The Yōkai That Drops from the Trees *squish*: Tsurube Otoshi

The cicadas are fading, the bell crickets are singing, and autumn is beginning to creep into Japan. There’s an old saying: aki no hi wa tsurube otoshi—“an autumn day falls like a well bucket”—describing how suddenly darkness arrives this time of year.

But Tsurube Otoshi is also the name of a very strange yōkai.

Depending on where you are, it might be a well bucket dropping from an old tree, a mysterious ball of fire, a severed head, or something waiting above the road to haul unlucky travelers into the branches and eat them.

This episode: bell crickets, autumn insect listening, old Japanese sayings, and one wonderfully bizarre yōkai that gives you another reason to look up.

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