Eromanga Island, a tiny island in the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu, has been swallowed up by rising sea levels, according to a long-standing rumor in Japan.
View of Eromanga Island on the Wii weather channel
Erroneous news about the island's watery demise appears to have begun ten years ago as a tidbit of fake trivia presented on a popular late-night TBS Radio program hosted by comedian Hikaru Ijuin. Some listeners apparently took the information at face value, and word of Eromanga's fate began to spread. The rumors were further fueled when a subsequent TV program mentioned Eromanga as an example of an island that had been submerged by rising sea levels caused by global warming.
Years later, some people still evidently believe Eromanga has disappeared.
To Japanese speakers, the name of the island might sound more incredible than the rumors of its disappearance. Eromanga (エロマンガ) happens to be the Japanese word for erotic manga (i.e. "porno comics"). The unlikely name, which conjures up images of an exotic place overflowing with adult comic magazines, even inspired Osamu Tezuka, the godfather of manga, to take a trip there with fellow manga creator Ichiro Tominaga.
In the local language, Eromanga (also spelled Erromanga or Erromango) means "it's a man."
Interestingly, there is an element of truth to the rumors of Eromanga's disappearance. In recent years, Japanese map makers have adopted a new spelling -- イロマンゴ (pronounced "iromango") -- which appears to more accurately reflect the native pronunciation. So even though Eromanga has not been swallowed up by the sea, it has, in a sense, been wiped off the map.
[Note: This is the latest in a series of weekly posts on Japanese urban legends. Check back next week for more.]
This year's Sapporo Snow Festival kicked off last weekend, bringing hundreds of massive snow sculptures into the streets of Japan's northern capital. Here's a look at some of the works on display at the event, which runs until February 11.
Here's a peek at a few creatures profiled in Yōkai Jiten ("Yōkai Encyclopedia"), an informative guide to 100 of Japan's traditional monsters, written and illustrated by manga artist Shigeru Mizuki in 1981.
The suiko (lit. "water tiger") is a king-sized variety of kappa living in and around the Chikugo River (Kyushu), Lake Biwa (Shiga prefecture), and other bodies of water across Japan.
In addition to prowling around at night and making mischief, the suiko has the power to possess people. Those possessed by a suiko descend into a temporary state of madness, but they recover quickly after the creature withdraws.
At least once a year, the suiko drags a human victim into the water, sucks out his blood, and returns the body to shore. It is best not to have a funeral for the victim of a suiko attack. Instead, the body should be left on a wooden plank inside a small thatched hut in a field. If done properly, this course of action causes the flesh of the suiko perpetrator to slowly rot until it dies.
Umi-bōzu are giant black bulbous beings that live in the sea. Sometimes they have glowing eyes and a beak, and other times they have no facial features at all. To survive an umi-bōzu encounter at sea, one should remain quiet and look in the opposite direction. Speaking or looking at the creature may send it into a rage -- and that usually ends in tragedy.
Long ago, a mysterious sea creature known as the bake-kujira (lit. "ghost whale") used to appear at night in the waters around an island in Shimane prefecture. The thing looked like the skeleton of a giant whale, and it was usually accompanied by a flock of strange birds when it came drifting in with the tide. Later, when the tide started to recede, peculiar fish would become visible in the water around the monster. Fisherman trying to catch the bake-kujira claimed their harpoons passed through the creature as if it were not there.
The satori is a type of mountain-dwelling goblin that can read human minds. When it encounters travelers passing through the mountains, the creature approaches them and begins speaking their thoughts aloud. Once the victims become thoroughly confused and disoriented, the satori captures and eats them.
It is said that an empty mind is the best protection against a satori attack. Thinking nothing at all causes the creature to turn away in boredom or flee in fear. A notorious satori named Omoi lives on the slopes of Mt Fuji.
The ōnyūdō (lit. "large monk") appears in numerous Japanese folk tales. His appearance varies from story to story, but he is always big, ranging anywhere from 2 meters (6 ft 6 in) tall to as large as a mountain. In most cases, the ōnyūdō is a malevolent figure that can cause people to fall ill simply by looking at them. Some stories describe him as a fox or tanuki (raccoon dog) that has shape-shifted, but in most stories his true identity is a mystery.
One type of ōnyūdō, called tankororin, is known to spring forth from untended persimmon trees. The fruits transform into tankororin if left unpicked on the tree for too long.
The bakki is a furry creature with eyes on top of its head. It measures 60 to 90 centimeters (2 to 3 ft) long and usually appears as a blur because it runs so fast. The bakki is regarded as a great threat to the environment, as it causes moisture to disappear wherever it goes. Plants and trees wither, crops fail, and ponds evaporate. The only way to eliminate a bakki is to capture it and submerge it in dirty water.
The nuppefuhofu (a.k.a. nuppeppo) is a man-sized lump of decaying human flesh usually found hanging around old abandoned temples and graveyards. Aside from the creature's massive flabs of flesh, the only features are its arms and legs -- and its horrid smell. The nuppefuhofu enjoys long aimless walks after dark, and it appears to derive satisfaction from frightening people on the street at night.
