Stories

Yatagarasu: Japan's Sacred Three-Legged Crow

Yatagarasu: Japan's Sacred Three-Legged Crow

Before the first emperor of Japan could find his way, a crow led him there. Not an ordinary crow — a bird sent by the sun goddess herself, with three...

Yatagarasu: Japan's Sacred Three-Legged Crow

Before the first emperor of Japan could find his way, a crow led him there. Not an ordinary crow — a bird sent by the sun goddess herself, with three...

Yūrei: Japanese Ghost Stories and the World Between

Yūrei: Japanese Ghost Stories and the World Bet...

She died in summer, of a broken heart, having been betrayed by the man she loved. The priests performed the correct rites, and they buried her, and everyone assumed that...

Yūrei: Japanese Ghost Stories and the World Bet...

She died in summer, of a broken heart, having been betrayed by the man she loved. The priests performed the correct rites, and they buried her, and everyone assumed that...

Kitsune: The Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit of Japanese Mythology

Kitsune: The Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit of Japanese...

There is a fox in the shrine forest. You would not know it from looking — it appears to be a young woman in a pale kimono, moving quietly between...

Kitsune: The Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit of Japanese...

There is a fox in the shrine forest. You would not know it from looking — it appears to be a young woman in a pale kimono, moving quietly between...

Ryū: The Japanese Dragon and Its Sacred Power in Mythology

Ryū: The Japanese Dragon and Its Sacred Power i...

A dragon rises from the sea. In the European imagination, this is the beginning of a disaster — fire, ruin, the hero reaching for his sword. In Japan, it is...

Ryū: The Japanese Dragon and Its Sacred Power i...

A dragon rises from the sea. In the European imagination, this is the beginning of a disaster — fire, ruin, the hero reaching for his sword. In Japan, it is...

The Ōkami: Japan's Sacred Wolf and the Legend of the Mountain God

The Ōkami: Japan's Sacred Wolf and the Legend o...

In 1905, a single wolf was killed in the mountains of Nara Prefecture. Nobody paid much attention at the time. It was small — barely the size of a large...

The Ōkami: Japan's Sacred Wolf and the Legend o...

In 1905, a single wolf was killed in the mountains of Nara Prefecture. Nobody paid much attention at the time. It was small — barely the size of a large...