Amabie

{{Short description|Legendary Japanese creature}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}} [[File:Higo Amabie.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The ''amabie''. Woodblock print, late Edo period, dated Kōka 3 (1846).]] {{nihongo|'''Amabie'''|アマビエ}} is a legendary Japanese mermaid or merman with a bird beak-like mouth and three legs or tail-fins, who allegedly emerges from the sea, prophesies either an abundant harvest or an epidemic, and instructed people to make copies of its likeness to defend against illness.

The ''amabie'' appears to be a variant or misspelling of the '''''amabiko''''' or '''''amahiko''''' ({{langx|ja|アマビコ, アマヒコ}}, {{lang|ja|海彦}}, {{lang|ja|尼彦}}, {{lang|ja|天日子}}, {{lang|ja|天彦}}, {{lang|ja|あま彦}}), otherwise known as the {{nihongo|''amahiko-nyūdo''|尼彦入道|}}, also a prophetic beast depicted variously in different examples, being mostly as 3-legged or 4-legged, and said to bear ape-like (sometimes torso-less), daruma doll-like, or bird-like, or fish-like resemblance according to commentators.

This information was typically disseminated in the form of illustrated woodblock print bulletins (''kawaraban'') or pamphlets (''surimono'') or hand-drawn copies. The ''amabie'' was depicted on a woodblock print marked with an 1846 date, which is located at Kyoto University Library and the only known documentation.<ref name = "AMartin">{{cite web | publisher = Japan Times | title = Looking for solace in Japanese mythology during a pandemic | first = Alex K.T. | last = Martin | date = 2020-04-11 | url = https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/04/11/national/history/mythology-amabie-coronavirus/}}</ref> Attestation to the ''amabiko'' predating ''amabie'' had not been known until the discovery of a hand-painted leaflet dated 1844.

There are also other similar {{nihongo|''yogenjū''|予言獣|exta=‘prophetic beasts’}} that are not classed within the ''amabie''/''amabiko'' group, e.g., the {{nihongo|''arie''|アリエ}}.

== Legend == According to legend, an ''amabie'' appeared in Higo Province (Kumamoto Prefecture), around the middle of the fourth month, in the year Kōka-3 (mid-May 1846) in the Edo period. A glowing object had been spotted in the sea, almost on a nightly basis. The town's official went to the coast to investigate and witnessed the ''amabie''. According to the sketch made by this official, it had long hair, a mouth like bird's bill, was covered in scales from the neck down and three-legged. Addressing the official, it identified itself as an ''amabie'' and told him that it lived in the open sea. It went on to deliver a prophecy: "Good harvest will continue for six years from the current year;{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|{{Harvp|Murakami|2000}} reads "six months from the current year ({{Lang|ja|当年より六ヶ月}})" (quoted in {{Harvp|Nagano|2005|p=4}}), but {{Harvp|Nagano|2005|p=25}} prints the entire text and reads "six years from the current year ({{Lang|ja|當年より六ヶ年}})".}} if disease spreads, draw a picture of me and show the picture of me to those who fall ill." Afterward, it returned to the sea. The story was printed in the ''{{interlanguage link|kawaraban|ja|瓦版}}'' (woodblock-printed bulletins), where its portrait was printed, and this is how the story disseminated in Japan.{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|pp=24, 4–6}}<ref name="yumoto2005-genju_zusetsu"/><ref name=mainichi20200605/>

== Amabiko group == thumb|200px|''Amabiko'' seen in Higo, painting, property of {{interlanguage link|Kōichi Yumoto|ja|湯本豪一}} There is only one unique record of an ''amabie'', whose meaning is uncertain. It has been conjectured that this ''amabie'' was simply a miscopying of "amabiko",{{efn|The Japanese letters {{nihongo|''ko''|コ}} and {{nihongo|''e''|エ}} being nearly interchangeably similar.}} a ''yōkai'' creature that can be considered identical.<ref name="yumoto2005-genju_zusetsu"/>{{sfnp|Yumoto|1999|pp=178–180}} Like the ''amabie'', the ''amabiko'' is a three-legged or multi-legged prophesizing creature which prescribes the display of its artistic likeness to defend against sickness or death.{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|pp=6, 4}} However, the appearance of the ''amabie'' is said to be rather mermaid-like (the three-leggedness allegedly stemming from a mermaid type called {{interlanguage link|jinjahime|ja|神社姫|lt=''jinjahime''}}), and for this reason one researcher concludes there is not enough of a close resemblance in physical appearance between the two.{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|p=5}}

