8 body parts you will want for your own: Super Cool Japanese demon anatomy

Want some super-human anatomy? Super-strength and super-speed are so passé. What you need are some Super Cool bits of Japanese demon anatomy. Check these out: 1)     SKIN: Ushi oni (Cow demon) 牛鬼 (うしおに) A nasty yokai who loves sinking ships and eating fishermen, the ushi-oni (also known as gyuuki) lives in the ocean. He has [...]

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8 spooky Japanese proverbs…Guest post

I’m still busy writing Takeshita Demons 4 and preparing for Childrens Book Week…YAY! So, in place of the usual Tuesday blog post, I am cheating by sending you lovely readers to the Christchurch Kids Blog to read a guest post I did on spooky Japanese proverbs. I know. A cheap trick. But at least I’m [...]

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Quick quiz: Is your persimmon haunted?

Ever thought you might like to munch a chocolate bar instead of an apple? Prefer to eat banana cake and not bananas? Well, you’re probably wise. Fruit can be dangerous for your health! Take the persimmon, for example. Persimmons are shiny orange fruit full of vitamin C and calcium and iron and lots of other [...]

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Guest blogging for the Christchurch Kids Blog…all this month

Want to discover some new Japanese demons and monsters? Want to hear about some spooky Japanese superstitions and proverbs? Want to win a copy of Takeshita Demons? All this month I’m blogging as a Star Author for the Christchurch Kids Blog… I’ll cover all the above topics and more, so head on over and join [...]

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4 ways to recognise a Japanese iso-onna vampire

Introducing the aquatic vampire: iso-onna… The iso onna (磯女 or ‘beach rock woman’) is a super-scary Japanese yokai found in fishing villages all over Japan. She has many different names, and all of them seem friendly enough: – iso onago = rock girl – umi onna = ocean woman – umi hime = ocean princess [...]

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You’ve heard of the headless horseman? How about the headless horse?

You’ve heard of the headless horseman, right? He’s a famous legend that grew from a character in a story published in America nearly 100 years ago. But…have you heard of the headless horse? The headless horse is the favourite method of transport for a Japanese ogre called Mr Yagyo, or Yagyo-san. Introducing Yagyo-san Mr Yagyo [...]

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There’s a tanuki in the classroom! Japanese language learning and yokai demons

Creative language teaching ideas Today I was at the Hyogo Prefectural Cultural Government Centre as part of a series of workshops organised by Ms Yuko Fujimitsu, Japanese Language Advisor for the Department of Education as part of the National Asian Languages and Studies in Schools Program (NALSSP). We worked with Year 9 students from three [...]

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The Filth Licker on Facebook! Share your akaname and yokai links…

Hooray! Takeshita Demons: The Filth Licker is published today in the UK!! Have you got your copy?   LIKE ME! LIKE ME! Any yokai or monster trivia you want to share? Any cool filth-licker links to pass on? Check out the Filth Licker on Facebook (http://on.fb.me/filthlicker) and add your questions and cool demon facts to [...]

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8 signs that your snail is an ogre: Sazae-oni revealed

Ever squashed a snail in the street? Ever eaten a snail, albeit with French cheese? Ever filled an icecream container with snails, painted their shells different colours using your new set of textas, then raced them all afternoon? (OK, so maybe this last one is just me and my sisters, but still…) Ever wondered what [...]

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A monster activity for celebrating International Childrens Book Day

Celebrating international childrens books Looking for ways to celebrate International Childrens Book Day (April 2, the birthday of Hans Christian Anderson)? Want to entertain a bunch of kids for a couple of hours? Like to imagine weird and wonderful creatures? Give this activity a shot: Remember…the creatures you talk about can be as scary (or [...]

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