One day a logger was going about his work. Since logging is an exhausting business, seeing as how this was Edo period Japan and the chainsaw hadn’t been invented yet, the man decides to take a short break. He hears the crash of a waterfall nearby, and decides that sitting on the stream bank and…
Category: Folklore Explained
Shinigami–Angels of Death
The Grim Reaper is probably the most widely known persona of death in Western cultures. Most typically depicted as a scythe wielding skeleton garbed in black robes, this fearsome figure harvests the souls of the dead, escorting them to the other side to await judgment and their eternal fate. While this symbol of death has…
The Hibagon–Japanese Bigfoot
If locals are to be believed, something strange stalks the hills and mountains of Hiroshima Prefecture. Reports have come in sporadically since the 1970’s of a five foot tall, hairy, gorilla like creature out in the forest. Japanese Boy Scouts have taken casts of ten inch footprints, and multiple witnesses have reported a creature with…
Issei Sagawa–Japan’s Cannibal Killer
Now and then on my blog I will do a post about the worst of the worst–serial killers. When trying to come up with a premise for this week’s post, I stumbled across the strange and macabre story of Issei Sagawa, a cannibal and minor celebrity. Yes, you read that right: a cannibal and a…
The Gashadokuro
Japan is home to some very strange spirits, to say the least. Not long ago I did a post about an odd breed of spirit that exclusively haunt Japan’s bathrooms. Last night I was poking around, looking for more Japanese ghouls and goblins when I came across the Gashadokuro (also known as the Odokuro). While…
Japanese Bathroom Ghosts–Yes, You Read That Right. Bathroom Ghosts.
Japan is a weird, weird place. Anyone who is casually acquainted with Japanese pop culture knows that. But things get even stranger when you delve into the world of their folklore and urban legends. Japanese legend features a stable of ghosts, goblins, monsters, and various other bugaboos that puts the Pokemon roster to shame. Among…