Curious Ordinary

While East Asian folklore has many lunar myths and folktales, one of the lesser known tales tells of a woodcutter who lived on the moon. In Chinese folklore, the man is known as Wu Gang and he spends his time endlessly cutting down a tree growing on the moon. It is said to be either a laurel, osmanthus or cassia tree with the magical ability to self-heal and re-grow, regardless of how much is chopped away.

In Japanese folklore there is a bizarre curse ritual known as ushi no toki mairi. Ushi refers to an ox because the ritual is performed during the hours of the ox, which are between 1:00 and 3:00am. The practitioner is usually a woman who dresses in white and wears  a crown made of an iron ring holding three lit candles.

In Japanese folklore, uwabami is an enormous snake yokai with shapeshifting powers believed to eat and drink absolutely vast amounts. One of its favourite foods is people and legend says it can swallow humans whole.