=== Name variations === There are a dozen or more attestations of ''amabiko'' or ''amahiko'' ({{lang|ja|海彦}}; var. {{lang|ja|あま彦}}, {{lang|ja|尼彦}}, {{lang|ja|天彦}}) extant (counting the ''amabie''),<ref name=nagano-9examples>{{harvp|Nagano|2005|p=5}}, nine examples (incl. ''amabie'') collated by the different ways in which names are written, on p. 7.</ref>{{Refn|Several more attestations were noted post-2005: a copy of Ambabiko[?] dated 1843 in ''Seisō kibun'',<ref name=nagano2009-seiso-kibun/> the facsimile and text of a different 1843 copy in an encyclopedia {{interlanguage link|Kōbunko|ja|広文庫|lt=''Kōbunko''}},<ref name="mozume"/><ref name=mainichi20200603b/> and an 1844 dated copy preserved in Echizen city.<ref name=mainichi20200603a/>}} with the copies dated 1843 (Tenpō 14) perhaps being the oldest.{{Refn|Nagano's 2005 paper considered the 1844 copy of the ''amabiko'' (‘sea prince’) to be the oldest,{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|pp=7, 8, 9}} but the 1843 copy in Nagano's 2009 essay<ref name=nagano2009-seiso-kibun/> predates it, as well as the 1843 copy recorded in the encyclopedia.<ref name="mozume"/><ref name=mainichi20200603b/>}}

=== Locality of appearances === Four describe appearances in Higo Province, one report the {{nihongo|''Amabiko Nyūdo''|尼彦入道||"the amahiko monk"}} in neighboring Hyuga Province (Miyazaki prefecture), another vaguely points to the western sea.<ref name=nagano-9examples/><ref name="yumoto2005-genju_zusetsu"/>

Beyond those clustered in the south, two describe appearances in Echigo Province in the north.<ref name=nagano-9examples/><ref name="yumoto2005-genju_zusetsu"/>{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|The remainder is a source that does not recount detail on the {{nihongo|''Amahiko Nyūdo''[?]|天彦入道}} "charms (''majinai'')" he is referring to, except that these were pasted at the door around the time of the Satsuma Rebellion (1877) in the environs of Hiraka, Akita where the local historian author is native. The source is the book ''Yasoō danwa'' ({{Lang|ja|八十翁談話}}) written by a local man named Denichirō Terada.{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|loc=p. 6, 25 and note (26)}}}}

The two oldest accounts (1844, 1846) do not closely specify the locations, but several accounts name specific village or counties (''gun'') that turn out to be nonexistent fictitious place names.{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|p=8}}

=== Physical characteristics ===

The accompanying caption texts describes some as glowing (at night) or having ape-like voices,{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|pp=13, 5–6}} but description of physical appearance is rather scanty. The newspapers and commentators however provide iconographic analysis of the pictorials (hand-painted and prints).{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|pp=5–6, 12–13}}

The majority of pictorial represent the ''amabiko''/''amabie'' as 3-legged (or odd-number legged), with a couple cases rather like an ordinary quadruped.{{Refn|Nagano (2005) states that out of the 9 examples of ''amabiko''/''amabie'',{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|p=7}} the pictorial representation is available for 5, but since actually includes ''amabie'' as evident from his subsequent commentary re leg-number classification,{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|p=6}} the total number of pictures is 6.{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|p=21}} Two are depicted as quadrupeds (Amahiko-no-Mikoto and hand-painted Amahiko 'nun prince'), three are 3-legged or 3-finned ('sea prince', ''amabie'', and Amahiko (Nagano Shinbun)), and one instance of 9-legged (''amahiko-nyūdō'', print).{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|pp=5–6}}

On these paintings and prints, body hair and facial/head hair growth pattern also exhibit discrepancies.{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|pp=5–6}}。}}

