Utsuro-bune (虚舟, hollow boat), also Utsuro-fune and Urobune, was an unknown object that allegedly washed ashore in 1803 in Hitachi province on the eastern coast of Japan.
Historical documents have been discovered relating to the Edo-period legend “The Strange Tale of Utsuro-bune,” which describes how a strange UFO-like object and a woman were washed ashore in Hitachi Province in 1803 (Kyowa 3). Among them is the real name of the place where the shipwreck occurred. The name of the place is “Hitachihara Sharihama” (present-day Hasikasharihama, Kamisu City). With the discovery of the previously unidentified shipwreck site, the story has become more concrete, and it can be said that this “legend” is one step closer to becoming “history.”
Professor Emeritus Kazuo Tanaka of Gifu University, a leading researcher of the “Utsuro-bune Strange Tale, said:
“This is the highlight of all my research so far. I never thought that a real place name would come up”. Tanaka discovered that documents kept by Mie University specially appointed professor Jinichi Kawakami (21st head of the Koga-ryu Banto clan) along with ancient documents of the Banto clan, which teach Koga-ryu ninjutsu, are historical materials related to the “Utsuro-bune Strange Tale.”
In a short story based on the legend, literary scholar Tatsuhiko Shibusawa (1928-1987) wrote:
“It is still not clear where this village is located on today’s long coastline of Ibaraki Prefecture from Choshi to Hiragata,”
and so it has been difficult to identify the place where the shipwrecked until now, so this discovery can be said to be a “big step” that researchers have been waiting for.
According to the “History of Hasaki Town” (1991):
“Sharihama was first settled in 1872, when beach seine fishing developed in the Kashima Nada Sea, so even though it was a separate area during the Edo period, there were probably no permanent residents there.”
Today, Sharihama is also a continuous sandy beach and is not very popular, but you can see a view of giant windmills lined up for wind power generation. Nearby is Shinzenji Temple (Shari, Kamisu City), which has a large tabu tree and a wooden statue of Shaka Nehan. Also in Kamisu City are Silkworm Spirit Shrine and Seifukuji Temple (both in Hikawa, Kamisu City), where legend has it that Konjikihime washed ashore from Tenjiku and introduced sericulture to the area.
Tanaka discovered in 2010 that the clothing of a woman in a historical document from the Utsuro-bune Strange Tale found in Mito City closely resembled that of the Silkworm Spirit (Konjikihime), pointing out the connection between the two legends. This is also interesting in terms of the connection between Kamisu and the Utsuro-bune Strange Tale.
Big topics at the time
The incident occurred in 1803, before the country was opened to the world, and it was a time when foreign ships frequently appeared near Japan’s coasts, and there were incidents of foreigners landing on small boats on the beaches of Hitachi Province. It was around this time that an order to drive away foreign ships was issued, and this social situation can also be related to the legend.
According to Tanaka, 11 historical documents from the Utsuro-bune Strange Tale have been found nationwide so far.
Tanaka said:
“The fact that so many documents were found in various places must have been a big topic at the time. The discovery of Sharihama made it even more fascinating,”
and emphasized:
“I think that Sharihama will one day become known worldwide, like Roswell in the United States (the famous place where a UFO crashed and was recovered). It is a folk heritage that Kamisu City, Ibaraki Prefecture, and Japan can be proud of.”
Considering that this event was described in historical accounts, it can be assumed that it was an actual close encounter with an unidentified flying object and a representative of an alien, extraterrestrial civilization.
Was this really happen? Everyone must answer this question for themselves.
See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utsuro-bune
