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Submitted: May 27, 2011
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Bake-kujira "Ghost Whale"by ~Gitoku

Traditional Art / Drawings / Fantasy

According to the folklore of what is today Shimane Prefecture in southern Honshu, the bake-kujira was a kind of zombified whale carcass that was spotted in the area a long time ago. A fisherman is said to have spotted the bake-kujira and tried to harpoon it but the monster just swam (or floated) back out to sea.

There isn't really any other information about the bake-kujira, except that in some accounts of the story, it was accompanied by some zombie fish and zombie birds as well.

I think the concept of the bake-kujira relates to the idea of "hungry ghosts"; in Japan, and other Asian countries where ancestor worship is practiced, it is tradaitionally believed that if you don't take good care of your ancestors' grave, keep it clean and leave offerings of food regularly, the spirit of the ancestor will become a hungry ghost and start haunting people.

In Japan, with the introduction of Buddhism, people became more conscious of the killing of living things. Unlike other fish (for some reason) whales are considered sentient beings, so killing them is as wrong as killing a human. But many coastal villages around Japan were dependant on whale meat as a food source. To atone for the karmic sin of killing the whales, fishermen would take back some of its bones to a temple to have a proper Buddhist burial, just as if if were human who'd died at sea. In many coastal temples whale shrines can still be found today - there are more than 50 that I know of. (I guess the whales enshrined went on to be reborn as humans in their next lifetime due to the merit earned through "sacrificing" their lives to sustain the lives of other sentient beings.)

My theory is that the idea of the bake-kujira came about to convince people why they should honour the spirit of the dead whales - i.e. if you don't respect the whale has given us and give it a proper burial, it will hold a grudge and come back as a hungry ghost, just like your ancestors will.

In my design, I guess, perhaps the whale died at sea. The fisherman who harpooned it were unable to give its remains a proper burial because they died at sea as well - perhaps the whale in its death throws capsized their boat. As a result, these miserable spirits merged together into one hungry creature that keeps trying to return the fishermen's village. Because the spirits of the fishermen still want to see the children they left behind, ethereal koinobori (carp banners used to celebrate children's day in Japan) are strung from the harpoons left in the whale's back.

Well! Did you enjoy reading that? No? Good.

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~LeafyHeart Jan 27, 2013 Hobbyist General Artist

Cool!!!

*quickcrimson Dec 10, 2012 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

Odd, i've read tons of Japanese lore and i've never heard of this until now. Even moreso cause i've been to a few seminars held by various anthropologists. And i DID think that was pretty neat. Always enjoy reading about new myths and legends.