Toshiden: Exploring Japanese Urban Legends
Tara A. Devlin
Digging into Japanese urban legends of all sizes
- 16 minutes 16 secondsS4E10 - Manager of Time & Space
Episode Notes
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This guy (or gal) is said to send people back to the correct time and space when they find themselves somewhere they shouldn’t be, but who exactly is he?
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
16 January 2026, 4:00 pm - 11 minutes 14 secondsS4E9 - The Curse of Taira no Masakado’s Grave
Episode Notes
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This historical grave still stands today in the heart of Tokyo, but why has it never been moved? What happens when people try?
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
2 January 2026, 4:00 pm - 11 minutes 14 secondsS4E8 - Peko-chan’s Horrifying Truth
Episode Notes
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Some legends claim this famous and beloved mascot has a horrifying truth hidden in her origins, but what’s really going on 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 contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/toshiden
19 December 2025, 4:00 pm - 14 minutes 8 secondsS4E7 - Square
Episode Notes
Join our Patreon for early access and bonus episodes and help support the show!
If you play this game you might suddenly find an extra person in your midst, but how did the idea for this game really come about, and what on earth does it actually summon?
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
5 December 2025, 4:00 pm - 13 minutes 45 secondsS4E6 - Cursed Mask
Episode Notes
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This mask is said to be one of the most dangerous masks in all existence, but what is it, where did it come from, and what will happen if you look upon 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
21 November 2025, 4:00 pm - 10 minutes 1 secondS4E5 - Ganbo Rock Calendar
Episode Notes
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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
7 November 2025, 4:00 pm - 12 minutes 22 secondsS4E4 - Tachibana Ayumi
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
24 October 2025, 3:00 pm - 11 minutes 37 secondsS4E3 - Kokeshi Dolls
Episode Notes
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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
10 October 2025, 3:00 pm - 11 minutes 33 secondsS4E2 - Destruction of the Honma Family
Episode Notes
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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
26 September 2025, 3:00 pm - 11 minutes 50 secondsS4E1 - Sacchan
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
12 September 2025, 3:00 pm - 8 minutes 46 secondsOnline Transmission
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
9 July 2021, 3:00 pm - More Episodes? Get the App