286-Japanese folklore: Cat Dad

🧙‍♀️So, you think your stepmom might be a sorceress🧙‍♀️ Common problem. Well, common for fairy tales, at least. But, have you thought that she might not like you putting her in a box and deciding what she is before you even get to know her? It's something you might want to thin ...  Show more

🧞‍♂️Trying to meet the love of your life? Maybe ask for help from two genies trying to kill each other.🧞‍♂️ Even if you're not trying to meet the love of your life or, like the characters in today's story, actively trying to avoid meeting the love of your life because you reall ...  Show more

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 ...  Show more

Today I'll tell you part 2 of the Sakuragaike Legend (and nanafushigi!) What was waiting at the bottom of the lake? Why was the snake-dragon suffering and how did his old follower help him? Where is Kouen Ajari The Snake-Dragon now? Visit the Uncanny Japan website to read the sh ...  Show more

This is a tale of a greedy cat who decides to gobble up everything he sees! Little did I know when I chanced upon this little tale that it follows in a long tradition of swallowing tales! Did YOU know there was such a thing? Well, stories like this( of poor creatures being swallo ...  Show more

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 m ...  Show more