Bake – Kujira | Japan

“Ghost whale that is accompanied by bizarre birds and unknown fish.”

Basic Facts:

• Another name for the bakekujira is honekujira, which translates to “bone whale.” They pretty much are undead whales who are followed by weird looking birds and funky fish.
• They can be found in the sea of Japan. The people will see the ghost whale on rainy nights, off the coast…of whaling villages. See where we’re going here?
• What powers can this haunting whale possibly have? Legend has it, when you see the whale, you’re cursed. Usually what happens is, someone will become cursed, return to their village and the village will suffer at the hand of the curse. Plague, famine, fires…any disaster you can imagine. Prepare.
• Do you remember the yōkai from our last post? The bakekujira is one, too.
• There are some explanations as to why the legend came in to existence about this whale. Someone has said it could have been an enemy village, creating a fake whale to haunt the fisherman out at sea. There is another idea about a whale carcass carrying disease to a village and not a ghost whale.