;Torso-less ape-like version<ref>{{harvp|Nagano|2005|p=3}}, the exact wording is not "toro-less", but "as if three long legs are growing immediately out of the head portion 頭部からいきなり長い三本足が生えたような".</ref><ref name=mainichi20200607/> An {{nihongo|''amahiko''/''amabiko''|海彦|extra=‘sea prince’}},{{Refn|The text is supplied with ''furigana'' phonetics which literally reads ''amahiko'', but still could be read as either "amahiko" or "amabiko".{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|p=3}} (Since {{interlanguage link|dakuten|ja|濁点}} or sonorant marks are routinely eschewed in older texts). Nagano prefers the "amabiko" reading in his paper.}}{{Refn|English rendition "sea prince" adapted from Umisachihiko translated as "Prince Luck of the Sea".<ref name=matsumoto/> But ''hiko'' could be regarded as "man" or a common name like "Jack".}} whose appearance in Echigo Province is documented on a leaflet dated 1844 (Tenpō 15).<ref>Leaflet, as in written (and painted) on approximately a halved {{interlanguage link|hanshi (paper)|ja|半紙|lt=''hanshi''}} size ({{cvt|24|x|33|cm|sigfig=3}}) paper,{{harvp|Nagano|2005|p=1}} i.e., very roughly a halved legal size paper.</ref>

The hand-copied pamphlet{{efn|The leaf is bound along with unrelated material in the {{nihongo|Tsubokawa manuscript|坪川本}}, now in the possession of the Fukui Prefectural Library (福井県立図書館). The painting was presumably by the known copyist, who was not born 1846, sot the 1844 date cannot be the date he painted it, but rather the date indicated on the original exemplar.{{sfn|Nagano|2005|pp=2–3}}}} illustration depicts a creature rather like an ape with three legs, the legs seemingly projecting directly from the head (without any neck or torso in-between). The body and face are covered profusely with short hair, except for it being bald-headed. The eyes and ears are human-like, with a pouty or protruding mouth.<ref name=mainichi20200607/>{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|p=3}} The creature appeared in the year 1844{{Refn|The leaflet is dated as the year of the dragon, and the text states it appeared on "this year of the dragon". This is an unusual case where the year of appearance is thus certain, because it is ambiguous in other examples.{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|p=9}}}} and predicted doom to 70% of the Japanese population that year, which could be averted with its picture-amulet.{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|loc=pp. 4–8 and fig. 2 on p. 21}}

;Amahiko-no-mikoto The {{nihongo|''Amahiko-no-mikoto''|天日子尊|extra=‘His Highness Heaven Prince’}} was spotted in a rice paddy in Yuzawa, Niigata, as reported by the {{interlanguage link|Tokyo Nichinichi Shinbun{{!}}''Tokyo Nichinichi Shinbun''|ja|東京日日新聞}} from 1875.<ref name=tokyo-nichinichi/>{{sfnp|Yumoto|1999|pp=178–180}} The crude newspaper illustration depicts a daruma doll-like or ape-like, hairless-looking four-legged creature.{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|p=6}} This example stands out since it was emerged not in the ocean but in a wet rice field.{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|p=7}} Also, the addition of the imperial/divine title of "''-mikoto''" has been noted by one researcher as resembling the name of one of the Amatsukami or "Heavenly Deities" of ancient Japan.{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|The specific example being {{nihongo|Ame-no-wakahiko|天若日子|}} named in Japan's ancient pseudo-historical chronicles (''kiki'', i.e. ''Kojiki'' and ''Nihon Shoki''.}}{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|p=7}}

This creature in the crude drawing is said to resemble a daruma doll or an ape.<ref name=tokyo-nichinichi/><ref name=mainichi20200606/>

;Ape-voiced thumb|"Amabiko", illustrated in the ''Kōbunko'' encyclopedia.<ref name="mozume" /><ref name=mainichi20200603b/> There are at least three examples of the ''amabiko''[?] crying like apes.{{Refn|Two examples for comparison noted earlier by Nagano,{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|p=13}} plus the example in the ''Kōbunko'' encyclopedia.<ref name="mozume"/><ref name=mainichi20200603b/>}}

