this creepy little fellow isn't actually a bad guy; he's there to protect the family and household. In this episode I'm going to tell you why.

Visit the Uncanny Japan website to read the show notes and transcript.

Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other shows are Uncanny Robot Podcast and 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.

Please join our community forum! https://japanforum.uncanny.productions/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura Website: https://www.uncannyjapan.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UncannyJapan Mastodon: https://famichiki.jp/@UncannyJapan Twitter: https://twitter.com/UncannyJapan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncannyjapan/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncannyjapan/

Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution): https://buymeacoffee.com/uncannyjapan

Intro and outro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's almost Halloween, so for this episode of Uncanny Japan I'm going to tell you a spooky tale called Yotsuya Kaidan, the story of Oiwa and her sad and vengeful ghost. The last ghost story I told here was in episode 25, Okiku and the Nine Plates (Bancho Sarayashiki). Well, Yotsuya Kaidan's main character, Oiwa, is another one of the biggies, who I'm guessing is even more well known than Okiku. There are so many versions of this story, so here I'm going to tell you mine. I'm going to try and stick to the originals as much as possible without getting too complicated and character heavy. I do encourage you to look into other versions of the story if you're interested. There are so many adaptations out there.

So go climb into bed, put on your headphones, turn out the lights, and let me tell you the story of Oiwa's ghost.

Visit the Uncanny Japan website to read the show notes and transcript.

Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other shows are Uncanny Robot Podcast and 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.

Please join our community forum! https://japanforum.uncanny.productions/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura Website: https://www.uncannyjapan.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UncannyJapan Mastodon: https://famichiki.jp/@UncannyJapan Twitter: https://twitter.com/UncannyJapan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncannyjapan/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncannyjapan/

Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution): https://buymeacoffee.com/uncannyjapan

Intro and outro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why is the beautiful Spider lily also called a corpse flower? Why didn't samurai keep camellias in their gardens? Why do Japanese ghosts like to hang out under weeping willows?

On this episode I'll take on a few more Japanese superstitions, but this time plant and flower-related stories.

Visit the Uncanny Japan website to read the show notes and transcript.

Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other shows are Uncanny Robot Podcast and 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.

Please join our community forum! https://japanforum.uncanny.productions/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura Website: https://www.uncannyjapan.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UncannyJapan Mastodon: https://famichiki.jp/@UncannyJapan Twitter: https://twitter.com/UncannyJapan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncannyjapan/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncannyjapan/

Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution): https://buymeacoffee.com/uncannyjapan

Intro and outro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

His eyelids. He cut off his eyelids. But that is not all that the Daruma (Bodhidharma) is famous for. He's the man who brought Chan to China and Zen to Japan. Some say he taught the Shaolin monks how to fight while other tales talk about how he invented green tea, or well, his eyelids did.

Join me and a thousand singing night insects while I tell you about the great sage, Daruma.

Also, you know how if you wait until the end of the credits in some movies you're rewarded with a little something? I won't say what, but my Sound Guy was a bit cheeky this episode. I wonder how many of my listeners will get the reference. Let me know.

Visit the Uncanny Japan website to read the show notes and transcript.

Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other shows are Uncanny Robot Podcast and 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.

Please join our community forum! https://japanforum.uncanny.productions/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura Website: https://www.uncannyjapan.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UncannyJapan Mastodon: https://famichiki.jp/@UncannyJapan Twitter: https://twitter.com/UncannyJapan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncannyjapan/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncannyjapan/

Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution): https://buymeacoffee.com/uncannyjapan

Intro and outro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 39 of Uncanny Japan is different, it's special. Today I forgo my usual format and invite my friend, fellow long time expat, and Sound Dude, Rich Pav, to join me in answering some listener questions about advice when coming to Japan. Here we talk about just a few things we've gleaned from our living-in-Japan experience. A longer version is available for my $5 and up Patrons.

Since this is an experiment, tell us what you think. Would this kind of show every so often be of interest to listeners? And if so, what topics would you like us to discuss?

Visit the Uncanny Japan website to read the show notes and transcript.

Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other shows are Uncanny Robot Podcast and 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.

Please join our community forum! https://japanforum.uncanny.productions/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura Website: https://www.uncannyjapan.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UncannyJapan Mastodon: https://famichiki.jp/@UncannyJapan Twitter: https://twitter.com/UncannyJapan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncannyjapan/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncannyjapan/

Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution): https://buymeacoffee.com/uncannyjapan

Intro and outro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Episode 38, you can listen to Lafcadio Hearn's whimsical take on the cicada (semi) while enjoying some real time cicada singing in the background.

Visit the Uncanny Japan website to read the show notes and transcript.

Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other shows are Uncanny Robot Podcast and 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.

Please join our community forum! https://japanforum.uncanny.productions/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura Website: https://www.uncannyjapan.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UncannyJapan Mastodon: https://famichiki.jp/@UncannyJapan Twitter: https://twitter.com/UncannyJapan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncannyjapan/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncannyjapan/

Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution): https://buymeacoffee.com/uncannyjapan

Intro and outro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ever since I saw a mother discipline her child by threatening to call an oni/ogre, I've been wanting to do talk about this. Then I found out it really is a thing, an app called Oni Kara Denwa (A Call From an Oni, or as it's translated in Japanese: Ghost Call) to be more precise.

In Episode 37, I talk about what I've heard playfully called the oni appuli. It has over 10 million downloads and purports to help you raise your child. I've got a lot of thoughts and feelings about this one, but I try as much as possible to be objective when giving you an explanation of what it is and what it does.

What do you think? Useful? Traumatizing?

Visit the Uncanny Japan website to read the show notes and transcript.

Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other shows are Uncanny Robot Podcast and 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.

Please join our community forum! https://japanforum.uncanny.productions/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura Website: https://www.uncannyjapan.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UncannyJapan Mastodon: https://famichiki.jp/@UncannyJapan Twitter: https://twitter.com/UncannyJapan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncannyjapan/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncannyjapan/

Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution): https://buymeacoffee.com/uncannyjapan

Intro and outro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A rock that gets weepy when the sun goes down, a pregnant woman slain alone in the mountains, a newborn baby visited by a ghostly priest who feds him candy to stay alive. These are all parts of this month's podcast: The Rock The Cries at Night (Yonaki Ishi). In this episode, I visit a local spot (one of the Enshu Nanafushigi / Seven Mysterious Things of Enshu).

Come listen to me tell the tale while I sit by some rain, thunder, and an ambitious frog.

It's a wonderful old legend, but can you find the big question (plot hole?) that I discovered when I researched and retold the story?

Visit the Uncanny Japan website to read the show notes and transcript.

Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other shows are Uncanny Robot Podcast and 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.

Please join our community forum! https://japanforum.uncanny.productions/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura Website: https://www.uncannyjapan.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UncannyJapan Mastodon: https://famichiki.jp/@UncannyJapan Twitter: https://twitter.com/UncannyJapan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncannyjapan/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncannyjapan/

Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution): https://buymeacoffee.com/uncannyjapan

Intro and outro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices