EPISODE GUIDE

Taking a break from the tragic and frightening side of Japan, we look in this episode at two very bizarre, and perhaps humorous, aspects of Japan.

First, adoption in Japan may shock the senses of many in the West, including adoption of a mistress. Hear the strange customs and reasons behind the customs of the odd way the Japanese view adoptions.

Second, Japan’s medieval era had disparate views on flatulence. For nobility, it could be a reason to shut oneself up in shame or worse. Among the common people, a professional entertainer called a flatulist (Heppiri Otoko) arose, What the master flatulist in Japan could do is both shocking and hilarious. Listen now to hear humorous stories of flatulence in medieval Japan.

And flatulence was used to make political statements in so called “flatulence wars” embodied in scrolls. Hear the incredible tale of such a “fart war,” and that poor cat caught in the middle.