The
story is that an unknown object allegedly washed ashore in 1803 in Hitachi
province on the eastern coast of Japan on February 22, 1803. The vessel was 10
feet high and 17 feet) wide.. Its upper part appeared to be made of red-coated
rosewood, while the lower part was covered with brazen plates. The upper part also
had several windows made of glass or crystal, covered with bars and clogged
with some kind of tree resin.
An
attractive young woman (About 18-20 years old) with pale pink color skin and
had red hair and eyebrows, stepped out of the craft and came to shore. Fishermen
gathered around her and asked her
questions but they couldn’t communicate in Japanese. She returned her and her
vessel and drifted away.
Ufologists,
who once again seem to believe anything without investigating, claimed that the story represents evidence for
a close encounter with extraterrestrial life.
So
is the story true?
Unfortunately,
no. The legend of the lady in the hollow boat is part of a long-standing
tradition within Japanese folklore that dates back to at least the 7th
century. However, if the story has some basis in truth, it may be that the
woman was a red hair Russian.
An
investigation of the incident was conducted in 1925 and in 1962 by ethnologist
and historian Yanagida Kunio. He points out that circular boats were unusual in
Japan and that most legends similar to that of the Utsuro-bune sound alike:
Someone finds a strange girl or young woman inside a circular boat and rescues
the stranded or sends her back to the ocean.