Think about Amabie.

We live in an age where all kinds of information is circulating on the internet. There are countless options for curing illnesses, such as vaccines and supplements.

After 174 years, now it's not the sea of Higo, but the sea of the InternetAmabieappeared.

Amabie has been highlighted and explained in various places, so I will only briefly describe it.

What is Amabie?1846It is a monster that appeared on the sea of Higo.A body with scales,Three Legs,Beak,Woman-like hairThis Amabie is, There will be good harvests for the next six years, but disease will spread, so people should show their own pictures." and disappeared into the sea.

In fact, "Paintings of the Three-Legged Monkey" were sold during the cholera epidemics of 1858 and 1882.

Amabie = Amabiko?

There are no other records of the name "Amabie" apart from this legend from Higo, and the meaning of the name is unknown.AmabikoIt is believed to be a typo.

If the Amabiko is included, the number of historical documents expands to nine. Most of the examples are from Higo (Kumamoto) and Hyuga Province (Miyazaki), but there are also sightings in Echigo (Niigata). They may have traveled over a surprisingly wide area by sea.

Let's take a look at the kanji for Amabie, or rather Amabiko.Amahiko" "Amahiko Nyudo" "Tenhikoson" "Umihiko" Both names have a divine connotation. From this, it seems that Amabiko is a kind of god, and humans have arbitrarily described her as a monster.

I would like to explore this a little further.

The Amabie = Umisachihiko theory

UmiyukihikoHave you ever seen the name Amabie? Just by looking at the kanji, you can see that it is similar to Amabie (Amabiko).

This Umisachihiko isThe Kojiki and Nihon ShokiIt is the name of a god who appears in a myth written in the book.Yamasachihiko and Umisachihiko" is also called.

One day, Yamasachihiko (younger brother), who is good at hunting in the mountains, and Umisachihiko (older brother), who is good at fishing in the sea, decide to exchange fishing equipment. Yamasachihiko heads to the sea and Umisachihiko heads to the mountains, and Yamasachihiko loses the fishing hook he borrowed from his older brother.

When he was attacked by Umisachihiko and in trouble, he was told by Shioshi no Kami and took a boat to "Watatsumi Shrine". At that time, he fell in love at first sight with Toyotamahime, the daughter of the sea god, and the sea god agreed and they soon got married.

Three years later, Yamasachihiko remembered his purpose and told the sea god the story. He found the fish caught in the throat of a red sea bream. He received a fishing hook and two jewels with spiritual powers, and used them to punish Umisachihiko and make him swear loyalty to him.

This is the only thing recorded in the "Kojiki"MiyazakiInHimuka myth" is depicted as follows:

Umisachihiko was finally freed from Yamasachihiko's punishment, and it is said that he later ruled this land well and became the ancestor of the Hayato people.After that, even his name disappears.

Yamasachihiko's punishment was more like a curse, and it is said that it was because of Umisachihiko's downfall and disappearance.

From this myth,Historical sites related to Umisachihiko are concentrated in KyushuThis is almost the same as the areas where Amabie has been confirmed to appear.The Amabie = Umisachihiko theoryI would like to propose this.

As a result, Yamasachihiko left a successor and made his name in history, but I wonder what Umisachihiko thought as he spent his days gazing at the sea with a sense of frustration and helplessness.

If Umisachihiko, who was bullied by his brothers and forgotten by history, is Amabie, then his incarnation continues to swim leisurely through the oceans of the Internet even after thousands of years, and is loved in various ways.

　

　

Images: Newspaper bulletin announcing the appearance of Amabie, "Picture Book of All Things" compiled by Yasuchika Otokawa

 ▼Kido Kai: He admired Shuten Doji. 
Works written: "Kitai", "Yuuu", "Oeyama Sake Dojiden", "Introduction to Juvenile Studies"  
site:note.com/jyaibotenor