Night has fallen. You’ve had a hard day at work, and you’re walking home, cutting across a grassy field to save time. All of a sudden, a huge gust of wind knocks you to the ground. When you stand, you happen to look down and notice that your pants have been sliced open at the…
Tag: japanese culture
The Way of the Gods: Shinto and its Impact on Japan’s Strange Folklore
Delving into the world of folklore as much as I have, I’ve come across a lot of very strange beliefs. While weird beliefs aren’t limited to Japan, not by a long shot, the Japanese certainly don’t disappoint when it comes to bizarre critters. I’ve often found myself wondering why and how so much weirdness came…
The Historical Origin of Panty Fan Service
Up-skirt shots dominate good portions of anime. This fan service is used for comedic effect and, of course, titillation. Have you ever wondered where this odd fixation originated? Well, it turns out that the West is primarily the reason why Japan has a panty obsession. It is also fairly new. It started in the Meiji…
Jorogumo–‘The Whore Spider’
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…
The Curse of the Kleenex Commercial
America has a whole host of urban legends surrounding television shows and movies. Probably the most famous is the legend of the cursed movie set, which claims that for years after the movie Poltergeist was filmed, actors and producers all met terrible fates. Similar claims were made for the cast of The Exorcist, and probably…
Nuppeppo–The Blobby…Monster…Thing…
Japanese folklore is populated by many a weird critter. I am constantly amazed by the bizarre menagerie of monsters that Japanese believed populated their home country. Possibly the strangest I’ve come across so far is the Nuppeppo. The Nuppeppo is actually kind of cute, in a morbid, Tim Burton-esque way. It is a blob of…