No.037

Umibozu

THE SEA MONK

For reference: old artUtagawa Kuniyoshi（1845）
"Kuwana: The Sailor Tokuzo and the Umibozu" from Tokaido Gojusan Tsui
Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)

Japanese name: 海坊主（UMIBOZU）
Type: Sea spirit
Found in: The sea at night, far offshore

◆ The legend

A yokai told of in seas all around Japan. On the way home from fishing, or far out at sea at night, the calm surface of the water is said to swell up, and out rises a dark, round, shaven head, far bigger than the boat. Its face is hard to make out, and some stories say only its eyes were shining.

What happens next varies from place to place. Some say the umibozu breaks or sinks the boats it meets; others say it simply stares down at them in silence. There are also tales of it appearing before boats that went out on days when fishing was forbidden, and so the umibozu has long been told of alongside the dangers of the sea and the rules people kept to stay safe on it.

◆ Stories about this yokai

October 19, 2026Why Is the Umibozu a "Monk"? The Great Round Shadow on the Night SeaIt's a giant yokai of the sea, yet its name means "monk." The umibozu's name preserves the shape of the great round shadow people once saw on the night sea. A gentle look at its family of giant monks, ideas about what it really was, and a sailor's saying about the sea below.