Koboku-no-kai are spirits of old trees. One such tree spirit was encountered by Tarōemon, a man who lived in Niigata prefecture long ago. One drunken night, Tarōemon noticed a prowler standing next to the old tree in front of his house. He stepped outside to confront the stranger, and they started fighting. Tarōemon subdued the man and managed to drag him inside, only to discover that he had transformed into a large tree branch. The next morning, Tarōemon took the branch to a nearby temple. The resident priest told Tarōemon that the old tree in front of his house was occupied by a spirit. After the priest recited a chant, the tree never caused any trouble again.
Want to earn 50,000 yen ($550) a day? If you have a strong stomach, you might consider a part-time job washing cadavers in Japan.
Strapped for cash?
Rumors about the existence of lucrative cadaver-washing jobs have circulated on Japanese college campuses for over 50 years. For the most part, these stories are regarded as urban legends, and most evidence suggests that no such job opportunities actually exist. If they do exist, they are difficult to find because they are not publicly advertised and can only be heard about through word-of-mouth.
According to the word on the street, though, these lucrative temporary jobs can be found at medical facilities and universities that maintain supplies of cadavers for educational purposes. The bodies, which belong to individuals who have donated themselves to science, need to be washed before they can be used as specimens in human dissection classes. Temporary workers are hired to perform the unpleasant cleaning task.
Some theories link the origins of the job rumors to a 1957 short story by internationally acclaimed author Kenzaburō Ōe, entitled "Lavish Are The Dead" (Shisha no Ogori - 死者の奢り). The story, which Ōe wrote while attending the University of Tokyo, revolves around a couple of student employees tasked with transferring cadavers from one pool of liquid preservative to another. Although Ōe's work is fiction, there is some speculation that the job featured in the story was actually based on fact (or even hearsay).
Other theories suggest these job rumors existed well before Ōe wrote his short story. During the Korean War, corpse-cleaning jobs were rumored to be plentiful around certain US military bases in Japan, where the remains of fallen US soldiers were taken for identification and embalming before their journey home. Similar rumors appear to have been common during the Vietnam War era as well.
In 1995, however, writer and medical doctor Yoichi Nishimaru published an essay examining the history of US military mortuary affairs in Japan. The essay includes a quote by a mortuary officer who denied the existence of such corpse-washing job opportunities for Japanese civilians.
Still, the rumors appear to be alive and well. Universities reportedly receive occasional telephone calls from people searching for temporary cadaver-cleaning work. Although most of these inquiries appear to be prank calls, there are evidently a few calls from serious job-seekers as well. After all, desperate times call for desperate measures.
[Note: This is the latest in a series of weekly posts on Japanese urban legends. Check back next week for more.]
The creator, Nico Nico Douga user "shige-ruuu," says he made the video without using photo-editing software. The images were captured with a webcam, and the effects were achieved by changing the camera position and adjusting the focus, brightness, zoom, exposure and gain.
The original stills and music come from this video for the song "Bad Apple!!" (arranged by Masayoshi Minoshima, featuring vocals by nomico) from the Touhou Project game series.
"Robot Age," a series of illustrations published by Shōnen Sunday magazine in 1969, offers a glimpse into a utopian future populated by sophisticated robots.
In the coming Robot Age, assembly lines will be manned by tireless robot workers. Once the robots start building newer and better versions of themselves, the need for human factory workers will cease to exist.
Autonomous robot nannies will care for the kids when mom is busy. In addition to singing and playing games, these gentle robots will breastfeed babies and cuddle them when they cry.
Surgical micro-robots that navigate the human body will usher in a new era of medicine. Equipped with lasers and tiny hands, these miniature machines will be able to perform delicate operations inside the body (such as replacing damaged blood vessels with artificial ones), reducing the need for open surgery.
A vast subway system, extensive subterranean shopping arcades and miles of pedestrian tunnels make Tokyo's underground city a hotbed of human activity -- and a fertile source of mystery and intrigue. Here is a look at six of the most persistent rumors to emerge from beneath the city's streets.
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Rumor #1: Government officials have access to secret trains.
The Tokyo subway system is the most highly used rapid transit system in the world, with an estimated eight million daily passengers using 13 lines run by two major operators (Tokyo Metro and Toei). Of the roughly 300 stations that make up the 300-kilometer (200-mile) network, few are as shrouded in mystery as Kokkai-gijidōmae station, located next to the National Diet Building in central Tokyo.
Two subway lines -- the Marunouchi and Chiyoda lines -- stop at Kokkai-gijidōmae station. The Chiyoda line platform is situated about 38 meters (125 ft) underground, making it the deepest station in the Tokyo Metro network (though many stations on the Toei Ōedo Line are deeper underground). Rumors claim the underground facility existed as an air raid shelter before it was renovated into a subway station in the 1950s. The station's depth and its proximity to the Diet Building has led to speculation that it is designed to function as a nuclear fallout shelter.