The texts of all three identify the place of appearance as {{nihongo|Shinji-kōri[?]|眞字郡/眞寺郡}}, a non-existent county in Higo Province,{{Refn|Just {{nihongo|Shinji[?]|眞字}} in the encyclopedia.<ref name="mozume"/>}}<ref>{{harvp|Nagano|2005|p=7}} gave {{lang|ja|眞字郡}} for both examples; {{harvp|Nagano|2009|pp=136, 148}} emended the reading of the hand-painted example to {{lang|ja|眞寺郡}}.</ref>{{efn|"Shinji-gun" is a possible pronunciation for both forms given, but not verifiable since the phonetics are not provided. The character {{langx|ja|郡}} here is the same as the character pronounced "kōri" in another example.<ref name=nagano_shinbun/>}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Another nonexistent county in Higo Province is {{nihongo|Aonuma-kōri|青沼郡/あほぬまこほり}}, with a nonexistence beach {{nihongo|Isono-hama|磯野浜}} named as the {{nihongo|''amahiko''|尼彦/あまひこ|nun prince}} sighting spot by various "other newspapers" according to the ''Nagano Shinbun''.<ref name=nagano_shinbun/>}} and names the discoverer who heard the ape voices heard by night and tracked down the amabiko as one Shibata Hikozaemon (or Goroemon/Gorozaemon).{{efn|"Hikozaemon" in the hand-painted copy. Goroemon in the newspaper transcripts, Gorozaemon in the encyclopedia.}}{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|p=24}}<ref name="mozume"/>

One ape-voiced {{nihongo|''amabiko''[?]|尼彦|extra=‘nun prince’}} is represented by a hand-painted copy owned by {{interlanguage link|Kōichi Yumoto|ja|湯本豪一}},{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|loc=pp. 4–8, 24}} an authority in the study of this ''yōkai''.{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|p=4}} This document has a ''terminus post quem'' of 1871 (Meiji 4) or later,{{efn|Due to its mention of Kumamoto Prefecture.}}{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|p=9}} The painting is said to depict a quadruped, with extremely close similarity in form to the ''mikoto'' (ape- or daruma doll-like) by commentators.<ref name="yumoto2005-genju_zusetsu"/>{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|p=6}} However, the {{nihongo|''amahiko''[?]|あま彦|extra=}}{{efn|Note that the ''furigana'' actually reads {{nihongo|''amahima''|あまひま}} in Nagano's transcription, but a misprint there is assumed.}} that cried like an ape (newspaper piece) is reported to have been drawn as a "three-legged monster".<ref name=yubin_hochi/>{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|The pamphlets themselves obtained by the newspaper are not known to have survived, and does not give a date in the passage quoted in the newspaper, but Nagano writes that the reporting was current.{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|p=9}} The newspaper claimed the pamphlets were replicas of pamphlets distributed during the cholera epidemic of 1858 (Ansei 5), with the text matching identically, and researcher Nagano accepts this earlier date of provenance.{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|pp=9, 18}}}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|The pamphlets are identified as {{nihongo|''surimono''|刷物}} in the newspaper, which added they were about the size of a quartered {{interlanguage link|hanshi (paper)|ja|半紙|lt=''hanshi''}} size, i.e., very roughly a quartered legal size paper as discussed in note above. Also the newspaper reprinted a normalized text mixed with kanji, revealing that the original was entirely in kana.}} And the encyclopedia example described the {{nihongo|''amabiko''|アマビコ}} as a {{nihongo|''kechō''|怪鳥|extra=‘monstrous bird’}} in its sub-heading.<ref name="mozume"/>

A tangential point of interest is that this text transcribed in the newspaper refers to "we ''amahiko'' who dwell in the sea", suggesting there are multiple numbers of the creature.{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|p=9}}

;Glowing The foregoing {{nihongo|''amahiko''[?]|あま彦|extra=‘? prince’}}{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}} was also described as a {{nihongo|''hikari-mono''|光り物|glowing object}}.<ref name=yubin_hochi/> The glowing is an attribute common to other examples, such as the ''amabie'' and {{nihongo|''amahiko''|尼彦/あまひこ|extra=‘nun prince’}} reported in the ''Nagano Shinbun''.{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|pp=5–6}}<ref name=nagano_shinbun/>

