How do you build a bridge that stands up to storms and floods? Well, you have to appease the nature gods, of course. But how do you do that? Human sacrifice seemed to have worked in the past. Today I'll talk about hitobashira or human pillars. An ancient tradition of insuring strong river banks, fireproof castles, and tunnels that won't collapse. Visit the Uncanny Japan website to read the show notes and transcript. Uncanny Japan is author Thersa Matsuura. Her other shows are Uncanny Robot Podcast and The Soothing Stories Podcast. Check out her books including The Carp-Faced Boy on Amazon. If you'd like to help support the podcast and have a bedtime story read to you monthly, please visit Patreon. Buy Me a Coffee (one-time contribution): https://buymeacoffee.com/uncannyjapan Join our Discord server: https://discord.gg/XdMZTzmyUb Twitter: https://twitter.com/UncannyJapan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncannyjapan/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thersamatsuura Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncannyjapan/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmbTSrQe1cxBy522vxAI8Bg Website: https://www.uncannyjapan.com/ Credits Intro and outro music by Julyan Ray Matsuura Sincerely by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5033-sincerely License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Lights by Rafael Krux Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5309-lights- License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Lost Place Atmospheres 003 by Sascha Ende® Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/7675-lost-place-atmospheres-003 License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license