Tag - supernatural

 
 

SUPERNATURAL

In a Kyoto long past, the "hyakki yagyō" (100 demon night parade) haunted a sleepy corner of Kyoto. Now, one enterprising monster enthusiast has won a small batttle to keep the march alive.
LIFE / Travel
Apr 17, 2024
Kyoto’s demon night parade lives to haunt another day
Held this year on April 20, an ancient Kyoto monster march has overcome obstacles to continue going bump in the night.
Abe no Seimei (Kento Yamazaki), an apprentice at a school of mystic arts, gets wrapped up in a murder investigation in “The Yin Yang Master Zero.”
CULTURE / Film
Apr 4, 2024
‘The Yin Yang Master Zero’: Imaginative action film casts a dazzling spell
Shimako Sato’s VFX-heavy, big-budget fantasy about practitioners of mystic arts goes beyond the genre standard.
Kazuo Nozaki (left) played a central role in the establishment of the Tsuchinoko Expedition, and Kohei Michishita, executive director of Shimokitayama Tsuchinoko Park, on Nov. 27, 2023.
LIFE / Travel
Jan 19, 2024
Village revisiting craze of phantom creature for local promotion
A snake-like creature that can tell lies, swill sake and jump 2 meters high becomes the best hope for a community suffering from depopulation.
A serviceman, wearing prosthetic legs, walks past Ukrainian flags symbolizing fallen soldiers on the Independence Square in Kyiv, on Oct. 30.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 2, 2023
'When will it end?': Ukrainians turn to psychics for war forecasts
Military forecasts by Ukraine's most popular soothsayers rack up hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube and TikTok.
The classic Japanese ghost story often features a vengeful female ghost.
PODCAST / deep dive
Oct 12, 2023
[Rebroadcast] Japan’s got ghosts
This week we discuss a few horror movies before “Uncanny Japan” podcast host Thersa Matsuura tells a classic Japanese ghost story.
A performer going by the name “Tanefukube” leads shishi-odori dancers during Tono Meguritoroge’s grand finale at Rokko-shi shrine.
LIFE / Travel
Sep 30, 2023
Dancing with ghosts at Tono’s rural folk festival
The Tono region is Japan’s go-to setting of scary stories to tell in the dark.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Jun 3, 2023
Japan Times 1923: This may be a true story, but again, it mayn’t
Some mysterious behavior from a jar of ashes 100 years ago makes the front page of The Japan Times. Then, 25 years ago, a conference believes newsprint will win out over the internet.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 7, 2023
‘Japanese Yokai and Other Supernatural Beings’: Ghosts and ghouls in all their macabre glory
Ukiyo-e expert Andreas Marks digs deep into the folklore of Japan’s most terrifying creatures, detailing 100 supernatural beings with lavish illustrations.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 22, 2023
A Japanese island where the wild things are
From badgering nuisances to downright evil forces, yōkai fill some of the most colorful corners of Japanese folklore. These artists are dreaming up even more.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 28, 2022
If there's something strange in your neighborhood, it could be a yōkai
Yu014dkai can take any form as they are our fears and imaginations made manifest. They make for easy scapegoats, and can be used as warnings to keep children on their best behavior.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Sep 19, 2022
Pitch black: A therapeutic walk into total darkness
Night treks help people in Japan reclaim a primitive fear and reverence toward a world without light.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 8, 2020
Chilling Japanese ghost tales with contemporary twists to help you beat the summer heat
Here's a look at modern takes on Japanese ghost stories that will give you chills and thrills during Japan's spookiest time of year.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Apr 11, 2020
Looking for solace in Japanese mythology during a pandemic
Amid growing anxiety over an invisible pathogen that has so far claimed tens of thousands of lives worldwide, some Japanese are turning to faith and mythology for solace.
WORLD / Society
Mar 11, 2020
Belief in witchcraft hampers drive to end female genital mutilation in Guinea, campaigners say
Belief in witchcraft is hampering efforts to eradicate female genital mutilation (FGM) in Guinea, where almost all girls are cut, campaigners said on Tuesday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 6, 2019
DNA hints the Loch Ness 'monster' might be giant eel
Scotland's fabled Loch Ness monster could possibly be a giant eel, scientists said on Thursday after an intensive analysis of traces of DNA in the Loch's icy waters.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 29, 2019
What we get wrong about UFOs
Beware of interpretations posing as facts. And when explanations are incomplete, don't fall for the fallacy of 'god of the gaps.'
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 20, 2018
New York witches aim hex at Supreme Court's Brett Kavanaugh despite death threats
Melissa Madara was not surprised to receive death threats on Friday as her Brooklyn witchcraft store prepared to host a public hexing of newly confirmed U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh this weekend.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 11, 2018
Unsolved mysteries: Japanese fans of the occult are engaged in a never-ending search for the truth
Whether it's tales of hauntings, spirits or paranormal phenomena, Yuki Yoshida loves a good scare.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 6, 2018
Spooky Japanese tales will scare the summer's heat out of you
Until recently, summer nights involved turning off the AC and doing things like kurumaza ni natte kaidanbanashi (sitting in a circle and telling ghost stories).
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 28, 2018
Spooked no more? Hong Kong's 'haunted apartment' prices levitate with white-hot market
Ng Goon-lau pointed at a window inside a dark, tiny bedroom. The window was small and easily sealed, Ng explained, a perfect place for carbon-monoxide poisoning.

Longform

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on