Folklore
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Ninigi`s Descent to Earth
Show Notes for episode 92 of our Podcast – The Descent of Ninigi. Story Notes The grandchild of Amaterasu was known as Ninigi, or Amatsuhikohohoninigi for his full…
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E80 Hoichi the Earless
Show Notes for episode 80 of our Podcast – Hoichi the Earless. Story Notes More than seven hundred years ago, at Dan-no-ura, in the Straits of Shimonoséki, was…
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E79 The Plague of Emperor Sujin
Show Notes for episode 79 of our Podcast – The Plague of Emperor Sujin. Story Notes These notes are taken from the corrosponding page concerning the Emperor, with…
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E78 The Song the Sea God Sang
Show Notes for episode 78 of our Podcast – The Song the Sea God Sang. Story Notes The Song the Sea God Sang is said to be a…
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Drinking, Folklore, Food, Gods and Goddesses, Literature, Magic, Podcast, Poetry, Religion, SacrificeE77 To Live Forever
Show Notes for episode 77 of our Podcast – To Live Forever. Show Notes This is another story by Yei Theodora Ozaki, a woman who sorely deserves her…
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E70 Making Withered Trees Bloom
Show Notes for episode 70 of our Podcast – Making Withered Trees Bloom. Story Notes Long, long ago there lived an old man and his wife who supported…
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B18 The Horse Slaying Sword
Show Notes for bonus 18 of our Podcast – The Horse Slaying Sword. Story Notes Today a look into the sword which was known as the ‘zanbato.’ Was…
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E67 The Song the Marsh Demon Sang
Show Notes for episode 67 of our Podcast – The Song the Marsh Demon Sang. Story Notes The Song the Marsh Demon Sang involves the kamui Okikirmui and…
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E66C Tattooing – The Suikoden
Show Notes for episode 66C of our Podcast – Tattooing – The Suikoden. Story Notes So lets us bring to a close our episodes on the history of…
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E65 Urashima Taro
Show Notes for episode 65 of our Podcast – Urashima Taro the Fisher Lad. Story Notes Long, long ago in the province of Tango there lived on the…
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E64 To Hell and Back
Show Notes for episode 64 of our Podcast – To Hell and Back. Story Notes Listeners discretion advised for this episode. It is gory, and graphic, and due…
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E63 Turtle Folkore
Show Notes for episode 63 of our Podcast – Turtle Folklore. Story Notes There are four divine beasts in Chinese culture, and it’s from this that Japanese culture…
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E62 The Exploits of Okuninushi
Show Notes for episode 62 of our Podcast – The Exploits of Okuninushi. Story Notes Now we haven’t been here since Episode 44, a long time ago now,…
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B13 – Jimmu’s Successors
Show Notes for bonus 13 of our Podcast – Jimmu’s Successors. Story Notes Here follows the events, as detailed in the nihongi, of Jimmu’s Successors. These are the…
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E59 The Bamboo Cutters Daughter
Show Notes for episode 59 of our Podcast – The Bamboo Cutters Daughter. Story Notes Long, long ago, there lived an old bamboo wood-cutter. He was very poor…
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E58 The Yokai behind Pokemon
Show Notes for episode 58 of our Podcast – The Yokai behind Pokemon. Story Notes Pokemon is a world wide phenomenon which was first thought up around 1989…
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E56 The Tongue Cut Sparrow
Show Notes for episode 56 of our Podcast – The Tongue Cut Sparrow. Today we read the translation from 1901 by Yei Theodora Ozaki. As it is now…
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E54B Divine Crow
Show Notes for episode 54B of our Podcast – Divine Crow. Story Notes Reading through my notes and the books again to double check everything before todays episode…
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E49 The Sacred Regalia
Show Notes for episode 49 of our Podcast – The Sacred Regalia. Story Notes Today I wanted to try and piece together the history of the Sacred Regalia…
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E44 Yamata no Orochi
Show Notes for episode 44 of our Podcast – Yamata no Orochi. Story Notes So finally Susano-o is leaving Heaven, he has caused offence, he caused the sun…
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B8 Imaro and the Wani
Show Notes for bonus episode 8 of our Podcast – Imaro and the Wani. Story Notes Imaro and the Wani is a short myth written down in the…
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EP37 The Song the Black Fox God Sang
Show Notes for episode 37 of our Podcast – The Song the Black Fox God Sang. Story Notes The Woman Behind the Stories The stories are through the…
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B5 Peacock Power
Show Notes for bonus episode 5 of our Podcast – Peacock Power. Story Notes This is a tale on En no Ozunu, from Episode 22. This tale can…
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EP33 Mirrors
Show Notes for episode 33 of our Podcast – Mirrors. Story Notes The first mirror story takes us to a sculptor known as Hidari Jingorō (左 甚五郎). As…
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EP27 Legends of Himeji
Show Notes for episode 27 of our Podcast – Legends of Himeji. Story Notes So today I wanted talk a little about some of the history of Himeji…
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EP26 Okiku and the Nine Plates
Show Notes for episode 26 of our Podcast – Okiku and the Nine Plates. Story Notes Today I wanted to tell a story, this one in particular being…
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EP23 The Worms that Speak to Ten-tei
Show Notes for episode 23 of our Podcast – The Worms that Speak to Ten-tei. Story Notes Todays episode was a three in one combo for you all.…
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B1 Shippeitaro
Show Notes for bonus episode 1 of our Podcast – Shippeitaro. Story Notes The story of Shippeitaro is an interesting folktale from Japan around the theme of human…
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EP17B Hitobashira
Show Notes for episode 17B of our Podcast – Hitobashira. Story Notes Human Sacrifice known as Hitobashira, literally translates as ‘Human Pillar,’ and is a purported form…
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EP17A Human Sacrifice
Show Notes for episode 17A of our Podcast – Human Sacrifice. Story Notes Archaeologically speaking, the act of human sacrifice has never been documented in Japan. So…
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EP16 The Devil’s Gate
Show Notes for episode 16 of our Podcast – The Devil’s Gate. Story Notes We have portrayals of the Yokai known as the Oni, which Heather mentioned…
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EP15 Son of a Peach
Show Notes for 15 of our Podcast – Son of a Peach. Also known as the Peach Boy. Story Notes Mukashi, mukashi, there lived an old couple.…
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EP14B Tales of Fuji
Show Notes for EP14B of our Podcast – Hei! Say my Name. Tales of Fuji. Story Notes Lake Motosu Now, after researching this lake I have been unable…
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EP11 Superstitions
Show Notes for EP11 of our Podcast – Superstitions. Story Notes There are many Superstitions in Japan. Numbers The numbers 4 and 9 in Japan have associations within…
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EP6 Lord of Rice
Show Notes for EP6 of our Podcast – Lord of Rice. Story Notes Fujiwara Hidesato, also known as Tawara Toda, wished for adventure and so one day set…