Namazu
Last updated
The creature became widely associated with earthquakes only in the late 17th century, rising to popularity as a symbolic earthquake cause in the 19th century.[1]
Quick Facts
- Field
- Japanese mythology
- Nationality
- Japan
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
According to myth, the god Takemikazuchi restrains namazu under a stone at Kashima, Ibaraki.[2] Namazu-e woodblock prints were printed in great quantity after the 1855 earthquake near Edo.[3] Despite being blamed for disasters, namazu was also hailed as a yonaoshi daimyōjin, a god of "world rectification" that redistributed wealth.[4] Pictures from Ōtsu, known as Ōtsu-e, produced in that region, showed the catfish.[5]
Violent earthquakes occur when the Kashima deity's vigilance wanes, allowing the catfish to thrash.[2] A chronicle from 1856 contains the first recorded assertion that catfish can naturally foresee earthquakes.[6] That account told of an eel fisherman who observed catfish behaving unusually before the 1855 Edo earthquake.[1] During the 1930s, Japanese seismologists Shinkishi Hatai and Noboru Abe proved that aquarium catfish grew restless hours before earthquakes.[6]
What the cited sources add
The Open Library record for "Seismic Japan" lists its publisher as University of Hawaii Press and its publication year as 2013.[7]
References
- Wikipedia, "Namazu" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Smits, "Conduits of Power: What the Origins of Japan's Earthquake Catfish Reveal about Religious Geography", Japan Review, 2012, p. 41–65 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Namazu" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Smits 2009, p. 10–11; Smits 2009, p. 10–11; Ouwehand 1964, p. 6; Rabitz, Albrecht; Rabitz, Gisela (2010). “When the Namazu Shakes its Body”, Andon (88), pp. 5–27. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Namazu" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Smits 2009, p. 10–11; ; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Namazu" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Smits 2006, p. n13; . "yo-naoshi daimyōjin. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Namazu" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Smits 2009, p. 10–11 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Namazu" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Smits, "Seismic Japan : the long history and continuing legacy of the Ansei Edo earthquake", University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2014; Smits, "Conduits of Power: What the Origins of Japan's Earthquake Catfish Reveal about Religious Geography", Japan Review, 2012, p. 41–65; "Sensitivity of Fish to Earthquakes", Nature, November 1933, p. 817 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Open Library record, ISBN 9780824839109 ("Seismic Japan"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Namazu (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Mythological creatures
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Namazu (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced