These are two stories from Japanese fairy tales. I don't want to ruin them, so I can't say too much, but they are amazing. One is about a boy who draws pictures of cats, much to the detriment of his job and a ridiculous amount of ancient books. The other story is about a kind fisherman who saves a turtle and has his whole world turned upside down.
On the creature of the week, it's a naked guy who, if he helps you, just thank him and be on your way. Seriously, who cares if he could have cut the grass more? He did it for free, and it's not worth losing your legs over.
Songs:
"Baby Monster" by Music for your Media
"Scary Chimes Loop" by Chrisoph Schade Composer
"All In All (No Voices)" by VYVCH
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Hello, at first I wasn’t able to understand the myth but as I kept listening, it got better
I’ve been listening to your podcast for a few months, and I think it’s amazing! I love the way you tell the stories, and I think it would be wonderful if you made a book out of them. This episode is one of my favorites. The story of the kind fisherman reminded me of the story ‘One Night In Paradise’ from Italo Calvino’s book Italian Folktales.
Thanks! I like all the episodes, but this one might be my favorite. The stories were so awesome and unexpected.
Hi Jason,
I started to hear the podcast and i’m totally in love with it!
How could I send you and audio with a possible episode? I’m from Brazil and thinking in record an episode about brazilian folklore. Brazil have a very rich folklore, due to the african, european and indigenous influence on it’s cuture, and there are a lot of legends that could be interesting to the listeners.
Hey Guilherme!
There are a number of ways detailed on http://stories.mythpodcast.com. I would love to hear it. I’m hoping to put out another listener-submitted episode sooner than later, if things ever calm down.
I’m sure someone must have noticed this already, but the Urashima Taro story is VERY similar to Oisin in Tir Na Nog (from Ireland) – strange how different cultures put their own spin on similar legends!
Yeah, a few people have pointed that out. I’ve noticed several instances now where very similar stories come up in different cultures, and I’m curious about how much is borrowed from another culture and how much is just coincidence.
I stumbled across you podcast yesterday and I’m thrilled to have found it. I love myth and folkore (I’ve got nearly a shelf of books devoted to it) and finding a podcast devoted to it is awesome. You do a good job telling the stories, and I think you’ll only get better. This particular episode was really great, it both showed me a pair of stories I’d never heard of before, but they also legitimately surprised me with their endings. Keep up the great stories!
Thanks! I’m glad you like it, and yeah, I loved these particular stories
because they had not only one, but two turns in them. Even if you could
guess one of the twists, there was still another one to surprise you.
Let me know if there’s any stories in particular you’d like to hear!