Before there was written history, there were stories. Stories told around a campfire to explain the stars, tales whispered to children at bedtime, and sacred myths that shaped entire civilizations. Welcome to Folklore, Tales and Myths, the podcast that journeys into the heart of humanity's most enduring narratives.
📻 Siste episoder av Folklore, Tales and Myths
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Japanese Folklore. The Tongue-Cut Sparrow: The spiritual symbolism of the Shita-kiri Suzume folktale. (00:12:25)
The discovery that this "fairy tale" was treated as a legal reality in 1661, appearing on a government land dispute map in Gunma Prefecture, which suggests the story served as a codified warning about...
The Story of O-Tei: A Vow Stronger Than Death (00:10:20)
In this podcast, we explore "The Story of O-Tei," a well-known tale from Lafcadio Hearn's Kwaidan. The story is about a young woman who, on her deathbed, promises to be reborn and find her beloved aga...
Why the Norse Cosmos Was Fated for Destruction (00:24:18)
The Norse universe wasn't built for peace. Its creation from a murdered giant (Ymir) means that chaos is an inherent, inescapable part of the world, making the final, violent doom of Ragnarok an inevi...
The conceptual evolution of the "demon," from the neutral Greek daimon to the malevolent entity of Christian theology (00:18:58)
In this podcast, we explore the history of the "demon." It's a word we all know, but its meaning has changed dramatically. This episode traces that journey. We start in ancient Greece, where the daimo...
Tsuru no Ongaeshi: A Japanese Folktale of Love, Sacrifice, and Greed (00:14:32)
The tale is not just about a magical reward, but a tragic warning. It explores how human greed (or curiosity) corrupts a supernatural gift, forcing the crane wife to literally unmake herself (plucking...
Japanese Folklore: Can Grief Turn a Man Into a Demon? (00:13:59)
The idea that the purest love and most profound grief can corrupt a holy man into a monster, and that the same obsessive energy, when redirected, can become the path to salvation.In this episode of th...
The legend of Minamoto no Yoshitsune and his loyal warrior monk, Benkei. (00:23:29)
The paradox that Yoshitsune's military genius and immense popularity, which won a war for his clan, were the very qualities that led his own brother to betray and destroy him.This podcast episode delv...
The legend of the Ganjō-ji temple mermaid mummy and the story of the nun and the page. (00:05:51)
The popular idea of a "ghostly nun" at Ganjō-ji is a modern myth; the true, ancient legend is a tragic story of a mermaid who fell in love with a human nun, only to be killed and mummified by jealous ...
Japanese Mythology: Yamato Takeru, Tragic Hero or Imperial Symbol? (00:14:16)
The stark contrast between the two earliest accounts of his life: the Kojiki, which portrays him as a tragic hero exiled by a fearful father, and the Nihon Shoki, which depicts him as a perfectly loya...
The story of the Kasane-ga-fuchi curse, its historical context, and modern legacy. (00:14:08)
The tale of Kasane exists in two powerful forms: one as a generational curse haunting a single bloodline, and another, older version where a ghost's vengeance is not against one murderer, but against ...
The legend of Emperor Sutoku's transformation into a vengeful spirit. (00:12:44)
How a rejected prayer, a holy scripture written in blood, became a 700-year curse that toppled an empire.In this episode of our podcast, we explore one of Japan's most powerful and enduring legends: t...
The myth of Hoori and Hoderi (Luck of the Sea and Luck of the Mountains) (00:13:09)
The myth of Hoori and Hoderi is not just a fairytale about sibling rivalry but a sophisticated political allegory created to provide divine justification for the Yamato imperial court's historical sub...
The Tale of the Straw Millionaire (Warashibe Chōja) (00:17:30)
The story's evolution from a Buddhist parable, where wealth is a reward for piety and selfless compassion, into the secular "trading quest" trope found in modern video games.In this podcast, we explor...
The horror tale of the Hashihime of Uji (The Bridge Princess) (00:14:21)
The idea that the Hashihime was not a passive victim who became a ghost, but a living woman who willfully transformed herself into a demon through a horrifying ritual to enact her own revenge.In this ...
The Real-Life Horror Behind the Ghost of Yotsuya (00:15:02)
The story of Oiwa's ghost is a famous tale of domestic horror, but it's also a dark reflection of the real-life terror and deadly rivalries within the Shogun's Harem, where thousands of women competed...
The Purity and Power of Tawara Tōda's Arrow (My Lord Bag of Rice) (00:12:40)
The idea that a monster impervious to normal weapons was defeated not by a magical sword, but by the hero's own saliva, revealing a deep connection between spiritual purity and martial victory in Japa...
The tale of the Hanged Woman of the Pass: Japanese Folklore and the Underworld's Deadly Debt (00:15:27)
In this episode of our podcast, we explore the chilling Japanese tale of the Hanged Woman of the Pass. We'll discuss how this story is not a single legend, but a fascinating combination of two distinc...
The Legend of Momotaro, the Peach Boy (00:19:44)
In this episode of our podcast, we explore one of Japan's most famous and beloved folktales: the story of Momotarō, the Peach Boy. We begin by recounting the master narrative known to children across ...
