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Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends
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Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends

Author: Tara A. Devlin

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Toshiden is a biweekly show in which horror author and translator Tara A. Devlin explores various urban legends from Japan. From Kuchisake-onna's long history to the hidden meaning behind convenience store toilet signs, we explore it all and look at how they came about and why they became a legend in the first place.
40 Episodes
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Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! This calendar was said to be so cursed that it was recalled en masse, never to be seen again. But did it really exist, and why was it cursed in the first place? BGM thanks to Myuuji, Kevin MacLeod and CO.AG. Sound effects thanks to Free Sound and freeSFX. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Support Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/toshiden
S4E4 - Tachibana Ayumi

S4E4 - Tachibana Ayumi

2025-10-2412:22

Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! This chain mail was all the rage in the early 2000s, but how did it come about, was there any truth to it, and how did it become the “standard” for many that followed? BGM thanks to Myuuji, Kevin MacLeod and CO.AG. Sound effects thanks to Free Sound and freeSFX. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Support Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/toshiden
S4E3 - Kokeshi Dolls

S4E3 - Kokeshi Dolls

2025-10-1011:37

Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! These days, kokeshi dolls have numerous urban legends associated with them, but how did this simple children’s toy garner such a dark and mysterious history? BGM thanks to Myuuji, Kevin MacLeod and CO.AG. Sound effects thanks to Free Sound and freeSFX. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Support Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/toshiden
Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! According to legend, this entire family was wiped out because of a bloody picture hidden in their house, but how much truth, if any, was there to this one? BGM thanks to Myuuji, Kevin MacLeod and CO.AG. Sound effects thanks to Free Sound and freeSFX. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Support Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/toshiden
S4E1 - Sacchan

S4E1 - Sacchan

2025-09-1211:50

Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! What is the true meaning behind this beloved nursery rhyme? Is there really a secret verse? And will she really come for you once you hear it? BGM thanks to Myuuji, Kevin MacLeod and CO.AG. Sound effects thanks to Free Sound and freeSFX. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Support Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/toshiden
Online Transmission

Online Transmission

2021-07-0908:46

Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! Be careful what you wish for. It’s said that words have power. What if urban legends have that same power? What if you created an urban legend, only to find out that it was real… BGM thanks to Myuuji, Kevin MacLeod and CO.AG. Sound effects thanks to Free Sound and freeSFX. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Support Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/toshiden
Nail Marks

Nail Marks

2021-06-2508:41

Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! A girl trapped in a school basement over the holidays. The janitor returns to find her corpse and nail marks on the back of the door from her attempts to escape. Did this really happen, and if so, where? BGM thanks to Myuuji, Kevin MacLeod and CO.AG. Sound effects thanks to Free Sound and freeSFX. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Support Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/toshiden
Tiny Old Man

Tiny Old Man

2021-06-1113:10

Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! He’s smaller than the length of a ruler and likes to hang around hidden from plain site. Who is the Tiny Old Man and where does he come from? BGM thanks to Myuuji, Kevin MacLeod and CO.AG. Sound effects thanks to Free Sound and freeSFX. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Support Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/toshiden
Tsukuba Robot

Tsukuba Robot

2021-05-2808:39

Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! Legend has it that an interesting secret lies in wait at Tsukuba University. In Japan’s final hour the very campus itself will transform into a giant robot to save the nation! Could such a thing really be possible? BGM thanks to Myuuji, Kevin MacLeod and CO.AG. Sound effects thanks to Free Sound and freeSFX. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Support Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/toshiden
Takefuji’s Secret

Takefuji’s Secret

2021-05-1409:34

Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! In a famous commercial for a consumer credit company, women dance around in skimpy clothing. Were they forced into it because they were in debt themselves? Was the commercial an example of what might happen if you too didn’t pay back your debts? BGM thanks to Myuuji, Kevin MacLeod and CO.AG. Sound effects thanks to Free Sound and freeSFX. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Support Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/toshiden
Kagome Kagome

