Uncanny Japan

In today's episode, I'll be taking you on a stroll along the walking routes of Old Edo. There were five main ones, called go-kaidō - the five Edo routes, or the five historical roads of Japan. All five started at the exact same point on the Nihonbashi Bridge in then-Edo, now Tōkyō. Today, let's learn specifically about the two longer ones that led travelers to the old capital of Kyōto, the Tōkaidō and the Nakasendō. Starting from the Nihonbashi Bridge, there are two main routes to Kyōto: the popular coastal Tōkaidō and the mountainous Nakasendō. Tokugawa Ieyasu's political strategies come into focus, including the sankin kōtai system that controlled feudal lords and his deliberate choice not to build bridges over major rivers. Staging post stations (shukuba) provided rest and refuge, while river porters carried travelers across dangerous waters. Travel guides mixed practical information with supernatural stories, and there's a beautiful haiku from Matsuo Bashō that captures the weariness of long journeys. [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 Patreon Uncanny Japan Website Thersa Matsuura Website Books on Amazon YouTube Facebook Instagram Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution) Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Apple Podcasts 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 this episode, I'll be telling you about someone I've had a crush on for the past couple years, Fudō Myō, and also about a very cool fire ceremony that will burn away all your worldly desires, ignorance, and purify you. Meet Fudō Myō, the fierce Buddhist deity who burns away ignorance and worldly desires through Goma fire ceremonies. Learn about the name meaning "the immovable or unshakable one," his role as a wisdom king in esoteric Buddhism, and how he converts rage into salvation. I'll also share my personal experiences attending Goma fire ceremonies, where I've witnessed the visually striking and powerful ritual. [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 Patreon Uncanny Japan Website Thersa Matsuura Website Books on Amazon YouTube Facebook Instagram Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution) Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Apple Podcasts 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.comlinktr.ee/spectrevisionsocial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode, I'll be taking you on a journey that involves supernatural balance, a touch of kung fu fighting, cringeworthy acts of concentration, a lucky toy that heals disease and helps you achieve your dreams, and will end delightfully in a moment of sheer, utter unadulterated and quite literal zen. Let's start with a baby, a mysterious baby, born in southern India in the 5th or 6th centuries. He was a studious child who was drawn to Buddha's teachings. Let's call him Bodhidharma. What happened after he traveled to China? How did he cross the Yangtze River? Why did he sit meditating for nine years until his legs fell off? And how did this legendary monk become Japan's beloved red Daruma doll that keeps popping back up no matter how many times you knock it down? Come learn about the blue-eyed barbarian who founded Zen Buddhism, the "seven times down, eight times up" philosophy of resilience, and how to practice zazen meditation yourself. [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 Patreon Uncanny Japan Website Thersa Matsuura Website Books on Amazon YouTube Facebook Instagram Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution) Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Apple Podcasts 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

During the 2011 Tōhoku tsunami, the water rose to the exact edge of Shiogama Shrine and retreated. At Japanese funerals, you're given salt to sprinkle on your shoulders before going home. Tiny salt pyramids guard shop entrances across Japan. What connects these practices to a 2,000-year-old deity? Why does salt purify sumo rings, stop crematorium ghosts, and protect businesses? How did a warring states proverb about sending enemies salt become a code of samurai honor? Meet Shiotsuchi-oji-no-kami, the Salt God, and discover the ancient seaweed technique that changed Japan forever. [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 Patreon Uncanny Japan Website Thersa Matsuura Website Books on Amazon YouTube Facebook Instagram Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution) Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Apple Podcasts 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.comlinktr.ee/spectrevisionsocial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're driving through a tunnel at 140 kilometers per hour when you hear knocking on the back window. You glance over your shoulder and see an old woman with long white hair running alongside your car, keeping perfect pace. This is Tābō Baba—Turbo Granny. But she's not alone. There's Basketball Granny, Mikan Granny, Pogo Stick Granny, and Bonnet Granny too. Why do these high-speed grandmothers haunt Hyōgo Prefecture's tunnels? What happens if you catch the basketball or make eye contact with the orange seller? And how did one pronunciation difference turn "affectionate grandmother" into "disrespectful old hag"? I explain the Japanese language nuances, share the comedian who licked a muddy handprint on Mount Rokkō, and connect these legends to the DanDaDan manga character. [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 Patreon Uncanny Japan Website Thersa Matsuura Website Books on Amazon YouTube Facebook Instagram Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution) Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Apple Podcasts 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.comlinktr.ee/spectrevisionsocial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Japanese, some animals have names so creative they sound like fantasy creatures. Dirt dragons. Sea pigs. House protectors. Ocean moons. Today I'm testing whether I can make you fall in love with kanji through a quiz about these poetic animal names. Some will surprise you. Some might make you laugh. And by the end, you'll have a fun fact to impress your Japanese friends with. Grab a pen if you want to play along—but don't worry, you can't fail. [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 Patreon Uncanny Japan Website Thersa Matsuura Website Books on Amazon YouTube Facebook Instagram Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution) Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Apple Podcasts 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

A disease-ravaged town. A stranger with a captive monkey. One woman who refuses to become a monster. When traveling performer Hanshiro arrives promising to grant wishes through his trained monkey Fukumimi, desperate townspeople see hope for the first time in years. But Okappa recognizes what others can't see: the cruel performance, the suffering animal, and her neighbors transforming into something far worse than plague victims. An original short story from Thersa Matsuura's Bram Stoker Award-nominated collection "The Carp-Faced Boy and Other Tales." Dark Japanese-inspired horror about captivity, compassion, and the price of staying human when everyone around you has given up. Content Warning: This story contains adult themes and disturbing imagery. [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 Patreon Uncanny Japan Website Thersa Matsuura Website Books on Amazon YouTube Facebook Instagram Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution) Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Apple Podcasts 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

A young samurai loses a shuttlecock over a garden fence and finds something far more dangerous: a beautiful woman who leads him into her home, serves him wine, and dances for him. When he discovers she died months ago, he's already under her spell. What happens when love refuses to recognize death? And why does this story remain lesser-known despite its place among Japan's most famous ghost tales? [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 Patreon Uncanny Japan Website Thersa Matsuura Website Books on Amazon YouTube Facebook Instagram Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution) Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Apple Podcasts 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.comlinktr.ee/spectrevisionsocial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Japan's three great ghost stories feature the onryō (vengeful ghosts) of Okiku, Oiwa, and Otsuyu. These tales have captivated audiences for centuries through ukiyo-e woodblock prints, kabuki theater, and modern horror films like The Ring and Ju-on. In this episode, I read an article I originally wrote for Sotheby's, exploring how master artists like Tsukioka Yoshitoshi depicted these ghostly tales. Learn about Okiku, the servant girl who haunts a well counting dishes; Oiwa, whose disfigured spirit drives her treacherous husband to madness; and Otsuyu, the beautiful ghost of the peony lantern who claimed her lover from beyond the grave. [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 Patreon Uncanny Japan Website Thersa Matsuura Website Books on Amazon YouTube Facebook Instagram Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution) Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Apple Podcasts 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

Walk through a Japanese forest alone and feel that ancient presence watching you. Maybe it's kodama, the protective tree spirits that appear as ghostly lights. Or perhaps it's something more dangerous. In this episode, Terrie explores Japan's supernatural trees—from the benevolent kodama spirits mentioned in the Kojiki to the bloodthirsty jubokko that feeds on human blood at ancient battlefields. [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 Patreon Uncanny Japan Website Thersa Matsuura Website Books on Amazon YouTube Facebook Instagram Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution) Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Apple Podcasts 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