Christopher Kincaid's Blog, page 25

Thanksgiving Book Sale

Starting on November 25th through the following Tuesday, November 30th, I’m selling all my ebooks for $0.99. A few, like Vixen Hunted, will be free. If you are interested, check out my Amazon author page. If you want to help my writing, leave an Amazon review or a star review on Goodreads. Each review increases…

The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent

An isekei with a female lead? Sounds good! Unfortunately, The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent has many interesting aspects, but suffers from a passive protagonist. Sei Takanashi sits in the center of a reverse harem in an rpg-like fantasy world. This is an isekei, after all. Like most isekei, Sei is overpowered. I mean, it’s…

What Was Happening in Japan When:

Sometimes I struggle to keep a large picture view of history. When I’m researching or reading about a time period, I don’t think about what was happening elsewhere in the world at the time. This causes me to keep a siloed view of history. Yet, we have evidence that humans from across the world have…

Kai Riu O, The Dragon King of the World Under the Sea

This week, we finish this folklore series with one more from William Griffis. This time we meet a dragon. As before, this version retains Griffis’s original text. I also included Griffis’s commentary. Soon after her arrival at home, the empress Jingu gave birth to a son, whom she named Ojin. He was one of the…

The Procession of Lord Long Legs

Let’s take a break from monsters and look at how insects are said to have lived in yet another of William Griffis’s collected tales from Japan. Lovely and bright in the month of May, at the time of rice-planting, was the day on which the daimio, Lord Long-legs, was informed by his chamberlain, Hop-hop, that…

Senbazuru: One Thousand Steps to Happiness, Fold by Fold by Michael James Wong

Let’s take a break from folklore this week: Senbazuru: One Thousand Steps to Happiness takes a different perspective than most books I’ve read about mindfulness. It uses the practice of folding 1,000 paper cranes to explain how to slow down and find joy in everyday life. Wong breaks the crane into 12 steps, using each…

Watanabe Kills the Great Spider

This week continues spooky October with another Watanabe and Raiko monster adventure. You can find modernized versions of these and other stories in my compilation “Tales from Old Japan.” During the time in which Watanabé was forming his plan to destroy the onis that lurked in the Oyé mountains, the brave Raiko fell sick, and…

Watanabe Cuts Off the Oni’s Arm

To celebrate October (one of my favorite months), I will be posting Japanese folklore in their original English versions. You can find modernized versions of these and other stories in my compilation “Tales from Old Japan.” When the capital of Japan was the city of Kioto, and the mikado dwelt in it with all his…

Books

My Books ∞

The Appeal of Yashahime

Yashahime excited me when I saw it debut. Inuyasha was one of my first exposures to anime. I enjoyed its exploration of folklore and the characters. Yashahime continues this exploration. This time, the story delves into Chinese folklore and more obscure Japanese folklore. In the story, various demons from the eastern lands invade the western…