Kagome Kagome

2021-04-3015:561

Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! A popular children’s song with a dark, hidden history. What’s the truth behind this game children still play today, and is it really as horrifying as it’s made out to be? BGM thanks to Myuuji, Kevin MacLeod and CO.AG. Sound effects thanks to Free Sound and freeSFX. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Support Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/toshiden
Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! One strikes at 3 o’clock. The other wears all purple. They both strike school toilets. What should you do if you run into one of these terrifying grannies? BGM thanks to Myuuji, Kevin MacLeod and CO.AG. Sound effects thanks to Free Sound and freeSFX. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Support Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/toshiden
Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! On April 25, 2005, a train derailed on the Fukuchiyama Line. Numerous human errors were found to be at fault, but a legend soon sprang up that perhaps there may have been some ghostly fault as well… BGM thanks to Myuuji, Kevin MacLeod and CO.AG. Sound effects thanks to Free Sound and freeSFX. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Support Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/toshiden
Bizarre Website

Bizarre Website

2021-03-1909:58

Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! There a certain website on the internet that you shouldn’t visit. If you do manage to find it, it will show you all sorts of dark and twisted images, but be careful. You might not be as alone as you think… BGM thanks to Myuuji, Kevin MacLeod and CO.AG. Sound effects thanks to Free Sound and freeSFX. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Support Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/toshiden
The Weeping Tree

The Weeping Tree

2021-03-0511:32

Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! There’s a tree in Hokkaido that’s said to cry whenever anyone attempts to cut it down. It’s haunted by the spirits of those who died on its branches or near its roots, and if you believe the rumours, it wants revenge. BGM thanks to Myuuji, Kevin MacLeod and CO.AG. Sound effects thanks to Free Sound and freeSFX. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Support Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/toshiden
Episode Notes Aokigahara on sale now! Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show, or join the Discord and chat with other Japanese horror fans! There are numerous legends about Aokigahara, Japan’s suicide forest. Compasses don’t work. Murderers lurk in the trees. Once you enter you’ll never come out. Discover the truth right here. BGM thanks to Myuuji, Kevin MacLeod and CO.AG. Sound effects thanks to Free Sound and freeSFX. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Support Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/toshiden
The Yokai Kudan

The Yokai Kudan

2019-09-2013:031

Episode Notes Aokigahara on sale now! Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! The myserious kudan, a yokai with the face of a human and the body of a cow, foretells a prophecy on its birth and then dies shortly thereafter. Is there any way to stop the calamity it brings? Find out right here. BGM thanks to Myuuji, Kevin MacLeod and CO.AG. Sound effects thanks to Free Sound and freeSFX. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Support Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/toshiden
Of American Origins

Of American Origins

2019-09-0611:121

Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! Sometimes an urban legend is so terrifying it strikes right at the heart of human consciousness, regardless of cultural or historical backgrounds. Here are a few American legends that made their way to Japanese shores, altered slightly to fit Japanese tastes. BGM thanks to Myuuji, Kevin MacLeod and CO.AG. Sound effects thanks to Free Sound and freeSFX. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Support Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/toshiden
The Fan's Present

The Fan's Present

2019-08-2309:22

Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! Idols. Beloved by the general public and adored by their fans. But what happens when that love goes too far? How far would some fans go to get even closer to their favourite idols? BGM thanks to Myuuji, Kevin MacLeod and CO.AG. Sound effects thanks to Free Sound and freeSFX. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Support Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/toshiden
Episode Notes Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show! Kokkai-gijidomae Station is just like any other subway station in Tokyo. Or so they want you to believe. Legend has it that it’s actually a bomb shelter, and there are secret tunnels leading all over Tokyo… BGM thanks to Myuuji, Kevin MacLeod and CO.AG. Sound effects thanks to Free Sound and freeSFX. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Support Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/toshiden
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Comments (4)

Luna Ronin

You were sorely missed, even with regular Kowabana episodes. Welcome back, Toshiden!

Sep 12th
Reply

Kirstin S.

If I end up dying because of a yokai, please Please PLEASE let it be Turbo Granny

Nov 17th
Reply

Rachelle Scovil

that sounds horrible ☹️

Aug 13th
Reply (1)
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