Translated Japanese Ghost Stories and Tales of the Weird and the Strange
If you are walking through the forest and hear mysterious laughter or the sound of crashing trees, take caution. You may have stumbled into the territory of the species of tengu called guhin. These mischievous spirits are charged by the mountain kami with the task of ensuring humans have proper awe and dread of their [ ]
Sourced and translated from Kaii Yokai Densho Database, Japanese Wikipedia, Yokai Jiten, Nihon Kokugo Dai-ten, and Other Sources Out on the seas comes upon a strange vision. A three-legged half-fish person rises from the water and speaks a prediction; this year shall bring a great wealth of crops followed by a devastating plague. However, the fish [ ]
Translated and Sourced from Shigeru Mizuki s Mujara, Japanese Ghost Stories: Spirits, Hauntings, and Paranormal Phenomena, and Other Sources To learn more about Japanese Ghosts, check out my book Yurei: The Japanese Ghost The yūrei of Japan have been riding taxis again. While they tend to eschew trains and busses, since taxis appeared around the late [ ]
So, I promise not to turn this into a big advertisement for my works, but this current sale on Amazon is too amazing not to pass on to interested readers of Japanese folklore. As I write this, Yurei: The Japanese Ghost is 52% off on Amazon.com. I can t guarantee how long that discount will remain [ ]
Translated from the official statement: “My father is dead.” I still can’t believe I am saying those words. “I’m going to live to be a 100 … no, maybe 120 or so.” That’s what Mizuki used to always say. With the advance of every year he got closer to that number, and we just thought [ ]
There is nothing sad about the death of Mizuki Shigeru. And I say this as someone who shed more than a few tears when I heard the news last night. He lived about as good a life that could possibly be lived; the ripe old age of 93; wealthy in every way that matters; respected [ ]
Translated from Opinions About Life and Death as Told by the Legend of Yaobikuni, Japanese Wikipedia, and this Blog To learn more about Japanese Ghosts, check out my book Yurei: The Japanese Ghost Japan has mermaids, but they are very different creatures from western folklore. They can take many shapes, but the most common in [ ]
From ancient to modern times, Japan’s monsters continue to be part of the cultural psyche. By Komatsu Kazuhiko Translated from this article The 1994 Yokai Boom When Kodansha published my book “New Ideas of Yokaiology” (妖怪学新) in 1994, it was during a renaissance of yokai and kaii—traditional tales of the strange and unexpected. In March [ ]
Translated and Sourced from Mizuki Shigeru’s Mujara, Japanese Wikipedia, and Other Sources If you wake up after a restless night, with reeking breath and gasping for air—beware! You might have had a visit from the breath-stealing Kurobozu; the Black Monk. What Does Kurobozu Mean? It doesn’t get less complicated than this! 黒 (Kuro; Black) + [ ]
Translated from Asahi News 93-year old Shigeru Mizuki—famous artist of manga such as Gegege no Kitaro—recently discovered notes he wrote 73 years earlier before he was shipped off to fight in WWII. The notes are written on 38 pages of Japanese paper. In it, the 20-year old Mizuki writes of his fear of death. He [ ]