{{nihongo|''Amabiko''|天彦|extra=‘heaven prince’}} was also purportedly seen glowing at night in the offing of the Western Sea, during the Tenpō era (1830–1844), and illustrations were brought for sale at 5 sen apiece to {{interlanguage link|Kasai, Tokyo|lt=Kasai|ja|葛西}}-kanamachi village, Tokyo, as reported in another newspaper, dated 20 October 1881.<ref name=tokyo-akebono/> This creature allegedly predicted global-scale doom thirty-odd years ahead,{{efn|Compare with Amabie which made only a 6-year forecast.}} conveniently coinciding with the time the peddlers were selling them, prompting researcher Eishun Nagano to comment that while the text may or may not have been genuinely composed in the Edo Period, the illustrations were probably contemporary,{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|p=10}} though he guesses that the merchandise was ''surimono'' woodblock print.{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|p=22}} The creature also professed to serve the heavenly ''Tenbu'' or Deva divinities (of Buddhism), even though he is presumably sea-dwelling.{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|p=7}}

;Old man or monk The {{nihongo|''amahiko''[?] ''nyūdō''|尼彦入道|extra=‘nun prince monk’}} on a ''surimono'' print, which purportedly appeared in Hyūga Province,<ref name=amahiko-nyudo-surimono>{{nihongo|''amahiko''[?] ''nyūdō''|尼彦入道}} (''surimono'', also owned by Yumoto). Text reprinted as source #8 {{harvp|Nagano|2005|p=25}}, illustration reproduced p. 22, fig. 7.</ref> The illustration here resembles an old man with bird-like body and nine legs.{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|p=6}}

== Similar ''yōkai'' ==

In Japanese folklore or popular imagination, there are also other similar ''yōkai'' that follow the pattern of predicting doom and instructing humans to copy or view its image, but lie outside the classification of ''amabie''/''amabiko'' according to a noted researcher. These are referred to generically as "other" {{nihongo|''yogenjū''|予言獣|exta=‘prophetic beasts’}}.<ref>{{harvp|Nagano|2005|pp=8–9, 11–14}}. "others" charted on Table 2, on p. 23 (18 examples).</ref>

Among the other prophetic beasts was the {{nihongo|''arie''|アリエ}}, which appeared in "Aotori-kōri" county, Higo Province, according to the ''Kōfu Nichinichi Shimbun''{{efn|Now the {{interlanguage link|Yamanashi Nichinichi Shimbun{{!}}''Yamanashi Nichinichi Shimbun''|ja|山梨日日新聞}}.}} newspaper dated 17 June 1876, although this report has been debunked by another paper.{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|The county by the name of "Aoshima-gun" does not exist there and the news was pronounced "fanciful" by the ''Nagano Shimbun'' dated 30 June 1876.<ref name="chiho"/>}}{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|loc=p. 8 and note (44)}}

thumb|200px|{{nihongo|''Yamawarawa''|山童|}} The ''yamawarawa'' in the folklore of Amakusa is believed to haunt the mountains. Although neither of these last two emerge from sea, other similarities such as prophesying and three-leggedness indicate some sort of interrelationship.<ref name="yumoto2005-genju_zusetsu" />{{sfnp|Yumoto|1999|pp=178–180}}{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|p=12}}

There are various other ''yōkai'' creatures that are vastly different in appearance, but have the ability to predict, such as the ''kudan'',{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|pp=9, 12}} the {{interlanguage link|jinjahime|ja|神社姫}}{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|pp=5, 9, 12, 20}} or "shrine princess", the {{nihongo|''hōnen game''|豊年亀||}} or "bumper crop year turtle", and the "turtle woman".{{sfnp|Nagano|2005|pp=8, 9, 12}}<ref name="yumoto2005-genju_zusetsu" />

A tradition in the West ascribes every creature of the sea with the ability to foretell the future, and there is no scarcity of European legends about merfolk bringing prophecy. For this reason, the ''amabie'' is considered to be a type of mermaid, in some quarters. But since the ''amabie'' is credited with the ability to repel pestilence as well, it should be considered as more of a deity according to some.<ref name="mizuki"/>

