Episode
Childhood Incantations: Engacho, Pain Magic, & Severed Pinkies! (Ep. 194)
- Podcast
- Uncanny Japan
- Published
- Jul 7, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1751
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/PHTE3460052238.mp3
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/uncanny-japan-53805/episodes/childhood-incantations-engacho-pain-magic-severed-pinkies-ep-194/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/uncanny-japan-53805/childhood-incantations-engacho-pain-magic-severed-pinkies-ep-194.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
Two little boys find a dead bird on a mountain path. One accidentally touches it with his shoe, and suddenly the invisible contagion begins. Fingers cross. A circle is made. A hand chops through it. “Engacho!” In this episode of Uncanny Japan, we explore the everyday magic words and protective spells of childhood in Japan. There’s engacho, used to cut away contamination, bad luck, and all things spiritually “yucky.” There’s kuwabara kuwabara, a charm against thunder and lightning. Tsuru kame tsuru kame cancels out bad omens, while yubikiri genman turns a pinky promise into something surprisingly violent. And finally, chichin pui pui makes pain fly away. Part playground game, part folk magic, part tiny exorcism, these little phrases show how children turn fear, disgust, pain, danger, and promises into ritual. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices