Folklorist Luke Greensmith joins to discuss folkloric figures of a completely different culture: the Yokai of Japan! 

We dissect the Western interpretations (and oftentimes bastardizations) of traditional Eastern folklores and why it is important to preserve foreign beliefs and stories within their own cultural and historical contexts. 

Yokai are a very diverse group of entities, which Luke and I have noticed draw many parallels and cultural synchronicities with fairy folklore, as well as other worldwide myths. Using Yokai as a centerpoint, we sit down to debate the issues of comparative studies, cultural imperialism and conservation of traditional lore.  

We also heavily criticize cryptozoology for vehemently reducing rich cultural diversity into shallow materialistic objectifications…..hey…they had it coming! 🤣

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Huge THANK YOU!!! to Luke Greensmith of LukeLore Podcast for providing us an opportunity to openly debate and address many important issues we often face while researching and podcasting about folklore and foreign beliefs! I have learned a lot and am proud to share this insight with my listeners!

Check out his podcast named LukeLore

Check out his website as well at www.lukelore.com (yes, my dude here is a professional)

Also, join his Facebook group HERE so we may continue with the insightful discussions! Feel free to reach out to Luke anytime, he is very responsive and nice!

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Intro sampled from “Something strange lurks in the shadows” by Francisco Sánchez (@fanchisanchez)

Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com

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Vuk/Darwin, host of Tracing Owls Podcast. All-around trickster weirdo discussing biology, forteana, the paranormal and their intricate cultural nuances!