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ThemeStrange tales from across Japan
A grave of Christ, a cursed head-mound, a lake monster, rumours of the sea of trees. Legends and urban legends gathered from our regional sites, each labelled to show where fact ends and folklore begins.
19 articles
AsahikawaLegends and Urban LegendsFrom the demon of Kamui-kotan to local claims that Asahikawa was meant to be the capital and held a snow festival before Sapporo, with labels separating fact from lore.Read →
SapporoUrban Legends, Fact-checkedDoes Hokkaido Jingu glare at Russia? Who were the “tanuki” of Tanukikoji? Is Susukino named after a person? Was miso ramen born from pork soup? Sapporo’s urban legends and popular stories, checked one by one against historical sources.Read →
AomoriLegends and Urban LegendsThe 'Tomb of Christ' in Shingo, Yoshitsune's escape north, the dragon of Lake Towada and the forged Tsugaru chronicle, with fact and legend clearly labelled.Read →
MoriokaLegends and Urban LegendsThe love triangle of Mt. Iwate, Mt. Himekami and Mt. Hayachine; Marco Polo and Kublai among Hōonji's arhats; the rock-splitting cherry; Chagu Chagu Umakko; and the Yoshitsune-Genghis Khan theory — Morioka's legends, labeled and separated from history.Read →
NikkoFounding Legend & Ghost StatuesIt's easy to be dazzled by Toshogu and forget that Nikko had already been revered as holy ground for nearly 900 years by the time Ieyasu was enshrined.Read →
TokyoUrban Legends and Ghost StoriesMasakado's cursed grave, the demon gate guarding Edo, the Five-Coloured Fudo, Oiwa of Yotsuya and tunnels under the Diet, with fact and legend labelled.Read →
KanazawaLegends and Urban Legends of KanazawaMyoryuji's secret tunnel, why pigeons avoid the Yamato Takeru statue (and an Ig Nobel Prize), the stained glass of Oyama Shrine's gate, and the lantern with uneven legs.Read →
Hida-TakayamaLegends and Urban LegendsBuried gold at Kaerikumo Castle, sacred Mt Kurai and its pyramid theory, a craftsman's contest with a painter, and Hidari Jingoro's supposed Hida roots.Read →
Mt FujiUrban LegendsDespite being a national symbol, Mount Fuji still carries an unresolved legal question — who actually owns it — along with the strange fact that its summit isn…Read →
KyotoUrban Legends and the OtherworldRokudō crossroads and Ono no Takamura, ghost candy, the Kiyomizu leapers, the rumbling general's mound and a stone for cutting ties.Read →
NaraLegends and urban legends of NaraThe Buddha's nostril, the deer and the stone pit, the Gango-ji demon.Read →
IseLegends & Myths — Fact-checking the rumours of IseHexagram lanterns and the Japanese-Jewish ancestry theory, Hebrew on the sacred mirror, couples who break up, the lifting curtain and purifying rain, Uji Bridge's finial, sacred chickens, Rock Caves, and Sarutahiko the tengu: Ise's rumours sorted into Fact, Mixed and Myth.Read →
IzumoUrban Legends & MysteriesA land carrying this much myth and history naturally accumulates its share of "urban legends," passed around online and by word of mouth — rumors of coins thro…Read →
Jinseki KogenLegend of Mt. HoshinokoyamaRising 835m at the border of the former towns of Sanwa and Jinseki, this mountain was once named "the mountain where stars dwell." One night in the first year…Read →
HiroshimaLegends and Urban LegendsKiyomori calling back the sun, Ito Hirobumi and momiji manju, where the name Hiroshima came from and the nikujaga debate, with fact and legend labelled.Read →
HakataLegends and urban legends of FukuokaMukuri-kokuri, the fake-seal theory, and cucumbers in July.Read →
NagasakiLegends and Urban LegendsThe heart-shaped stone by Meganebashi, how Shianbashi got its name, why Dejima is fan-shaped and the firecrackers of Shoro Nagashi: Nagasaki lore, with fact and legend labelled.Read →
KagoshimaLake Ikeda's "Issie"At the foot of Mt. Kaimon in the southern Satsuma Peninsula lies Lake Ikeda, Kyushu's largest caldera lake, with a shoreline of about 15km and a depth of 233m.Read →
OkinawaShisa and Island LoreShisa on rooftops, ishiganto stones at T-junctions, the kijimuna of the banyan and the mabui soul: Okinawan lore, with fact and legend labelled.Read →
