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curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 4h

'Black Cat' - Hasegawa Sadanobu IV, late 1900s.
#Caturday #JapaneseArt

Black cat licks its paw. Muted yellow background.

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curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 12h

'Action (2)' - Ono Tadashige, 2005.
#Caturday #JapaneseArt

A black cat standing and looking forward with its tail raised, on a vibrant red background.

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curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 1d

An autumn #yokai tale for #FolkyFriday. 🍂🍁

curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · Sep 10

In #JapaneseFolklore there is a tale about a powerful kijo (demon woman) called Momiji. The name Momiji is connected to maple leaves and the story takes place during autumn, when the leaves begin to fall. The tale begins with the samurai Koremochi who was given the task of...
#LegendaryWednesday
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A group of people gather under maple trees.

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curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 1d

#FolkyFriday #yokai

curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · Nov 1

In #JapaneseFolklore there are #yokai known as bake icho no sei which are said to be the spirits of ginkgo trees. They appear near the trees wearing tattered robes and hitting a mallet. They have bright yellow skin the same colour as ginkgo leaves in autumn. Other than scaring...
#FolkyFriday
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Yokai illustration by Matthew Meyer depicting a yellow humanoid creature before a bright yellow ginkgo tree.

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curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 1d

...eating people, generally just enjoys scaring them. Azuki baba on the other hand actually catches & eats humans. She appears in stories used to scare children into good behaviour. They say she could even be another yokai in disguise.
1. Matthew Meyer @yokai.com
2. Sam Kalensky @samkalensky.com
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Sticker created by Sam Kalensky depicting an old woman with a red hair scarf holding a green Biel of azuki beans. She has one eye closed.

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curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 1d

In #JapaneseFolklore there is a #yokai known as azuki baba (bean hag). She often appears on rainy autumn nights, glowing white through the mist, singing hoarsely as she shakes and washes beans by the river. She is a more sinister variant of azuki arai who despite singing about...
#FolkyFriday
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An old woman sits beside a river washing a strainer of azuki beans. Trees with autumn leaves above. Swirling mist around her.

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Reposted by curious ordinary

curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · Dec 29

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden in Tokyo, #Japan.

Light shines through a grove of trees with autumn leaves.

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curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 2d

I'm really excited about this one!

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Reposted by curious ordinary

curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · Sep 4

'Tree Scene 126' - Namiki Hajime, 2007.
#JapaneseArt #FolkloreThursday

Looking up through a canopy of trees to stars in the night sky.

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Reposted by curious ordinary

curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · Sep 11

In Japanese mythology, Izanagi and Izanami are primordial deities said to have created the islands of Japan. They undertook a sacred wedding but soon after, Izanami died giving birth to the god of fire, Kagutsuchi. She retreated to yomi, land of the dead. Izanagi wanted to...
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#FolkloreThursday

A man and woman stand on a curved bridge over the ocean.

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curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 2d

I had the same problem but I gave up and went to bed. Seems to be working this morning.

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curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 3d

There are some great Japanese prints featuring scenes from this tale, I'm glad you liked it.

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curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 3d

There is a strange tale from #JapaneseFolklore about how a wooden sumo doll magically came to life and saved a family from a group of bandits. Full tale is in the thread below.
🎨'Sumo Kid' - Sekino Junichiro, ca. 1970s.
#LegendaryWednesday #JapaneseFolklore

A doll resembling a child sumo wrestler holding an object above his head. A candle is burning in a stand nearby.

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curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 3d

Thank you, they are fascinating to me and I enjoy sharing them too.

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curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 3d

When it comes to tales about strange things happening on a journey, this one is hard to beat. Being transformed into a human candle so he couldn't return home probably wasn't in this guy's travel plans.
🎨Toriyama Sekien
#WyrdWednesday #yokai #JapaneseFolklore

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curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 3d

I loved today's story from @yokai.com.

Matthew Meyer (The Yokai Guy) @yokai.com · 3d

They say that plants have feelings, but this is not new news. Tonight's A-Yokai-A-Day confirms that even back in the Edo period, plants were expressing their feelings in all kinds of ways!

Check out tonight's story below on my Patreon:

www.patreon.com/posts/yokai-...

#yokai #halloween

A-Yokai-A-Day: How an Unconscious Thing Repaid a Kindness | Matthew Meyer (The Yokai Guy)

www.patreon.com

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curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 3d

One of the most well-known tales in #JapaneseFolklore is of Urashima Taro and his journey on the back of a magical turtle to the palace of the dragon king under the sea. Unfortunately when he returned home, 300 years had passed and everyone he knew was gone.
🎨Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, 1882
#WyrdWednesday

A man hding a fishing rod sits on the back of a large turtle with seaweed growing from its shell that looks like a tail.

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curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 3d

Here is an interesting #yokai for #LegendaryWednesday. They can grant your wishes but unfortunately they have a more sinister side too. More in the thread below.
🎨'Green Kimono - Doll Series' - Kawase Hasui, 1935.

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curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 3d

Yes, he certainly seems to push the boundaries 😁

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curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 3d

I haven't seen it. He seems to be a very popular character.

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curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 3d

Yes, there are lots of stories about him. It's very difficult to condense them into a few short posts, but I particularly like this one. From what I understand, his time under the mountain helped him to chill out a bit and become more humble. 🙂

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curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 3d

Hinamatsuri (girls day or dolls day) is a Japanese festival held in March. Dolls play an important part in a tradition known as hina nagashi that's explained in the thread below. This print by Toyohara Chikanobu (1896) shows groups admiring a display of dolls during the festival.
#LegendaryWednesday

A group of people stand looking up at an elaborate display of dolls.

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curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 3d

...mountain for 500 years. Afterwards he was appointed as the protector of the Tang monk Xuanzang on his quest for Buddhist scriptures. Wukong wielded a magical staff to defeat demons, gods, and the King of Hell.
🎨1. Yashima Gakutei
2. Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
3. Utagawa Kuniyoshi
#JapaneseArt
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A monkey dressed in clothing holds a staff up above his head and appears to be running.

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curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 3d

Wukong had many adventures and became very powerful. Once, furious that he had not been invited to the Heavenly Peach Banquet with the Jade Emperor and Xiwangmu, he snuck in and consumed the Peaches of Immortality, which granted him eternal life. His punishment was to be imprisoned under a....
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A monkey holding along staff. Behind him a white rabbit leaps across the face of the full moon.

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curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 3d

In Chinese mythology, Sun Wukong, also known as Monkey King, is a legendary figure and one of the main characters in the 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West. Born from a magical stone, he possessed immense strength and supernatural abilities, including shapeshifting.
#WyrdWednesday
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A monkey dressed in robes and boots holding a staff.

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