Bake-kujira

Lore & Background

The legend of the Bake-kujira took place in Shimane Peninsula in Izumo Province at a time when whales were still often caught in the Sea of Japan, a region known in antiquity as the 'Sea of Whales.' On one rainy evening, a large, white figure began to approach the coast from offshore. Looking closely, the fishermen realized that it appeared to take the shape of a whale and set off on their boats toward the figure for a regular fishing expedition. However, no matter how many harpoons they threw, their prey was unperturbed. The fishermen thought this was unusual and, upon closer inspection, the figure that originally appeared to be prey took the shape of only the white skeleton of a baleen whale, with no skin or flesh to be seen. The area filled with oddly-shaped fish, and strange birds appeared right before the fishermen's eyes, but as the tide receded, the creatures retreated without incident far out to sea. The fishermen began to tell tales of the creature, claiming it to have been the vengeful ghost of a dead whale. Since then, the Bake-kujira was never seen again.

In the spring of 1983, stories of the Bake-kujira resurfaced when a large skeleton-like object was pulled up from 500 meters offshore at Maenami Fishing Port in Anamizu, Hōsu District, Ishikawa Prefecture; it was called Hone Kujira by the media. The skeleton, however, was altogether 5 meters long and between 50 and 150 centimeters thick; a local fishing chief said that if it was truly a whale's skeleton, it would be 100 meters long.

Reader's Guide

Bake-kujira holds significance in Japanese folklore as a rare example of a yōkai derived from a marine animal, specifically a whale, and embodies themes of vengeance and ecological consequence tied to whaling. Its legend is rooted in the Shimane Peninsula, historically known as the 'Sea of Whales,' and reflects cultural attitudes toward the natural world. The creature's legacy extends into modern popular culture through the work of manga artist Shigeru Mizuki, who attempted to draw a kamishibai about Bake-kujira in the 1950s but developed a high fever and abandoned the project; he later wrote that he thought he might have been possessed by the yōkai. Bake-kujira later appeared in the fourth 'Gegege no Kitarō' anime and in the manga 'Thousand Yōkai Tales,' where it was depicted as a holy and virtuous being that helped the protagonist. The 1983 discovery of a skeleton-like object off Ishikawa Prefecture, dubbed Hone Kujira by media, revived public interest, though its size (5 meters long) was far smaller than a true whale skeleton. Additionally, legends in the Oki region of Shimane Prefecture link a whale that washed ashore in 1764 to subsequent disasters, leading to a hand dance and kabuki performance meant to comfort the whale's spirit. Bake-kujira also appears as a playable character in the video game Smite.

Did You Know?

• Bake-kujira is also known as Hone-kujira, meaning 'bone whale.'
• In the 1950s, manga artist Shigeru Mizuki developed a high fever while drawing a kamishibai about Bake-kujira and later believed he might have been possessed by it.
• In the spring of 1983, a skeleton-like object pulled up off Ishikawa Prefecture was called Hone Kujira by the media, but a local fishing chief said a true whale skeleton would be 100 meters long, not 5 meters.
• After a whale washed ashore in Oki's Chibu Bay in 1764, a series of disasters occurred, thought to be due to the wrath of a whale, leading to a hand dance and kabuki performance.

The Shimane Ghost-Whale Legend

The Bake-kujira's tale is rooted in the coastal waters of Izumo Province, in northeastern Shimane Prefecture. The Sea of Japan was once so rich in whale populations that it earned the nickname "Sea of Whales," and whaling was routine for fishing communities along the Shimane Peninsula. On one rain-soaked evening, a massive white shape drifted toward shore from the open sea. A group of fishermen, assuming it was a live whale, launched their boats and began a harpoon hunt. Yet every spear they hurled bounced off the figure without reaction. When they closed the distance and examined their "prey," it was the bare white skeleton of a baleen whale, stripped of all skin and flesh. The surrounding waters churned with misshapen fish, and strange birds materialized overhead. As the tide pulled back, every creature withdrew toward the deep. The fishermen spread the story as a warning about the vengeful spirit of a slain whale, and the Bake-kujira was never seen again.

The 1983 Hone-kujira Sighting

In the spring of 1983, the Bake-kujira legend experienced an unexpected modern revival. Off Maenami Fishing Port in Anamizu, Hōsu District, Ishikawa Prefecture, a large skeleton-like object was hauled up from roughly 500 meters offshore. The local media immediately dubbed it Hone Kujira, or "bone whale," drawing a direct parallel to the older Shimane ghost-whale stories. However, the physical measurements told a very different story from the folklore. The recovered skeleton measured only about five meters in length and between 50 and 150 centimeters in thickness. A local fishing chief pointed out the obvious discrepancy: had the object truly been the skeleton of a whale, it would have measured around 100 meters long. The incident nonetheless rekindled public interest in the Bake-kujira myth, demonstrating how the ghost-whale narrative could resurface in new coastal communities decades after the original Shimane tale, and how the boundary between a genuine marine mystery and a cultural legend can blur in the public imagination.

Mizuki's Fever and the Kitarō Appearances

Shigeru Mizuki, the manga artist celebrated for his yōkai works, had a deeply personal encounter with the Bake-kujira in the 1950s. While illustrating scenes for a kamishibai (paper theater) about the ghost whale, he suddenly fell ill with a high fever and abandoned the project entirely. In a later book, Mizuki reflected that he may have been possessed by the Bake-kujira during that episode. The creature went on to appear in the fourth season of the Gegege no Kitarō anime and in the manga Thousand Yōkai Tales, where in both cases it served as a holy and virtuous ally to Kitarō and his companions. It has also found a place in modern gaming as a playable character in the title Smite. Notably, Hiroshi Hashimoto, one of the scriptwriters responsible for the Bake-kujira's first anime appearance, admitted he was anxious about suffering a similar possession to Mizuki. However, a source titled Bessatsu Shinpyō: The World of Shigeru Mizuki clarified that Mizuki's fever actually occurred during the production of Bake-garasu, the ghost crow, rather than the Bake-kujira project, casting some doubt on the artist's own recollection.

Whale Spirits and the Oki Ritual Tradition

Beyond the single Shimane legend, the Oki islands off Shimane Prefecture harbor a broader web of whale-spirit beliefs that contextualize the Bake-kujira within a larger cultural framework. In the first year of the Meiwa era (1764), a whale washed ashore in Chibu Bay. In the aftermath, the community was struck by a cascade of misfortunes, including fires and epidemics, which the locals attributed to the wrath of the dead whale. To appease the spirit, a hand dance was composed specifically to comfort and soothe the creature's ghost. Over time, this ritual hand dance evolved into a kabuki performance, which is still staged in connection with the festival at the Amasashihiko-no-mikoto Shrine, also known as the Ikkū Shrine, located in Chibu Village. The festival takes place every even-numbered year on the last weekend of July. This living tradition illustrates how the fear and reverence surrounding whale deaths in western Japan transcended a single ghost story, embedding itself in religious practice, performing arts, and communal identity for centuries.