Amabie-chan (アマビエちゃん)

NameNetsuke

Artist Hisanobu Yamaga (Japanese)

CultureJapanese

Date2021

Place madeTokyo, JAPAN, East Asia, Asia

Mediumkazuno (deer antler) inlaid with buffalo horn

Dimensions5.0 x 2.8 x 2.7 cm

Credit LineMuseum of International Folk Art, Museum Purchase, IFAF Collection, FA.2022.44.1

Object numberFA.2022.44.1a-c

DescriptionJapanese netsuke figure of Amabie, a fish like Yokai spirit. Resembles a woman's face, but has fish scales and tail as feet.

Amabie is a yokai that wards off pandemics. An amabie sighting was recorded in a single kawara-ban, a Japanese news sheet and an early form of pop media, in 1846. The text describes a strange nocturnal glow in an inlet off the coast of Higo province (modern-day Kumamoto prefecture, on Kyushu Island. It was investigated by an unnamed official, who drew a creature that he encountered, and reported what it said: "I am Amabie, who lives in the sea. Many provinces will experience an abundant harvest for the next six years. At the same time, disease will spread. Hurry and show my image for a beneficial result."” ... and then it sank back into the watery depths. Since then, amabie images are said to have the power to conquer the plague.