Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com! From ancient Greek plays to campfire stories, to modern movies, the ghost story is eternal. Charon ferried the souls of the dead across the River Styx. Confederate soldiers still march through Charleston, South Carolina, and Bill Murray busts ghosts on the big screen. Every culture has its ghost stories. Japanese culture has it that during a few days in August, the ghosts of the dead rise up to haunt the homes they had when they were alive. What do you think happens when the ghosts find their old houses have been razed to be replaced by an office tower or skyscraper? Do you think they’re piqued or infuriated? If so, how do ghosts take their revenge? What would you do if you were trapped in a stairwell at three in the morning during ghost week with your co-workers and you started to hear strange voices and noises? It would be worse if you smelled big piles of pigeon manure. Read this Premium lesson to find out what happened. What’s the scariest thing about ghost stories? The unknown.
Learning Japanese with JapanesePod101.com is the most fun and effective way to learn Japanese! This Premium Japanese lesson is all about a bit of Japanese culture, O-bon. It’s all about the spirits of your ancestors returning to their homes for a few days in August. It’s actually a sort of Buddhist religious holiday to honor one’s ancestors, but as with many religious traditions, the fun of scary ghost stories has crept into the limelight. Read this story, and imagine what you’d do in the same circumstances. Visit us at JapanesePod101.com where you will find many more fantastic Japanese lessons and learning resources! Leave us a message while you are there!

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This entry was posted on Sunday, August 16th, 2009 at 6:30 pm and is filed under Extra Fun . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
17 Responses to “Premium Lesson #33 - O-bon Kaidan:”
Sunday at 6:30 pm
Hi everyone! The Obon Kaidan story is back! Are you ready for it?
Sunday at 7:24 pm
素晴らしいタイミング!!thank so much…. now the more advanced listeners should be satisfied!!
Monday at 2:29 am
there are many obon observances here in the san francisco bay area… just went to several bon dance festivies. my observance, as with many, was to go to the otera to remember those who have passed, especially to remember the hiroshima and nagasaki bombings…
Monday at 2:45 am
素晴らしい怪談をどうもありがとうございます。楽しかったですが、結びはなんとなくがっかりしました。あの「おい!」の後は、何?
Monday at 5:20 am
love these stories
thanks
Monday at 11:15 am
chin
はい、すごいadvanceです!
michiko-san
そうですね、たくさんあります!
Thomas-san
最後は、トーマスさんの想像にまかせます
rigo-san
ありがとうございます!
Tuesday at 12:19 am
I love this lesson! It’s a great listening and reading exercise. I really really like the expanded vocabulary section. It is so so useful to hear the sentences and be able to hear them again and again.
Excellent job!
お疲れ様でした!
Tuesday at 3:14 am
It’s too bad I think that these premium lesson specials tend to only cater to extremely advanced learners. I’m at intermediate level but this was way, way over my head. I just gave up after a while as it was too depressing!
Tuesday at 1:26 pm
A basic subscription does not equate to a basic skill level, just basic finances. Why must the advanced lessons just go to the premium members?
Wednesday at 12:29 am
Once again I have to ask, why am I being sent emails with lessons which I cannot access? I have a free subscription, but you continue to send me lessons which can only be accessed with a paid subscription.
Wednesday at 4:28 pm
Truenappa-san,
ありがとうございます!
次回も聞いてください!
Tachikowa-san
yes たしかに難しいです! This is complete natural Japanese and is how native Japanese people speak.
It’s challeging. If you’ve gone through “extremely advance level” just like this and even didn’t understand, it is still worth
仁居流さん
This is not really “lesson” but “story”, not one of series. This kaidan is “seasonal special offer” which is released on only Obon days and Haloween. That’s why no grammar point write up on PDF
Monday at 1:34 am
Hi all.
Monday at 8:44 pm
If you want me to pay for a premium subscription you have to give me something a little more advanced than this. Interesting story but there was no Japanese in here that I didn’t already know.
Wednesday at 2:41 am
This website just sends you round in circles until you are confused into paying for the full course. But for me the sheer untidy aspect of everything tells you the lessons, if you ever get to them, will be just as untidy and fragmented.
Forget it. Don’t waste your money.
Saturday at 11:58 am
I didn’t feel this one was scary enough. I didn’t quite get the story. What they met a ghost at the end of the Bird cages at the end of the dark hall? I thought there were zombies in this story!
Saturday at 12:01 pm
I knew I should have listened to the Man in the other room story. Should have listened to my instincts on this one. I am going there. All the other Scary stories I listened to on this site are the shisnite (awesome!!)!!
Sunday at 12:56 am
O I get it so the ghost was trying to get him to turn around by using voices to scare him. They were locked in the building and couldn’t get out! Hmmmmm.:???:
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