Mayoibune

Because Japan is surrounded by ocean there are many legends of ghost ships in Japanese folklore. One supernatural phenomenon is known as mayoibune, which translates as 'wandering ship,' and it involves ghostly ships that appear on moonlit nights during the Obon holiday. They are believed to be the haunting ghosts of sailors who have died at sea.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 1852

Mayoibune start with strange noises like laughter, even though no-one is around. Then strange balls of fire appear in the water before a wind begins blowing. Only then does the ghostly ship appear. Anyone who sees mayoibune will have terrible visions. If they return to shore they are believed to die soon after. It is said if you sail too close to a mayoibune you will die in a shipwreck.

Shigeru Mizuki

The northwesterly wind can be very dangerous for sailors but it is also believed to carry the souls of the dead, which manifest as these terrifying ghost ships. The full moon was considered an excellent time for fishing but during Obon it was believed that the dead return to visit the living. Because of this, fishing at this time was forbidden to avoid disaster. Ignoring the superstition could result in meeting a mayoibune and the disastrous consequences that entailed.

 

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, 1892

Toyohara Kunichika, 1860

Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 1850