Since the spread of the Covid-19 virus, a strange mermaid-like character began trending in Japan.
This is creature is a youkai (Japanese specter) said to have appeared in Higo Province in Kumamoto Prefecture in the late Edo Period (1846). A town official went to investigate a glowing object that had been appearing in the sea every night. It had long hair, a bird's beak, a torso covered in scales that ended with three legs. The created identified itself as an アマビエ, amabie, and prophesied either a good harvest or a pandemic. In the case of the latter, it instructed people to disseminate copies of its image to defend against illness.
Amabie began trending on social media, with cartoon versions going viral. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare used it in their covid-19 posters:
In Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture, the creator of the city's mascot, Madoka Natsubori, dressed the mascot as an amabie and made her designs available for public use to raise awareness against the virus. Her designs are available on the city's website. Here is one on an omamori (amulet).
A symbol of plague eradication, amabie related goods also gained popularity. Masks with amabie designs, shochu with amabie labels, keychains, water bottles, mugs, and a host of products began retailing. Here is a high-quality sweet bean confectionary with its incredibly smooth texture.
I've been reflecting on the specter's instruction to make copies of its likeness or in some interpretations, on showing its image to everyone. Might this be an exhortation on the importance of everyone being on the same page ("to see the same image" = "to be on the same page")? In the case of Covid-19, this means that everyone be on the same page about wearing masks and vaccines. Perhaps then and only then will we be able to overcome this pandemic.
