Ningen (folklore)

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{{Infobox mythical creature |name |image = |caption = |Country = [[Africa |Region = Subantarctic, Antarctica}}

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In modern Japanese folklore since the mid-2000s, the Ningen (ニンゲン) is an aquatic humanoid whale-like creature supposedly inhabiting the subantarctic oceans. It was invented by Japanese internet users. [1]

History

The legend surrounding the Ningen began in 2007 on a forum post on the Japanese online forum website, 2Channel, which claims that the members of a whale research ship witnessed the creature as it surfaced near their ship off the Antarctic coast.[ citation needed ] Originally thinking it was a submarine, the crew went to take a closer look, but the "submarine" vanished into the waves.[ citation needed ]

In 2005, Google Earth captured what many people supposed to be a Ningen near the Southern Ocean. Many skeptics believe that the "Ningen" was actually an iceberg that coincidentally looked like the sea monster. [2]

In 2010, a Japanese chemical research company published a YouTube video showing the ocean life that they observed. Near the end of the video, a large creature with small eyes and a large, smiling slit-like mouth can be spotted lying on the ocean floor. Though some people think that the infamous Ningen was spotted [ citation needed ], others say that it is most likely a snaggle-toothed snake eel. [3] Sometime around the 2010s, an unknown user posted underwater footage depicting a large humanoid sea creature which many believe to be the Ningen. [4]

Description

The Ningen has two main appearances; one describes it as a large, aquatic, whale-like creature that has anatomical similarities to humans, such as a distinct, humanoid face, and in some stories it is said to have extremely large limbs and/or arms and hands, about 20–30 m (65–100 feet) long. The second, less common description portrays it as a considerably smaller, terrestrial organism which consists of little more than a large head on humanoid legs, with which it wanders Antarctica.[ citation needed ] The pigmentation of this creature is said to be pale blue. The creature has a large, slit-like mouth and either small or large gaping eyes. [5]

See also

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References

  1. Greenland, Felicity; Hayward, Philip (23 September 2020). "NINGEN: The generation of media-lore concerning a giant, sub-Antarctic, aquatic humanoid and its relation to Japanese whaling activity". Shima: The International Journal of Research into Island Cultures. 14 (1): 133–151. doi: 10.21463/shima.14.1.10 . hdl: 10453/144607 . ISSN   1834-6057.
  2. Novak, Cael (2019-10-14). Supernatural: 300 Horror Stories, Mysteries and Urban Legends. Cael Novak.
  3. "深海特集4 深海のお土産ホッスガイ - The souvenir of the deep sea". YouTube . Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  4. O'Neill, Kara (18 March 2016). "What is this mysterious 'monster human' seen swimming in the ocean?". The Daily Mirror . Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  5. "'Ningen' humanoid sea creatures of the Antarctic". Pink Tentacle. 6 January 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2020.