26 What is a tsuchinoko? (All About Japan's Most Famous Cryptid)

<p>On this episode of <em>Ichimon Japan</em> we ask: What is a tsuchinoko?</p> <h2 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Topics Discussed<br /></strong></h2> <ul> <li>What a tsuchinoko is</li> <li>How you say "cryptid" in Japanese</li> <li>Tsuchinoko's status as a U.M.A. (Unidentified Mysterious Animal)</li> <li>What a tsuchinoko looks like</li> <li>Some of the abilities tsuchinoko are said to have</li> <li>The areas in Japan where tsuchinoko tend to live</li> <li>The sounds tsuchinoko are said to make</li> <li>The prevalence of tsuchinoko in the Kinki area</li> <li>The typical colors tsuchinoko are reported to be</li> <li>The many names used to refer to tsuchinokos</li> <li>What tsuchinoko literally translates to and how it is written</li> <li>The tsuchinoko's resemblance to a hammer</li> <li>The mythological creature <em>kirin</em></li> <li>The oldest records found in Japan that depict something resembling a tsuchinoko</li> <li>The possible links between tsuchinoko and Japanese mythology</li> <li>The goddess Kayanohime</li> <li>Nodzuchi (<span class="ILfuVd"><span class= "hgKElc">野槌</span></span>)</li> <li>The tsuchinoko's rise to promnence in the second half of the 20th century</li> <li>Soseki Yamamoto, the man who is responsible for kicking off the "Tsuchinoko Boom" of the '70s and '80s</li> <li>Soseki Yamamoto's journey to document the tsuchinoko</li> <li>Soseki Yamamoto's disillusionment with witht he tsuchinoko craze</li> <li>The town of Mikata in Hyogo Prefecuture's claim that they possessed a tsuchinoko</li> <li>Tsuchinoko bounties</li> <li>The tsuchinoko's connection to yokai</li> <li>Some of the many video games in which tsuchinoko appear</li> <li>The tsuchinoko shrine in Gifu Prefecture</li> <li>Tsuchinoko as a revered creature of the gods</li> <li>Tsuchinoko as a PR gimmick/cute mascot character</li> <li>Real animals that people may have seen and assumed were tsuchinoko</li> <li>The possibility that blue-tongued skinks are responsible for tsuchinoko sightings</li> <li>The yamanamekuji's resemblance to