Fire Cat or Fire Cart? The History of Japan’s Kasha | Monstrum

Video Description

Head over to MEGAWOW on @PBS Kids! https://youtu.be/meU4f31gqYI Don’t miss future episodes of Monstrum, subscribe! http://bit.ly/pbsstoried_sub Swooping down from the heavens on a fire ball, the Kasha drags the bodies of the dead to the underworld for a life of damnation. Most frequently depicted as a demonic, flaming cat, the kanji for ‘Kasha’ actually translates to “Fire Cart”—so why did this malevolent yōkai take on a feline appearance? Featuring the author of numerous yōkai books, Hiroko Yoda, this episode explores the religious and artistic history of the Kasha and takes a look at the significant role of cats in Japanese culture. #yokai #myt #kasha hology #MonstrumPBS We would like to sincerely thank Hiroko Yoda for her expertise and time. If you want to learn more about her work with yōkai, visit her website AltJapan.com and check out her latest book Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide. Written and Hosted by: Dr. Emily Zarka Director: David Schulte Executive Producer: Amanda Fox Producer: Stephanie Noone Illustrator: Samuel Allen Editor: Nicole Kopren Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios. The world is full of monsters, myths, and legends and Monstrum isn’t afraid to take a closer look. The show, hosted by Emily Zarka, Ph.D., takes us on a journey to discover a new monster in each new episode. Monstrum looks at humans' unique drive to create and shape monster mythology through oral storytelling, literature, and film and digs deep into the history of those mythologies. Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monstrumpbs/ ---------------------------- Bibliography Bokushi, Suzuki. Snow Country Tales: Life in the Other Japan. Trans. Jeffrey Hunter and Rose Lesser. New York and Tokyo: Weatherhill, 1986. Davisson, Zack. Kaibyo: the supernatural cats of Japan. Mercuria Press: 2017. Foster, Michael Dylan. The Book of Yokai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore. University of California Press, 2015. Japanese Tales from Times Past: Stories of Fantasy and Folklore from the Konjaku Monogatari Shu. Trans. Naoshi Koriyama and Bruce Allen. Tokyo, Vermont, Singapore: Tuttle Publishing, 2015. “One Hundred Tales from the Various Provinces.” A Kamigata Anthology: Literature from Japan’s Metropolitan Center, 1600–1750. Ed. Sumie Jones, Adam L. Kern, and Kenji Watanabe. University of Hawai’i Press, pp. 173–2020. Papp, Zilia. Anime and its Roots in Early Japanese. Global Oriental, 2010. Shamoon, Deborah. “The Yokai in the Database: Supernatural Creatures and Folklore in Manga and Anime.” Marvels & Tales: Journal of Fairy-Tale Studies, vol. 27, no. 2, 2013, pp. 276–289.