Kokkai-gijidōmae station is also rumored to have a secret door that connects directly to the basement of the adjacent House of Representatives Annex Building #2.
In addition, old construction blueprints of the Chiyoda line platform reportedly show an extra level even deeper underground. This concealed floor ostensibly houses a platform for special trains that transport government officials out of the city in the event of a major disaster.
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Rumor #2: There is a nuclear shelter under the Diet Building.
Like Kokkai-gijidōmae station, the National Diet Building is suspected of hiding a few secrets. Rumors suggest the building has at least five underground levels (instead of just the one that the public knows about).
Is there a nuclear shelter beneath the National Diet Building?
These secret underground floors are believed to extend at least 38 meters (125 ft) underground and are rumored to include a bomb shelter and a tunnel leading to the secret subway platform beneath Kokkai-gijidōmae station.
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Rumor #3: Secret tunnels link key buildings in central Tokyo.
Other nearby government buildings are also believed to be sitting on top of secrets. The Prime Minister's residence, for example, is suspected of having five levels underground, as well as a tunnel linking it to the Diet Building.
There are also rumors of a network of tunnels linking important government buildings in central Tokyo. The oldest is an underground passageway connecting the old Tokyo Central Post Office building with Tokyo station. This tunnel, which was once used to transport mail back and forth between the buildings, was constructed in the early 20th century, well before the Ginza line (Tokyo's oldest subway) opened in 1927. Similar passageways are believed to exist between government ministry buildings in Nagatachō, Kasumigaseki, Ōtemachi and Marunouchi, as well as the Imperial Palace and Hie shrine.
This network of secret tunnels is also believed to include the National Diet Library, which houses about 12 million books and periodicals on eight underground floors. The floors are off limits to the public, and journalists have reportedly been denied access to the lower levels on multiple occasions, leading to suspicion that the library has something to hide.
Floor plan of National Diet Library Annex
According to the National Diet Library website, the stacks were built underground in order to preserve the surrounding landscape. In addition, underground stacks are seen as more thermally stable, energy-efficient and cost-effective, as well as less vulnerable to earthquakes.
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Rumor #4: The Ōedo line was built for military and relief purposes.
Another source of mystery is the Ōedo line, which runs in a 40-kilometer (25-mile) loop around Tokyo and intersects with every other subway line in the city.
The fact that the Ōedo line's 38 stations are situated as deep as 48 meters (157 ft) underground has led to speculation that they are designed to serve as nuclear fallout shelters.
Journalist Shun Akiba, who has written several books documenting the mysteries of the Tokyo underground, claims the Ōedo line tunnels existed long before the city decided to turn them into public subways. He believes the tunnels are part of a much larger subterranean complex built after World War II in preparation for a possible nuclear attack.
Whether or not this claim is true, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is known to maintain a number of emergency warehouses at Ōedo line stations. The warehouses are stocked with food and supplies to be used in the event of a major disaster.
Here is some video that takes a look inside a 1,480 square meter (16,000 sq ft) warehouse located 20 meters (65 ft) beneath a Tokyo sidewalk.
The warehouse locations are reportedly kept secret in order to prevent people from gathering at the sites after a disaster, though two are known to exist at Azabu-jūban and Kiyosumi-shirakawa stations.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has also conducted disaster drills on the subway line. In the year 2000, the government demonstrated, among other things, how Ground Self-Defense Force troops might use the Ōedo line in the event of a major emergency. As part of the exercise, dubbed "Big Rescue 2000," a special Ōedo line train transported troops from Nerima ward to a staging area in Shin-kiba (near Tokyo Bay). The exercise appears to have fueled suspicions that the line was built for military and disaster relief purposes.
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Rumor #5: The Yūrakuchō line was built for military use.
The Yūrakuchō line is also rumored to have been built for military purposes. This speculation arises from the fact that key military facilities are located at several stations on the line, including Ichigaya, which is home to the Ministry of Defense headquarters, as well as Nerima, Heiwadai and Wakō, which are near military bases. Furthermore, Inariyama-kōen station on the Seibu-Ikebukuro line (an extension of the Yūrakuchō line) is near Iruma Air Base.
Rumors claim that Yūrakuchō line trains are designed to transport military supplies and personnel between these sites, if necessary. In addition, the tunnels have high ceilings, leading to speculation that they can serve as emergency underground roads for trucks and armored vehicles.
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Rumor #6: There is a secret base under Shōwa Memorial Park.
Media reports have also speculated about the existence of a secret government base located beneath Shōwa Memorial Park in Tachikawa (western Tokyo). Although the government has offered no official comment on these reports, the claims are lent some credibility by the fact that the park is located near the Tachikawa Wide-Area Disaster Management Base, which is intended to function as a government backup site in an emergency. The US military's Yokota Air Base is also located in the vicinity.
[Note: This is the latest in a series of weekly posts on Japanese urban legends. Check back next week for another report.]
"Desert Eyeball" (砂漠の眼玉 - Sabaku no Medama), a deliciously nonsensical one-shot manga by Maki Sasaki, appeared in the August 1970 issue of Garo magazine.
