Folklore, Tales and Myths
Today: #46 in Fiction, Japan on our combined chart.
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Latest episodes
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Japanese Folklore. The Tongue-Cut Sparrow: The spiritual symbolism of the Shita-kiri Suzume folktale.
November 26, 2025 · 12 minThe discovery that this "fairy tale" was treated as a legal reality in 1661, appearing on a government land dispute map in Gunma Prefecture, which suggests the story served as a codified warning about interacting with Marebito—visiting…
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The Story of O-Tei: A Vow Stronger Than Death
November 17, 2025 · 10 minIn this podcast, we explore "The Story of O-Tei," a well-known tale from Lafcadio Hearn's Kwaidan. The story is about a young woman who, on her deathbed, promises to be reborn and find her beloved again. This episode goes beyond the…
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Why the Norse Cosmos Was Fated for Destruction
November 10, 2025 · 24 minThe Norse universe wasn't built for peace. Its creation from a murdered giant (Ymir) means that chaos is an inherent, inescapable part of the world, making the final, violent doom of Ragnarok an inevitability from the very beginning. In…
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The conceptual evolution of the "demon," from the neutral Greek daimon to the malevolent entity of Christian theology
November 10, 2025 · 19 minIn this podcast, we explore the history of the "demon." It's a word we all know, but its meaning has changed dramatically. This episode traces that journey. We start in ancient Greece, where the daimon wasn't evil, but a neutral…
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Tsuru no Ongaeshi: A Japanese Folktale of Love, Sacrifice, and Greed
November 8, 2025 · 15 minThe tale is not just about a magical reward, but a tragic warning. It explores how human greed (or curiosity) corrupts a supernatural gift, forcing the crane wife to literally unmake herself (plucking her own feathers) to satisfy a debt…
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Japanese Folklore: Can Grief Turn a Man Into a Demon?
November 3, 2025 · 14 minThe idea that the purest love and most profound grief can corrupt a holy man into a monster, and that the same obsessive energy, when redirected, can become the path to salvation. In this episode of the podcast, we explore one of the most…
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The legend of Minamoto no Yoshitsune and his loyal warrior monk, Benkei.
October 24, 2025 · 23 minThe paradox that Yoshitsune's military genius and immense popularity, which won a war for his clan, were the very qualities that led his own brother to betray and destroy him. This podcast episode delves into one of Japan's most…
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The legend of the Ganjō-ji temple mermaid mummy and the story of the nun and the page.
October 14, 2025 · 6 minThe popular idea of a "ghostly nun" at Ganjō-ji is a modern myth; the true, ancient legend is a tragic story of a mermaid who fell in love with a human nun, only to be killed and mummified by jealous villagers, becoming a cursed relic. In…
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Japanese Mythology: Yamato Takeru, Tragic Hero or Imperial Symbol?
October 12, 2025 · 14 minThe stark contrast between the two earliest accounts of his life: the Kojiki, which portrays him as a tragic hero exiled by a fearful father, and the Nihon Shoki, which depicts him as a perfectly loyal warrior-prince, revealing how myth…
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The story of the Kasane-ga-fuchi curse, its historical context, and modern legacy.
October 12, 2025 · 14 minThe tale of Kasane exists in two powerful forms: one as a generational curse haunting a single bloodline, and another, older version where a ghost's vengeance is not against one murderer, but against an entire village that was complicit in…
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The legend of Emperor Sutoku's transformation into a vengeful spirit.
October 8, 2025 · 13 minHow a rejected prayer, a holy scripture written in blood, became a 700-year curse that toppled an empire. In this episode of our podcast, we explore one of Japan's most powerful and enduring legends: the story of Emperor Sutoku. We begin…
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The myth of Hoori and Hoderi (Luck of the Sea and Luck of the Mountains)
October 8, 2025 · 13 minThe myth of Hoori and Hoderi is not just a fairytale about sibling rivalry but a sophisticated political allegory created to provide divine justification for the Yamato imperial court's historical subjugation of the Hayato people. This…

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