@curiousordinary@mas.to
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curiousordinary

@curiousordinary@mas.to

▪️Folklore▪️Myth▪️Magic▪️Art▪️
Sharing Japanese folklore, yokai, supernatural folklore, mythology, curiosities and art. Also love cats, crows, books and trees.
#JapaneseFolklore #yokai #folklore #mythology #JapaneseArt #ukiyoe

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curiousordinary, to folklore
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In Japanese folklore there is a tale about a shapeshifting kitsune known to trick people and leave them with their heads shaved. Two bold young men tried to outwit the mischievous fox but met the same fate. You can read the whole tale on my website at the link below.
https://www.curiousordinary.com/2024/02/fox-barber.html
@folklore

curiousordinary, to yokai
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Just when you thought #JapaneseFolklore couldn't get any weirder, I present you with ringo no kai. This #yokai is the spirit of apple trees whose fruit has been left too long without being picked. They appear in the evening near apple orchards, taking human form. Bizarrely, they ask residents to feed them poo which, if provided, is eaten with relish. The real low point follows, when ringo no kai presents its own excrement and demands that it be eaten by the residents in...
#MythologyMonday
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curiousordinary,
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...return. In some versions of the tale, the poo is eaten and tastes surprisingly delicious. The 'victim' then discovers that it's actually made of the unpicked apples from the tree. The moral of the story, don't delay picking your apples.
🎨1. Matthew Meyer
2. 'Apple' - Kasamatsu Shiro, 1979
#folklore @folklore
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curiousordinary, to yokai
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In #JapaneseFolklore tantan kororin are #yokai that are the spirits of persimmon trees. They appear when fruit is left on the tree unpicked. They take the form of giant monks with heads resembling persimmons. They wander through towns letting overripe persimmons fall out of their sleeves. When the fruit runs out, they return to their tree and disappear. While not dangerous, they are definitely creepy, so people tend to try and keep out of their way.
🎨Matthew Meyer
#MythologyMonday #folklore

curiousordinary, to Japan
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'Yashima in Summer' - Okumura Koichi, 1952.
#JapaneseArt #shinhanga #Japan #art

curiousordinary, to yokai
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Momotaro (Peach Boy) is a hero of Japanese folklore. He arrived to Earth in a giant peach and was raised by an elderly couple. With the help of a talking dog, pheasant and monkey, he travelled to a distant island to defeat the oni (demons) living there and returned home a hero.
#JapaneseFolklore #folklore #folktale #folktales #JapaneseArt @folklore

curiousordinary, to random
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Happy Lunar New Year! To welcome in the Year of the Dragon, here is a Japanese ukiyo-e print by Ogata Gekko from 1897, depicting a dragon rising in the sky before Mount Fuji. 🐉
#LunarNewYear #YearOfTheDragon #JapaneseArt #ukiyoe #dragons

curiousordinary, to yokai
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In , kappa are a type of (supernatural creature) that live in lakes and rivers waiting to attack unsuspecting passers-by. They'll either tear out your insides in search of a mystic jewel or drag you to a watery death...or both. To save yourself you can either throw them a cucumber, their favourite food or bow to them. They'll bow back which causes them to lose energy allowing you to escape. I've written more about what causes this here: https://www.curiousordinary.com/2021/05/kappa.html

curiousordinary, to Japan
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'Iris Garden at Meiji Shrine, Tokyo' - Kawase Hasui, 1951.

curiousordinary, to yokai
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This ukiyo-e print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1843) is from the series 'Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety of Our Country' and depicts Zen-no-jo of Shinano being shown a vision in a large mirror by two demons and one of the Judges of Hell.
#MythologyMonday #ukiyoe #JapaneseArt #JapaneseFolklore

curiousordinary, to folklore
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In China there is a folktale about a husband who learns of his wife’s infidelity from a magpie. He gave his wife a mirror which could turn into a magpie to tell the man what she had been up to. Consequently mirrors often had the design of a magpie on their back.

