Mermaids in Japanese Folklore Were First Known as the Ningyo
Western legends weren’t the only ones that contained mermaids! While Japanese folklore also contained half-human half-fish creatures, they were originally known as ningyo. Written as “人魚” in Kanji, the direct translation of the word is “human-fish” to include both mermaids and mermen.¹ However, these ningyo look far different from what we imagine when we think of mermaids today.
When you think of mermaids, you’re probably imagining beautiful slender women with shiny tails instead of legs. Flowing hair, a seashell bra, the works. Truth be told, ningyo are less aesthetically pleasing.² They were first usually depicted with fish-like faces along with claws and scrawny fingers, or there are even a few times they’re shown as a woman’s face straight up on a fish body. No torso, no arms, nothing. They were also smaller than western mermaids; about the size of a child. Considering that polymath Minakata Kumagusu said in the Meiji era that the first sightings of ningyo might have been giant salamanders, this makes sense.³
So when were the first recorded ningyo sightings? The first two actually both took place in the year 619 during the Asuka period.⁴ After these, there were many more sighting claims throughout history. The depictions of ningyo changed over time with these sightings, going from deformed fish faces to more monkey-like faces with fish teeth. A group of these ningyo were also supposedly wailing in high-pitched voices and crying human tears as they were dragged to the head of the Taira Clan, only for one to be eaten (it was apparently delicious).
While on the subject of eating ningyo, there were legends that eating one could provide immortality or a longer lifespan.⁵ One of the more famous legends, Happyanku Bikuni, tells the tale of the consequences following a fisherman trying to eat one. It starts with him inviting his friends to his place for dinner with the main course being none other than the ningyo. Naturally, he didn’t tell them they were going to eat ningyo, but they found out anyway. Not wanting to hurt the fisherman’s feelings (or something), they hid the ningyo bits in their clothes to dispose of elsewhere. Well, lo and behold, the fisherman’s daughter happened upon some and ate it. The legends say that she grew to marrying age and then stopped aging after that. She lived for centuries until finally taking her own life after 800 years.
So if ningyo were supposed to give immortality when eaten, this meant they were good luck, right?
Not necessarily. Sure, you were lucky to catch one, but catching one itself was said to bring bad luck and storms. Fishermen who caught a ningyo on accident would throw them back into the ocean, and if one was to wash up on shore it was a sign of war or catastrophe.⁶ Plus, though there were legends such as Happyanku Bikuni, some people still believed it was even worse bad luck to eat one.
Though modern-day mermaids in Japan have also grown through globalization to be depicted as the beauties we know and love, it’s interesting to see how the ningyos’ history started differently than Western stories of sirens. They might not be as pretty or well-known, but their past is just as worthy of being learned as any picture-perfect mermaid’s.
References:
- Wikimedia Foundation. (2023, May 28). Ningyo. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ningyo
- Yokai.com. Ningyo — Yokai.com. (n.d.). https://yokai.com/ningyo/
- “Ningyo”: Japanese merfolk and auspicious mummies. nippon.com. (2022, May 18). https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g02101/
- Ningyo. Yokai Wiki. (n.d.). https://yokai.fandom.com/wiki/Ningyo
- Dhwty. (2016, April 22). Magical Mermaids of Japanese folklore. Ancient Origins Reconstructing the story of humanity’s past. https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/magical-mermaids-japanese-folklore-005755
- Ningyo mer-creatures and the yao bikuni folktale. JAPANESE MYTHOLOGY & FOLKLORE. (2012, December 18). https://japanesemythology.wordpress.com/toyota-mahime/ningyo/
