The Book of Japanese Folklore by Thersa Matsuura

Author:Thersa Matsuura
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Adams Media
Published: 2024-04-29T00:00:00+00:00

Background and Popular Stories

Undoubtedly, the best-known mermaid story in Japan is the legend of Yaobikuni (八百比丘尼). Her name means “Eight-Hundred-Year-Old Nun,” and her story goes something like this. Once upon a time, a man caught a very strange fish. He took it home and invited over all his friends and relatives to eat it with him. Everyone waited while he was preparing the meal. One guest was particularly eager to see what was so special about this fish. He peeked into the kitchen and saw that the animal being readied had a human face! He returned to the others and warned them, telling them not to eat it.

The fisherman brought out the meal all cut up on a platter, and everyone feigned joy as they plucked up pieces with their chopsticks and pretended to eat them, but they were really hiding the horrid meat in their clothes to dispose of later.

After the party, one of the members returned home very drunk. When he walked in, his daughter ran up to him excitedly, asking where her souvenir was. Without thinking, he pulled out the mermaid flesh and gave it to her. The little girl popped it into her mouth and swallowed.

Her father tried to stop her, but it was too late. He felt horrible and kept an eye on her, thinking she’d been poisoned, but nothing happened. The little girl grew up and got married.

But then things changed after that. Suddenly, she stopped aging. Everyone around her grew old and died, but she stayed young. She outlived her husband, married again, and again. She then decided to become a nun and lived the rest of her life traveling to various countries, until finally, at the age of eight hundred, she returned home and died.

In rare instances, humans have killed ningyo. For example, back in 1805 in Shinminato City, Toyama Prefecture, a ningyo emerged from the sea and threatened some fishermen. The men claimed they had to kill it to save their lives. It took a combined 450 guns to defeat the 36-foot-long (11-meter) golden-horned ningyo who had a red underbelly and a face that resembled a hannya (般若) mask, which has two sharp horns, metallic eyes, and a horrific expression that represents a jealous female demon in Noh theater. The sea monster’s dying cries were reported to be heard up to 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) away. Posthumously, they called it Kairai (海雷), or Sea Thunder. After all the excitement died down, it was guessed that perhaps it might have been a jinja-hime (see the Amabie entry) sent by the dragon god, Ryūjin, who lives under the sea, and wanted to deliver an important message—only, now they’d never know.

Another aquatic yōkai that’s similar but considered a kind of pre-ningyo because it’s so old is the disturbingly named hair fish, or hatsugyo (髪魚). This is a fish with a face that is eerily humanlike, made all the more unsettling because it also has long hair on its head. Sometimes this creature cries like a baby when caught.

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