女魚
おんなうお

Translation: woman fish
Alternate names: hime uo, ryūgū no tsukai
Habitat: the ocean
Diet: unknown

Appearance: Onna uo are massive fish with horns and the faces of human women. Their bodies are approximately one hundred and forty-five meters long. When they surface, their body rises 33 meters above the waves. They have three swords on the tip of their tail, and three jewels on their belly.

Interactions: Onna uo are sent by Ryūjin to deliver important prophecies to the surface world, predicting bumper crops, warning of epidemics, and explaining how to avoid them.

Origin: Onna uo are part of a large family of prophetic mermaids which originated in Hirado, Nagasaki and grew very popular during the 19th century. These tales spread across Japan like a game of telephone, each version changing a little bit from the previous one.

Legends: An onna uo appeared in the open seas off of Kumamoto in Higo Province (today Kumamoto Prefecture), and she could speak like a human. She said, “I am a messenger from the Dragon Palace. From this year, there will be seven continuous years of bountiful harvests. However, this year a terrible disease called ottosei will be spread. Those who contract this disease will never recover from it for as long as they live. Even with the best of medical care, the symptoms will never recover, and they will die within three days. So, in order to escape from this disease, you must spread word of it to as many people as possible. If you have the desire to save others, then you will survive this disease.”

The onna uo’s words were recorded along with her illustration, and these were printed and distributed across Japan to ensure others would not only avoid the disease, but grow wealthy and flourish.