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Revision as of 21:11, 8 December 2010 by Caninesrock (talk | contribs)
Namazu.

In Japanese mythology, Namazu (鯰) is a giant catfish who causes earthquakes.


Myth

Namazu lives in the mud beneath the earth, and is guarded by the god Kashima who restrains the fish with a stone. When Kashima lets his guard fall, Namazu thrashes about, causing violent earthquakes.


History/Beliefs

Following an earthquake near Edo (modern day Tokyo) in 1855, the Namazu became worshiped as a yonaoshi daimyojin (god of world rectification). He appeared in a series of unsigned prints, showing him forcing the wealthy to excrete coins for the poor, and atoning for his actions against the peasants.

=Art/Fiction

  • In the episode "Battle Against the Dried Up Demons at the Cultural Festival" of the Inuyasha anime, a gaint catfish demon is captured while thrashing its tail around on the school roof and offered as the main course at the heroine Kagome's school cultural festival.


Sources

Part of this article consists of modified text from Wikipedia, and the article is therefore licensed under GFDL.