Ningen (folklore)

In modern Japanese folklore, the Ningen (ニンゲン) is an aquatic humanoid creature reported to inhabit the subantarctic oceans. The homophone in Japanese 人間 (nin-gen) means "human". It is commonly considered to be a cryptid, a mysterious animal whose existence or survival is disputed or unsubstantiated.[1]

Ningen
Artist’s impression of the Ningen
CountryAntarctica
RegionSubantarctic, Antarctica

History

The legend surrounding the Ningen began on a forum post on the Japanese online forum website, 2Channel, which claims that the members of a whale research ship witnessed the creature as it surfaced near their ship off the Antarctic coast.[2]

Description

The ningen is described as a whale creature, but has anatomical similarities to humans. The creature has a face, and in some stories it is said to have extremely large limbs and/or arms and hands, about 20–30 meters long. The pigmentation of the creature is said to be pale white.[3]

Further reading
  • Greenland, Felicity; Hayward, Philip (2020-09-23). "NINGEN: The generation of media-lore concerning a giant, sub-Antarctic, aquatic humanoid and its relation to Japanese whaling activity" (pdf). Shima: The International Journal of Research into Island Cultures. 14 (1): 133–151. doi:10.21463/shima.14.1.10. ISSN 1834-6057.

References
  1. "Cryptid Profile: Ningen". THE PINE BARRENS INSTITUTE. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  2. Novak, Cael (2019-10-14). Supernatural: 300 Horror Stories, Mysteries and Urban Legends. Cael Novak.
  3. "'Ningen' humanoid sea creatures of the Antarctic". Pink Tentacle. 2010-01-06. Retrieved 2020-04-25.


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