curiousordinary, to folklore
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In Japanese mythology, Amaterasu is the goddess of the sun. In one tale, after getting angry at her brother Susanoo, she retreated into a cave causing the world to fall into darkness. After much consideration, the gods came up with a way to lure her out. They placed a mirror outside the cave and Uzume, goddess of the dawn, began to dance provocatively and take off her clothes. Laughter ensued and Amaterasu's curiosity got the better of her. She...
#MythologyMonday #folklore #JapaneseFolklore
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curiousordinary,
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...ventured out, caught sight of the mirror and paused to look at her reflection. While she was looking, the gods were able to move a stone in front of the cave's entrance and prevent Amaterasu from going back in. Thus, light was returned to the world.
🎨1. 'Amaterasu' by *tattereddreams via journeying to the goddess.
2. 'Deities Luring Amaterasu from a Cave' - unknown artist, Edo period.
#JapaneseArt #ukiyoe
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curiousordinary, to random
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'Iris Garden at Horikiri' - Utagawa Hiroshige, 1857.
#JapaneseArt #ukiyoe #Hiroshige

curiousordinary, to random
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'Snake Pit' from the series 'Difficult to Distinguish between Good and Evil' - Adachi Ginko, ca. 1885.
#JapaneseArt #ukiyoe #MythologyMonday

curiousordinary, to yokai
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In Japan, snakes have long been regarded as magical creatures. Uwabami is a yokai that resembles a normal snake but is known to have a vast appetite and to feed on humans. They also like a drink and can consume vast amounts of sake.
#MythologyMonday #yokai #folklore #JapaneseFolklore
🎨 Matthew Meyer

curiousordinary, to yokai
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In there is a terrifying known as jakotsu baba or the old snake bone woman. She is a shaman with the power to control snakes. In some cases she is said to carry a blue snake in her right hand and a red snake in her left. Apparently the blue snake has an icy breath that freezes everything in its path, while the red snake breathes deadly fire that burns victims, reducing them to ashes. If you get too close to jakotsu baba she'll attack you with her snakes.

Illustration by Matthew Meyer of an old woman holding a blue snake in her right hand and a red snake in her left hand.

curiousordinary, to folklore
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In Japanese folklore Namazu is a giant catfish who lives under the islands of Japan and causes violent earthquakes. Once people prayed to the gods to stop the earthquakes and they searched everywhere for the cause, finally realising it was Namazu. Eventually the gods found Namazu and put a stone on his head and the earthquakes stopped. However, when they let their guard down, Namazu thrashes about, causing sudden earthquakes.
@folklore

curiousordinary, to folklore
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In Japanese folklore, ikuchi is an enormous sea yokai that can be found off the coasts of Japan. This monster has a snake-like appearance and its huge body is covered in a thick oil that slides off as they move through the water. In some cases they can be several kilometres long. If an ikuchi encounters a boat, it will slide itself up and over the deck, a process which can take several hours depending on its length. During this time...
@folklore
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curiousordinary,
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...crew members must continuously bail out the oily slime discarded by the monster to avoid the boat sinking. In some cases this yokai is referred to as ayakashi, which is in fact an umbrella term for any yokai found on the surface of a body of water.
🎨1. Matthew Meyer
2. Shigeru Mizuki
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curiousordinary, to 13thFloor
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In Japanese mythology Ukemochi is a food goddess who held a feast attended by the moon god Tsukuyomi. When she produced each of the components of the meal from all her various orifices, he was so horrified that he killed her on the spot. His furious sister Amaterasu (the sun goddess) then banished him to the night sky, where he remains alone to this day. This myth explained the division between night and day.
@mythology @folklore

curiousordinary,
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@notsoloud @mythology @folklore True, but they were never side by side again. Tsukuyomi isn't really mentioned in any other myths and in one source he is actually replaced in this story by a different god.

curiousordinary, to folklore
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In Japanese folklore the kudan is a yokai with the body of cow and the head of a human. It is born from a cow, but has the ability to speak human language. The kudan's birth is believed to be an omen of a significant event. Soon after they are born they give one or more prophecies and then immediately die, or they die once thier prediction comes true, which it always does. Despite many kudan prophecies being about...
@mythology @folklore
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curiousordinary,
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...negative events, pictures of the kudan are believed to be good luck charms and they are often carried as talismans. This may be due to the kudan's perceived honesty considering their predictions always come true.
🎨1. Shigeru Mizuki from GeGeGe no Kitaro
2. 'The Kudan of Kurahashi Mountain' - tile engraving, ca. 1836.
3. Matthew Meyer
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Illustration by Matthew Meyer of a yokai with the body of a cow and the face of a man.

curiousordinary, to random
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I would like to post here more but the folklore content I share is usually pretty image heavy and the task of doing all the alt text feels really overwhelming, so I often end up not having the time (or energy) to post. Then I realise that I should really be doing alt text on the other site as well, which makes me feel guilty and like I'm a bad person. So basically I start to associate coming here with feeling bad. I'm not looking for solutions. I really am hoping to share more. I am trying.

curiousordinary,
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@seanbala thanks so much for your kind words and advice. Unfortunately I think the icecubes app is apple only and I have android. I wonder if there is an equivalent?

curiousordinary,
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@seanbala thank you, I think I'll definitely take a bit of pressure off myself to be perfect. 😊

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