Hey guys, I'm your host, Tara A. Devlin, and welcome to this week's episode of Kowabana,

true Japanese scary stories from around the internet. Have you picked up your copy of Toshiden volume 3 yet? It's available

right now, so head over to Amazon or koabana.net to pick up your copy right now. There's a whole

bunch of new urban legends in there, so don't miss out. On this week's episode, and in the

weeks leading up to Koabana's 100th episode, I'll be featuring a few of the

classic stories that I haven't yet done on the show.

This week, we're kicking off with a classic that deals with some tough issues.

Burakumin villages aren't a new or even rare topic for creepy pastors, but this story is perhaps

the most well-known and well-sighted

one that deals with the topic.

Let's head straight on in.

This one's called Ria S Ward. This story takes place in a certain area of Kyushu.

It's about a place called Ria Esward, which can be found over the mountain from an area

that I'll call Sward.

These days, they don't call it Ria Sward anymoreord anymore, but New S-Word instead.

But my grandparents still call it by its former name.

Well, calling it Ria doesn't really have a good meaning to it either.

That implies that the place is a Burakumin area.

It's a place that often gives lectures in high school on the discrimination of the

Burakumin people. That's where this story takes place. But at the end of the day, this is a

personal, subjective story, and I'm not here to talk about the discrimination or social integration

of the Burakamin.

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