== COVID-19 == [[File:Stop Kansen Kakudai Covid19 2020.jpg|thumb|200px|The ''STOP! Kansen Kakudai – COVID-19'' is a poster by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.<ref>厚生労働省『STOP! 感染拡大――COVID-19』2020年。</ref>]] During the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, amabie became a popular topic on Twitter in Japan under the hashtag #amabiechallenge.<ref name = "AMartin"></ref> Manga artists (e.g. Chica Umino, Mari Okazaki and Toshinao Aoki) published their cartoon versions of amabie on social networks.<ref>{{cite news|title=Plague-predicting Japanese folklore creature resurfaces amid coronavirus chaos|newspaper=Mainichi Daily News|date=25 March 2020|url=https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200325/p2a/00m/0na/021000c}}</ref> The Twitter account of Orochi Do, an art shop specializing in hanging scrolls of ''yōkai'', is said to have been the first, tweeting "a new coronavirus countermeasure" in late February 2020.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Alt |first=Matt |date=9 April 2020 |title=From Japan, a Mascot for the Pandemic |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/from-japan-a-mascot-for-the-pandemic |magazine=New Yorker |location=New York |access-date=9 April 2020 }}</ref> A twitter bot account (amabie14)<ref>{{cite web |title=Twitter |url=https://x.com/amabie14?lang=en}}</ref> has been collecting images of amabie since March 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/22/838323775/in-japan-mythical-amabie-emerges-from-19th-century-folklore-to-fight-covid-19|title = In Japan, Mythical 'Amabie' Emerges from 19th Century Folklore to Fight COVID-19|website = NPR|date = 22 April 2020|last1 = Kuhn|first1 = Anthony}}</ref> This trend was noticed by scholars.<ref>{{cite journal | title = Amabié—A Japanese Symbol of the COVID-19 Pandemic | first1 = Yuki | last1 = Furukawa | first2 = Rei | last2 = Kansaku | journal = JAMA | doi = 10.1001/jama.2020.12660 | volume = 324 | issue = 6 | pages = 531–533 | year = 2020| pmid = 32678430 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | first = Sam | last = George | title = Amabie goes viral: the monstrous mercreature returns to battle the Gothic Covid-19 | doi = 10.1111/criq.12579 | journal = Critical Quarterly | volume = 62 | issue = 4 | pages = 32–40 | year = 2020 | doi-access = free | hdl = 2299/27977 | hdl-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | title = A chimeric being from Kyushu, Japan: Amabie's revival during Covid-19 | first = Claudia | last = Merli | year = 2020 | doi = 10.1111/1467-8322.12602 | journal = Anthropology Today| volume = 36 | issue = 5 | pages = 6–10 | pmid = 33041422 | pmc = 7537237 | doi-access = free }}</ref> There were even masks and antiseptics with Amambie's figure on.<ref>{{cite web |title=Japanese Artists' Responses to COVID-19: A Mass Revival of the yōkai Amabie |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357939622 |website=Research Gate |access-date=21 February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Evangelidou |first1=Sofia |title=Η Ιαπωνική Μυθολογία και τα Yokai στο 'Σήμερα' |url=https://faboru.gr/thryloi-gyro-apo-ti-chora-toy/ |website=Faboru |date=17 May 2021 |access-date=21 February 2025}}</ref>

== See also == * Bishop-fish * Cradleboard, which some ''amabie'' resemble * Fiji mermaid * Jenny Haniver * Ningyo * Sea monk

==Footnotes== ===Explanatory notes=== {{Notelist}}

===Citations=== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name="chiho">{{cite book|editor-last=Yumoto |editor-first=Kōichi |editor-link=:ja:湯本豪一 |script-title=ja:地方発明治妖怪ニュース |title=Chihō hatsu Meiji yōkai nyūsu |year=2001 |publisher=Kashiwa Shobo |isbn=978-4-7601-2089-5 |pages=174–175|language=ja}}</ref>

