Ningen (folklore)
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Artist's impression of the Ningen |
In modern Japanese folklore since the mid-2000s, the Ningen (ニンゲン) is an aquatic humanoid whale-like creature supposedly inhabiting the subantarctic oceans. It was invented by Japanese internet users.[1]
History
The legend surrounding the Ningen began in 2002 on a forum post on the Japanese online forum website, 2Channel, which claims that the members of a whale research ship witnessed the creature as it surfaced near their ship off the Antarctic coast.[citation needed] Originally thinking it was a submarine, the crew went to take a closer look, but the "submarine" vanished into the waves.[citation needed]
In 2005, Google Earth captured what many people supposed to be a Ningen near the Southern Ocean. Many skeptics believe that the "Ningen" was actually an iceberg that coincidentally looked like the sea monster.[2]
In 2010, a Japanese chemical research company published a YouTube video showing the ocean life that they observed. Near the end of the video, a large creature with small eyes and a large, smiling slit-like mouth can be spotted lying on the ocean floor. Though most people think that the infamous Ningen was spotted [citation needed], some people say that it is most likely a snaggle-toothed snake eel.[3] Sometime around the 2010s, an unknown user posted underwater footage depicting a large humanoid sea creature which many believe to be the Ningen.[4]
Description
The Ningen is described as a whale-like creature that has anatomical similarities to humans. The creature has a face, and in some stories it is said to have extremely large limbs and/or arms and hands, about 20–30 m (65–100 feet) long. The pigmentation of this creature is said to be pale blue. The creature has a large, slit-like mouth and either small or large gaping eyes.[5]
See also
References
- ^ Greenland, Felicity; Hayward, Philip (23 September 2020). "NINGEN: The generation of media-lore concerning a giant, sub-Antarctic, aquatic humanoid and its relation to Japanese whaling activity". Shima: The International Journal of Research into Island Cultures. 14 (1): 133–151. doi:10.21463/shima.14.1.10. ISSN 1834-6057.
- ^ Novak, Cael (2019-10-14). Supernatural: 300 Horror Stories, Mysteries and Urban Legends. Cael Novak.
- ^ "深海特集4 深海のお土産ホッスガイ - The souvenir of the deep sea". YouTube. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
- ^ O'Neill, Kara (18 March 2016). "What is this mysterious 'monster human' seen swimming in the ocean?". The Daily Mirror. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
- ^ "'Ningen' humanoid sea creatures of the Antarctic". Pink Tentacle. 6 January 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
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