Superstitions

Unexplained Noises From The House

In modern Japanese, yanari means the shaking or rattling of a house, usually during an earthquake. In the past, any strange noise that a house made was caused by a monster called a yanari shaking, hammering, and pounding at the walls. While earthquakes were common in ancient Japan, it wasn’t known that a lot of low-level quakes occurred throughout the day that couldn’t be felt. When a house shook for no apparent reason, it was thought to be theyanari causing mischief.
Disappearances

Japanese folklore states that common animals were often more than they seemed. Foxes in particular were responsible for a variety of supernatural mischief. They usually confined themselves to common pranks, but could also be responsible for more sinister acts ranging from arson to kidnapping. A common belief was that, after nightfall, foxes appeared as beautiful women who lured men away from their families.
Falling Down
Kamaitachi, or “sickle weasels,” were packs of monstrous weasels that rode the winds and inflicted cuts and scrapes on innocent human victims. Moving faster than the eye could see, kamaitachi worked in groups of three. The first would knock the victim down, then the second, bearing the sickles, would slash at them until a third came behind and healed the wounds. The monsters were held responsible for all sorts of tumbles, and after getting up and finding a cut, the victim would exclaim they had been cut by a sickle weasel. They were a ready excuse for cuts and scrapes that someone might not be willing to explain. Several accounts had people blaming their wounds on the sickle weasels instead of admitting what they had actually been up to.
Sleep Paralysis

Compared to other countries, sleep paralysis is common in Japan, with an estimated 40 percent of the population experiencing it at some point in their lives. The prevalence, however, is likely cultural rather than genetic. Called kanashibari, which roughly means “to be bound by metal,” it is considered a well-known phenomena in Japan. With a plethora of blogs and television programs about it, Japanese sleepers are simply more conditioned to recognize kanashibari than those in other parts of the world. Sometimes, though, being unable to move while lying half-awake in bed is believed to be caused by spirits.
Children say that sleeping with a stuffed animal draws the binding ghost, as does sleeping on your back. Others say that it’s from being unkind or studying too much.
-The more you know~