223B-Samurai Legends: Dinner Party

?‍♂️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 really ...  Show more

?We've all been there.?You spend a night out with friends, hanging out in the dark forest, crashing an ogre party and making dog friends. The only problem? You were out past curfew. Oh, and you came in through the chimney and absolutely trashed your parents' house.? The Creature: ...  Show more

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 J ...  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

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

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 ey ...  Show more