Ningen
Artist's impression of the Ningen
CountryAntarctica
RegionSubantarctic, Antarctica

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. Originally thinking it was a submarine, the crew went to take a closer look, but the "submarine" vanished into the waves.

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 , 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 large head on humanoid legs, with which it wanders Antarctica. 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

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.
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