The Umibōzu
Japanese sailors told of a huge, dark, bald head that rose from calm seas at night and could sink a ship.
What was reported
The umibōzu, 'sea monk', is a yōkai of Japanese folklore: an enormous, smooth black figure with a round head like a shaven monk's, which rises from the sea on calm nights. It was said to ask passing ships for a barrel and fill it with water to sink them, so wise sailors handed over a barrel with no bottom.
Accounts appear in Edo-period collections of strange tales, and in some places it was blamed for sudden storms.
Explanations offered
Some suggest the legend grew from glimpses of large sea animals, such as whales, turtles or giant squid, or from sudden swells and squalls. It's a folk explanation of the sea's dangers rather than an observed creature.
- When
- Told for centuries
- Where
- Sea of Japan
- Witnesses
- Japanese sailors and fishermen
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.