Nagarekanjyou – A Death Custom
Translated from Nihon no Yurei There is a memorial custom called nagarekanjyou (流れ灌頂). In a small river that runs next to one of the streets in town, four bamboo poles are stood upright in the river,...
View ArticleKimodameshi – The Test of Courage
Translated and sourced from Japanese wikipedia and other sources Are you brave enough? That is the question that will be answered by playing kimodameshi, the Japanese test of courage. You will have to...
View ArticleWhat is the White Kimono Japanese Ghosts Wear?
Translated from Japanese Wikipedia and Other Sources Black hair. White face. White kimono. Whisper the word Japanese ghost to anyone, and that is the image that will appear in their head. For...
View ArticleKasha – The Corpse-Eating Cat Demon
Sourced and translated from Mizuki Shigeru’s Hyakumonogatari, Kaii Yokai Densho Database, Japanese Wikipedia, Yokai Jiten, Nihon Kokugo Dai-ten, and Other Sources If you have been a bad person all...
View ArticleUshi no Koku Mairi – Shrine Visit at the Hour of the Ox
Translated and Sourced from Mizuki Shigeru’s Mujyara, Kaii Yokai Densho Database, Japanese Wikipedia, and Other Sources At the Hour of the Ox (between 1-3 A.M.) a lone figure creeps silently towards a...
View ArticleBakekujira and Japan’s Whale Cults
Translated and Sourced from Mizuki Shigeru’s Mujyara, Kaii Yokai Densho Database, Japanese Wikipedia, and Other Sources Legends of a Great White Whale usually bring to mind Moby Dick, but the white of...
View ArticleShoraida – The Rice Paddy Ghosts
Translated and Sourced from the Mizuki Shigeru’s Mujyara, Japanese Wikipedia, An Explanation of the Tateyama Mandala and the Tateyama Faith, and Other Sources The great Hida mountain range of...
View ArticleYuigon Yurei – The Last Request Yurei
Translated and Sourced from Mizuki Shigeru’s Mujyara, Ehon Hyaku Monogatari, Japanese Wikipedia, and Other Sources It is said that people who die with some lingering issue—those who didn’t properly...
View ArticleKatabira no Tsuji – The Crossroad of Corpses
Translated and Sourced from Mizuki Shigeru’s Mujyara, A Diplomat in Japan, Part II: The Diaries of Ernest Satow, 1870-1883, Japanese Wikipedia, and Other Sources At the beginning of the Heian era,...
View ArticleYūrei: The Japanese Ghost
I am proud to announce that my book Yūrei: The Japanese Ghost is finally available for preorder! This book is the culmination of more than ten years of research, including work done for my MA thesis...
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