<ref name=mainichi20200603a>{{cite news|author= |title=Kocchi ga ganso? Yamai-yoke yōkai amabie: Fukui de Edo-ki no shiryō hakken |script-title=ja:こっちが元祖？病よけ妖怪「アマビコ」福井で江戸期の資料発見 |trans-title= |newspaper=Mainichi Shimbun |date=3 June 2020 |url=https://mainichi.jp/articles/20200602/k00/00m/040/292000c}}(金森穣家本『雑書留』の「あま彦」。越前市武生公会堂記念館蔵)</ref> <ref name=mainichi20200603b>{{cite news|author= |title=Taishō jidai wa 'amabiko'? Hyakkajiten ni amabie ni nita yōkai, Tochigi Ashikaga Gakko de tenji |script-title=ja:大正時代は「アマビコ」？百科事典にアマビエに似た妖怪栃木「足利学校」で展示 |trans-title=Was it amabiko in the Taisho era? An amabie-like yokai in encyclopedia on exhibit at Ashikaga School in Tochigi |newspaper=Mainichi Shimbun |date=3 June 2020 |url=https://mainichi.jp/articles/20200603/k00/00m/040/148000c}}(The ''Kōbunko'' example)</ref> <ref name=mainichi20200605>{{cite news|last=Iwama |first=Riki |author-link=|title=Amabie no shōtai wo otte (1): sugata mita mono, shi wo nogare rareru amabiko no hakken / Fukui |script-title=ja:アマビエの正体を追って／１姿見た者、死を逃れられる海彦の発見|trans-title=In pursuit of amabie's identity (1): those who've seen its likeness eludes death.. |newspaper=毎日新聞 |date=5 June 2020 |url=https://mainichi.jp/articles/20200605/ddl/k18/040/220000c }}</ref> <ref name=mainichi20200606>{{cite news|last=Iwama |first=Riki |author-link=|title=Amabie no shōtai wo otte (2): ke no haeta yogenjū arawaru kaii samazama na amabiko / Fukui |script-title=ja:アマビエの正体を追って／２毛の生えた「予言獣」現る怪異さまざまなアマビコ|trans-title=In pursuit of amabie's identity (2): hair-covered prophetic beast, appearance of the monstrosity, various amabiko / Fukui|newspaper=毎日新聞 |date=6 June 2020 |url=https://mainichi.jp/articles/20200606/ddl/k18/040/173000c }}</ref>

<ref name=mainichi20200607>{{cite news|author= |title=Amabie ni tsuzuke. Ekibyō fūjiru 'yogenjū' SNS de wadai. tori ya oni.. sugata ya katachi samazama |script-title=ja:アマビエに続け疫病封じる「予言獣」SNSで話題鳥や鬼…姿や形さまざま |trans-title=After amabie more to follow: prophetic beasts warding pestilence abuzz in social media, bird-like, ogre-like.. in various forms and shapes |newspaper=Mainichi Shimbun |date=7 June 2020 |url= https://mainichi.jp/articles/20200606/k00/00m/040/118000c |language=ja}} (consults Eishū Nagano)</ref>

<ref name="mozume">{{Citation|ref={{SfnRef|Mozume|1916}}|author=Mozume Takami |author-link=:ja:物集高見 |title=(Kechō) Amabiko |script-title=ja:(怪鳥)あまびこ |work=Kōbunko |script-work=ja:広文庫 |volume=1 |publisher=Kōbunko kankōkai  |url=https://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/969095/606 |page=1151}} Facsimile illustration and text from the ''Nagasaki kai'i shokan no utsushi'' '''35'''.</ref>

<ref name=matsumoto>{{cite book|last=Matsumoto |first=Yoshinosuke |author-link= |translator-last=Driver |translator-first=Andrew |translator-link= |title=The Hotsuma Legends: Paths of the Ancestors: English translations on the Hotsuma tsutae |volume=2 |publisher=Japan Translation Centre |year=1999 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=agQRAQAAIAAJ&q=Umisachihiko |page=106|isbn=9784931326019 }}</ref>

<ref name=nagano2009-seiso-kibun>"{{nihongo|Amabiko[?]|あま彦}}. Mizuno Masanobu ed., ''Seisō kibun'' 青窓紀聞, Book 28, ''apud'' {{harvp|Nagano|2009|pp=136–137}}</ref>

<ref name=nagano_shinbun>{{interlanguage link|Nagano Shinbun{{!}}''Nagano Shinbun''|ja|長野新聞}} (21 June 1876 [Meiji 9]), text sans title reprinted at {{harvp|Nagano|2005|p=25}}. Cf. also {{harvp|Nagano|2005|pp=5–6}}.</ref>

