October Mythology Special: Raiju/Raijin and the Superstitions around Belly Buttons

Never clip your nails at night. Make sure to hide your thumbs when a funeral procession goes by. Don’t whistle at night or you’ll invite a snake into your home. These are just a few of many superstitions that can be found in Japanese culture used to scare children into good behavior. Another common one … More October Mythology Special: Raiju/Raijin and the Superstitions around Belly Buttons

October Mythology Special: The Legends Surrounding Sun Showers

A.B. Mitford’s Tales of Old Japan has in it an enchanting story of a very particular wedding, a fox’s wedding. He tells of two young, white foxes here: “Now it happened that in a famous old family of foxes there was a beautiful young lady-fox, with such lovely fur that the fame of her jewel-like … More October Mythology Special: The Legends Surrounding Sun Showers