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The first day of the Chinese New Year falls on January 29 this year. Also known as the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, the festival marking the advent of spring is widely celebrated in China and several East Asian countries. Families traditionally gather during this time to share sumptuous meals, while children are often […]
The origins of the Fairy King in old Celtic lore. Stories of fairies are prominent in Irish folklore, and the belief in a fairy hierarchy, or fairy royalty, has been a popular notion for centuries. But while much has been written about the Fairy Queen (often named Titania or Queen Mab), the Fairy King is […]
Consisting of rustic little villages, Tōno City in Iwate Prefecture is known for its associations with The Legends of Tōno, a collection of folk tales published in 1910 by folklorist Kunio Yanagita. It includes many ghost stories and legends involving local yōkai, most notably the kappa, a Japanese water goblin. While there are several sites in Tōno […]
Brussels, the capital of Belgium, is home to many museums, including one dedicated to a fascinating pair of subjects: mythology and sexuality. Founded in March 2012 by Dr. Guy Martens, the Museum of Erotics and Mythology (or MEM for short) is a unique, lesser-known gem. It is housed in a charming 18th-century building in the […]
Through the city of Sendai runs the Hirose River. It has several stream pools along its course, one of which is known as Kashikobuchi, or the Wise Abyss, and there is a chilling legend that accounts for its name. Once upon a time, a local man was fishing by this stream pool when he found […]