K is for Kitsune I’m doing folklore and book review posts to reach and please a larger audience. Previous years have shown select interest in both and to minimise blogging throughout the year, I’m focusing my efforts on April. If you’d rather check out my book review for today, go here. The idea of a …
K is for Kappa Amphibious creatures have always caught the imagination of surface dwellers. The Kappa from Japanese folklore is perhaps the most famous of its kind. Folklore Ancient Tales and Folk-lore of Japan, by Richard Gordon Smith, [1918] The pond was old and deep, covered with water plants, and had never been emptied within …
I’ve always thought of monkeys as mischievous. And looking at folklore, it seems that I’m right. Folktales and Folklore of Monkeys from Around the World The Forest in Folklore and Mythology by Alexander Porteous [1928], p147 In the forests of Brazil a lame Demon leads the hunter astray. In these forests, as in all other …
Last week we looked at what I write: Dark Fantasy. This week we’re looking at what features in my writing. Once upon a time I wrote about what folklore is and why folklore is important. I wrote about how we embrace it in our Disney movies and young adult novels – disguised as fairy tales. …
Honestly, I have no idea what the difference between a raven and a crow is. To me, they are beautiful black birds. According to the Collins English dictionary: crow n 1 any large gregarious songbird of the genus Corvus, esp C. corone (the carrion crow) of Europe and Asia: family Corvidae. Other species are the …
I decided to do a bit of research on Japanese folklore creatures (yokai). My favourite among these, and regularly confused with each other, is Yuki Onna and Tsurara Onna. Tsurara Onna is the Icicle Woman and Yuki Onna is the Snow Woman. Enjoy! Folklore about Yuki Onna and Tsurara Onna KWAIDAN: Stories and Studies of …
