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curiousordinary.bsky.social
curious ordinary
@curiousordinary.bsky.social
▪️Folklore▪️Myth▪️Magic▪️Art▪️
Sharing Japanese and supernatural folklore, mythology, yokai, culture and art. Also love books, cats, crows and trees.
http://linktr.ee/curiousordinary
In #JapaneseFolklore there is a #yokai known as tenome, which means 'eyes on hands.' It is believed that they may be the vengeful ghosts of blind men who were robbed and murdered. Tenome take the form of an old man whose face has no eyes but who has an eye on each of his palms.
#MythologyMonday
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January 5, 2026 at 9:30 AM
The famous tale of Earless Hoichi is about a blind biwa player who unknowingly played for vengeful ghosts. In order to save him a monk covered his body in sutras so the ghosts couldn't see or harm him. But he forgot to write on Hoichi's ears. The next time the ghost visited...
#MythologyMonday
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January 5, 2026 at 8:15 AM
Around the 13th century in Japan there was a ranking system enforced by the Shogunate that restricted certain occupations to specific classes of people. Zato were a class of blind people trained initially as lute players but later this expanded to massage, acupuncture, and...
#MythologyMonday
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January 5, 2026 at 7:53 AM
'Owl and Sunflowers' - Utsushi Rinsai, 1880.
#OwlishMonday #JapaneseArt
January 5, 2026 at 3:56 AM
'Red on White, Owl' - Ippitsusai Buncho, Japanese Edo period. From the Harvard Art Museum collection.
#OwlishMonday #JapaneseArt
January 5, 2026 at 3:52 AM
Reposted by curious ordinary
2026 is not just the Year of the Horse... it is the Year of the Fire Horse! This is an especially unlucky combination of element + zodiac animal, originating in the story of Yaoya Oshichi (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaoya_O...). The yokai hinoenma (yokai.com/hinoenma) is based on this superstition.

❤️‍🔥🐎
January 4, 2026 at 7:11 AM
'Moon at Musashino' - Tonouchi Misho, ca. 1937. From the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art collection.
#FullMoon #JapaneseArt
January 4, 2026 at 2:03 AM
Reposted by curious ordinary
'Moon and Lake Biwa' from the series 'The Scenic Places of Tokaido' - Utagawa Yoshitsuya, 1863.
#FullMoon #ukiyoe #JapaneseArt
November 5, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Reposted by curious ordinary
If you're interested in cats in #JapaneseFolklore and art, I wrote an article that includes a collection of #yokai cats, lucky cats and folktales featuring cats. I thought I'd re-share for #Caturday.
open.substack.com/pub/curiouso...
Cats in Japanese Folklore and Culture
From kawaii (cute) to kaibyo (supernatural)
open.substack.com
October 4, 2025 at 2:08 AM
Reposted by curious ordinary
'Look Back 3 Red' - Ono Tadashige, 2003.
#Caturday #JapaneseArt
November 22, 2025 at 6:45 AM
'Be Yourself' - Taniuchi Masato, late 1900s. The poem is translated roughly as, "Do not try to over extend, just be yourself.".
#Caturday #JapaneseArt
January 3, 2026 at 1:03 AM
'Hall of the Golden Hue at Hiraizumi' - Kawase Hasui, 1957. This was Hasui's final work before his death later the same year.
#JapaneseArt #shinhanga
January 1, 2026 at 3:09 AM
Reposted by curious ordinary
In Chinese folk culture, the gourd (葫芦) carries the blessing of "fulu(福祿)", fortune and prosperity. Its name echoing auspicious wordplay. Its plump form and many seeds suggest abundance and fertile life, while its use as a medicine vessel links it to longevity and 1/2
#painting #art
December 31, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Reposted by curious ordinary
#HappyNewYear!
Utagawa Hiroshige (Japan, 1797–1858)
New Year's Eve Foxfires at the Changing Tree, Ōji [MShōzoku Inari Shrine in Ōji, Tokyo]
From One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, no. 118, part 4: Winter. 1857
Woodblock print
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hi...
#JapaneseArt #Fox #Kitsune
January 1, 2026 at 12:20 AM
Reposted by curious ordinary
In China bats are used to represent the Wufu, the "Five Blessings": long life, wealth, good health, virtuous nature, and a peaceful death in the end. This often contrasts with their dark reception in other cultures around the world. #WyrdWednesday
December 31, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Reposted by curious ordinary
Happy New Year's Eve 🎆🎇🎆🎇

This woodblock print showing fireworks at Ryōgoku bridge was created by Utagawa Hiroshige I in 1858. It features as part of the One Hundred Famous Views of Edo series.

We'll be closing our doors tomorrow, 1 January 2026, and will be reopening on 2 January.

🎆 EAX.4365
December 31, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year! May 2026 bring us all plenty of peace and happiness (and a bit less of the chaos). Thank you so much to everyone who has followed and supported me this year, I am so grateful to you all.
🎨'The Seven Gods of Good Fortune in the Treasure Boat' - Utagawa Sadatora
December 31, 2025 at 1:18 PM
It's Omisoka (New Year's Eve) so I made my own version of toshikoshi soba to hopefully welcome plenty of good luck in 2026. It's not too late to make your own, but be sure to finish them before midnight so you don't carry any misfortunes from this past year into the new year.
December 31, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Japanese New Year traditions include a thorough cleaning of the home, putting up decorations, eating soba noodles, visiting a shrine, and taking note of your first dream. I've written all about it here, with lots of #JapaneseArt too. Happy New Year! 🎍
#WyrdWednesday
open.substack.com/pub/curiouso...
Shogatsu
Celebrating the New Year in Japan
open.substack.com
December 31, 2025 at 8:10 AM
In #JapaneseFolklore 'The Cat Witch of Okazaki' is a tale about three travellers who stopped at a temple on their way home from a pilgrimage. They found a kind old lady called Osan living there who invited them to spend the night. While there, they witnessed something very...
#FairyTaleTuesday
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December 31, 2025 at 8:02 AM
In #JapaneseFolklore sessho seki, or the killing stone, is a large boulder believed to give off poisonous gasses and kill anything that touched or even got too near it. Allegedly the spirit of Tamamo-no-mae, an evil nine-tailed fox who took the form of a beautiful...
#MythologyMonday #yokai
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December 31, 2025 at 8:02 AM
'Saishoin Temple in Snow, Hirosaki' - Kawase Hasui, 1936.
#JapaneseArt #shinhanga
December 30, 2025 at 11:56 PM
Reposted by curious ordinary
Japan's version of the moon rabbit tale is a perfect example of self-sacrifice. Originating from a Sanskrit tale, it tells of a fox, a monkey, and a rabbit who found an exhausted old man collapsed in the mountains. The monkey gathered fruit and nuts, and the fox brought fish...
#WyrdWednesday
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November 26, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Reposted by curious ordinary
In #JapaneseFolklore there is a belief that when animals and birds reach advanced age they can transform into #yokai. Aosagibi (blue heron fire) is a phenomenon that occurs when an elderly night heron develops supernatural qualities. Over time the heron's feathers begin to...
#LegendaryWednesday
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November 26, 2025 at 1:24 PM
'Snow at Miyajima' - Kawase Hasui, 1932.
#ToriiTuesday #JapaneseArt
December 30, 2025 at 10:23 AM