Namazu- Japanese CreatureCreature · Beast"Earthquake Catfish"
Also known as: 鯰 and なまず
Description
A colossal catfish pinned beneath Japan by a sacred keystone. As long as the god Kashima presses the stone down, the islands hold still — but in the tenth month, when the gods gather at Izumo and Kashima's vigil lapses, Namazu thrashes and the earth shakes.
Mythology & Lore
The Catfish Beneath Japan
A colossal catfish dwells in the underground waters beneath Japan, its body spanning the archipelago. When Namazu thrashes, the earth shakes. The god Kashima (Takemikazuchi) keeps the creature pinned by pressing a sacred keystone, the kaname-ishi (要石), down upon its body. As long as Kashima holds the stone firm, the islands remain still.
In the tenth lunar month, Kannazuki (神無月, the "month without gods"), the deities of Japan gather at Izumo for their annual assembly. With Kashima absent, the keystone loosens. Namazu stirs, and the ground begins to move.
The kaname-ishi can be seen at Kashima Shrine in Hitachi Province: a boulder that barely breaks the surface. Its roots reach deep into the earth, where they pin the catfish down.
The Catfish Pictures of 1855
The Ansei Edo earthquake of 1855 killed thousands and devastated the shogunal capital. In the weeks that followed, namazu-e (鯰絵, catfish pictures) spread through Edo's streets: cheaply printed woodblock broadsheets, hundreds of distinct designs, published before the authorities could suppress them. Some showed Kashima subduing the catfish with the keystone. Others showed angry townspeople beating Namazu in revenge.
The most striking prints turned the disaster on its head. They depicted Namazu as an agent of yonaoshi (世直し, "world rectification"): a catfish whose thrashing had leveled the wealth of the corrupt and put money in the hands of laborers who would rebuild the city.
Relationships
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