Uncanny Japan

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

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Intro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura

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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

Intro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura

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In Japan there are two types of Five Elements, the gogyo and the godai and you can find them all throughout Japanese culture-in tea ceremony, martial arts, acupuncture, herbalism, esoteric Buddhism, and even in cemeteries. 

[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

Intro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura

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Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu! Happy New Year! This is Thersa Matsuura and you’re listening to Uncanny Japan, Season 8. We just moved from the year of the Rabbit to the Year of the Dragon and I want to tell you all about it. 

[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

Intro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura

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What happens when 108 temple bell rings wash away a year's worth of sins?

Thersa has climbed the hill to her local Buddhist temple every New Year's Eve. The tradition is joya no kane—ringing out the old year's earthly desires with 108 ceremonial bell strikes. But why exactly 108?

This episode brings you into that midnight ritual through binaural recordings captured on New Year's Eve. You'll hear the deep, resonant bells that have marked this transition since the Kamakura era—until WWII confiscated the bells for weapons, forcing people to bang taiko drums instead.

Close your eyes and let the sound wash over you. Each ring carries away transgressions, clears negative energy, and opens space for new beginnings.

[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.]

Music by Julyan Ray Matsuura

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

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Shochikubai means "pine, bamboo, plum" and are considered the three winter friends. You'll find them in New Year decorations as well as another interesting and surprising place. I'll tell more on today's show. [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. Her other shows are Uncanny Robot Podcast and The Soothing Stories Podcast. 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/

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

Intro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura

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Today I’m going to do something a little different, again. I’m going to give you some real yōkai and paranormal news. Not current news, but stories that were actually published in newspapers during the late 1800s — and not in tabloids either, but in regular ol’ papers. And they are absolutely delightful to read.

[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. Her other shows are Uncanny Robot Podcast and The Soothing Stories Podcast. 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/

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

Intro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura

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Is sleeping with your head facing north a practice that'll bring you bad luck and invite death or is it good luck, welcoming a restful night's sleep and money? [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. Her other shows are Uncanny Robot Podcast and The Soothing Stories Podcast. 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/

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

Intro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura

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"The Other Side" is a ghost story I wrote using some of the more common Japanese scary tropes. Put on some headphones and turn out the lights and let me tell you a story.

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 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/

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

Intro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura

Music: You Only Live Once by Tim Kulig Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/11913-you-only-live-once Licensed under CC BY 4.0: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Music: Falling Empire by Phat Sounds Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/11898-falling-empire Licensed under CC BY 4.0: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Music: Flight Pack 1 - 4/6 (Segeln) by Sascha Ende Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/179-flight-pack-1-46-segeln Licensed under CC BY 4.0: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Music: Sneaky Detective by John Bartmann Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/9486-sneaky-detective Licensed under CC BY 4.0: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

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My guess is that Japan has more haunted tunnels than anywhere in the world. In this episode I talk about three of the creepiest and most well-known.

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.

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/

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

Intro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura

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