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John William Tuohy lives in Washington DC

When fiction becomes fact: Utsuro-bune. (Empty boat)

 


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.