Funayūrei

They frequently appear in ghost stories and miscellaneous writings from the Edo Period as well as in modern folk customs.

[1] According to legends, there are various methods that can be used to protect from the harm they inflict, such as throwing onigiri into the sea or preparing a hishaku with its bottom missing.

[9] In the collection of fantastic stories, the Ehon Hyaku Monogatari from the Edo period, the funayurei that appear on the western sea are departed souls from the Taira.

The Taira clan fell in the Battle of Dan-no-ura, but in the open sea between Dan no Ura and Mekari in the Kanmon Straits (Hayamoto, 早鞆), a funayurei wearing armor and helmet would appear, say "give me a bucket", and cling to the boat.

[15] Genrin Yamaoka, an intellectual from the Edo period, commented on funayurei that appear as balls of fire or ghosts at sea.

[17] Also, in Aomori Station, the staff members who slept in the night duty room would wake up at the sound of banging on the glass window, and would see the hand of the completely wet female on the other side, got startled that "Toya Maru's victims were pleading for help," and the next morning, there would be a promissory note remaining on that glass window.

[17] Also, in 1969, in the sea in Kanagawa Prefecture, one would observe a white human figure, hear a voice saying "Please give me a hishaku," and it was said that the shipwrecked members of the university's yacht club were wanting to bail water.

[18] According to the folkloristician, Hideo Hanabe, funayurei appear in evenings of wind and rain and heavy fog, and also frequently when the weather suddenly worsens, and since the matter that accidents happen more easily adds a sense of reality, and since they also give a feeling of eeriness and unease, some of the strange incidents would be put into a frame of legends, so that phantoms and illusions would be spoken of as reality.

[2] Funayurei are said to possess ships and prevent them from moving,[19] but they have somewhat been given a scientific explanation in the modern era with description of the phenomenon of internal waves causing the nautical effect of dead water.

In this way, there is a hypothesis that the internal waves accompanied by changes in the salt content, the water temperature, and the hydraulic pressure would obstruct the boat from advancing.