<ref name="mizuki">{{cite book|last=Mizuki |first=Shigeru |author-link=Mizuki Shigeru |title=Zusetsu yōkai taizen |script-title=ja:図説日本妖怪大全 |publisher= Kodansha |year=1994 |page=50 |series=Kodansha +α bunko |isbn=978-4-06-256049-8 |language=ja}}</ref>

<ref name=tokyo-akebono>{{nihongo|''Tokyo Akebono Shinbun'' |東京曙新聞|}}(20 October 1881 [Meiji 14]), text sans title reprinted at {{harvp|Nagano|2005|p=25}}. Cf. also {{harvp|Nagano|2005|pp=7, 10}}.</ref>

<ref name=tokyo-nichinichi>''Tokyo Nichinichi Shinbun'' (8 August 1875), text sans title reprinted at {{harvp|Nagano|2005|p=24}}. Cf. also {{harvp|Nagano|2005|pp=6, 7}}.</ref>

<ref name=yubin_hochi>{{interlanguage link|Yūbin Hōchi Shinbun{{!}}''Yūbin Hōchi Shinbun''|ja|郵便報知新聞}} (10 July 1882 [Meiji 15]), text sans title reprinted at {{harvp|Nagano|2005|p=24}}. Cf. also {{harvp|Nagano|2005|pp=6, 9, 13}}.</ref>

<ref name="yumoto2005-genju_zusetsu">{{Cite book|last=Yumoto |first= Kōichi |author-link=:ja:湯本豪一 |title=Nihon genjū zusetsu |script-title=ja:日本幻獣図説 |trans-title=Japan imaginary beasts illustrated |year=2005 |publisher=Kawaide Shobo |pages=71–88 |isbn=978-4-309-22431-2 |language=ja}}</ref> }}

== Bibliography == {{Refbegin}} * {{Citation|ref={{SfnRef|Murakami|2000}}|editor-last=Murakami |editor-first=Kenji |editor-link=:ja:村上健司 |script-title=ja:妖怪事典 |title=Yōkai jiten |trans-title=Dictionary of yōkai |year=1999|publisher=毎日新聞社 |isbn=978-4-620-31428-0 |pages=23–24 }} * {{Citation |last=Nagano |first=Eishun |author-link= |script-title=ja:予言獣アマビコ考—「海彦」をてがかりに |title=Yogenjū amabiko kō: amabiko wo tegakari ni |trans-title=Consideration on prophetic beast amabiko—using umibiko as hint |journal=Jakuetsu Kyōdoshi Kenkyū (若越郷土研究) |volume=49 |number=2 |year=2005 |pages=1–30 |url=https://karin21.flib.u-fukui.ac.jp/repo/JE49_2_279-1_nagano_cover._?key=DVCNBM |access-date=7 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816021608/http://crf.flib.u-fukui.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/10461/19948/1/JE49(2)279-1_nagano.pdf |archive-date=16 August 2016 |url-status=}} * {{Citation|last=Nagano |first=Eishun |author-link= |script-title=ja:予言獣アマビコ・再考 |title=Yogenjū amabiko: saikō |trans-title=Prophetic beast amabiko reconsidered |editor-last=Komatsu |editor-first=Kazuhiko |editor-link=:ja:小松和彦 |work=Yōkai bunka kenkyū no saizensen |script-work=ja:妖怪文化研究の最前線 |publisher=Serica Syobo |year=2009 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sK5MAQAAIAAJ&q=%22アマビコ%22 |pages=131–162|isbn=978-4-7967-0291-1}} * {{Cite book|last=Yumoto |first=Kōichi |author-link=:ja:湯本豪一 |title=Meiji yōkai shimbun |script-title=ja:明治妖怪新聞 |year=1999 |trans-title=Meiji era yōkai newspaper |publisher=Kashiwa Shobo |isbn=978-4-7601-1785-7|pages=196–198 |language=ja}}  {{Refend}}

Category:Yōkai Category:Merfolk Category:Japanese folklore Category:Prophecy Category:COVID-19 pandemic in Japan Category:Water spirits Category:Witchcraft in folklore and mythology