Amabie
Part of a series on COVID-19 Pandemic. [View Related Entries]
This submission is currently being researched & evaluated!
You can help confirm this entry by contributing facts, media, and other evidence of notability and mutation.
For up-to-date information regarding COVID-19 coronavirus, including prevention and treatment, please visit CDC.gov.
About
Amabie (Japanese: アマビエ) is a Japanese yōkai[1] or mythical creature in the late Edo era in the 19th century. During the COVID-19 Outbreak, Japanese amateur and professional illustrators on social media drew illustrations of the yōkai in order to avoid the disease by the power of the legendary mermaid.
Origin
According to the legend,[2] Amabie appeared on Higo Province (Kumamoto Prefecture in present) in the middle of April 1846. The mermaid-like yōkai with 3 legs and a beak emerged from the sea, gave a town's officials prophecy of the abundant harvest for upcoming 6 years and said "if disease spreads, show a picture of me to those who fall ill and they will be cured." This event and the form of the yōkai had spread via Kawaraban, or woodprint newspaper in those days (shown below, left). Until 2010s, Amabie had been very obscure, while a few of anime viewers knew the yōkai because it had been featured in an episode in the 5th season for anime GeGeGe no Kitarō[3] which aired in the late 2000s (shown below, right).
On February 28th, 2020, Twitter user @shigeokahide[13] posted a drawing of the character, captioning it "Coronavirus measures," gaining over 100 retweets and 240 likes (shown below).
Spread
In the following days, Amabie was introduced to Japanese Twitter users via Yokai fans & artists such as @orochidou(大蛇堂)[4], @KitanoYoukaiten (北の妖怪展)[5] (shown below, left), and @youmisedori (妖店百貨展) whose tweet had earned 29,900 retweets and 35,000 likes in the five days after it was posted (shown below, right).[6] The legend of the yōkai caught the attention of users who were nervous about the Coronavirus outbreak, and its special power also inspired both amateur and professional illustrators/mangakas. Twitter users started uploading their own Amabie illustrations with prayer for the end of the pandemic under the hashtag #アマビエ, #アマビエ様 (Amabie-sama), #アマビエチャレンジ (Amabie Challenge), and #アマビエ祭り (Amabie Fes).[7] This illustration trend also spread to Pixiv[8], Nico Nico Seiga[9], and Instagram.[10]
![妖店百貨展@3/7在宅イベントチャレンジ @youmisedori アマビエは、江戸時代に肥後国に現れたとされる半人半魚で 「もし疫病が流行することがあれば、私の姿を描いた絵を人々に 早々に見せよ」と言って海へ消えたと伝えられているそうです。 マビエ の姿を!!ータグで是非とも拝んでください! Translate Tweet EME 146421 st7. 6. 80 5:51 PM · Mar 3, 2020 · Twitter Web App 29.9K Retweets 35.6K Likes <] Rるつのぬく](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/776/629/f93.png "妖店百貨展@3/7 在宅イベントチャレンジ on Twitter: \"アマビエは、江戸時代に肥後国に現れたとされる半人半魚で「もし疫病が流行することがあれば、私の姿を描いた絵を人々に早々に見せよ」と言って海へ消えたと伝えられているそうです。 というわ")
This illustration movement was covered by Japanese online news media J-CAST[11], local newspapers in Kumamoto Pref., and Japanese major news agency Jiji Press in English respectively.[12]
On March 17th, Mizuki Production, the copyright management company for Shigeru Mizuki[14], tweeted an illustration of Amabie by the authority of Yokai manga who passed away in 2015.[15] The tweet had earned over 95.4K retweets and 196K likes within its first 3 weeks.
On April 7th and 9th 2020, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare published an official awareness poster for preventing the spread of COVID-19 on its official site[16] and Twitter[17], in which the official featured Amabie for the purpose of gaining more recognition from young generations.
Various Examples
Search Interest
External References
[3] Wikipedia – GeGeGe no Kitarō
[4] Twitter – 大蛇堂: "とんでもない勢いで某ウイルスが流行ってますが妖怪の中に「流行り病がでたら対策のためにわたしの姿を描いて人々にみせるように」と言ったのがいるんですよ。 アマビエって言うんですけど。 https://t.co/y4pCLAbPkQ" / Posted on 02-27-2020
[5] Twitter- 北の妖怪展@第七回準備中: "【アマビエ】 北の妖怪展メンバーの大蛇堂さんが、イラスト付きでご紹介されていましたので、せっかくなので中の人も漫画で描いてみました。熊本県に現れたというアマビエという妖怪のお話。 （早く日常に戻れますように、祈りを込めて）（麿） https://t.co/xjVCASHnk8" / Posted on 02-29-2020
[6] Twitter – 妖店百貨展@3/7 在宅イベントチャレンジ: "アマビエは、江戸時代に肥後国に現れたとされる半人半魚で「もし疫病が流行することがあれば、私の姿を描いた絵を人々に早々に見せよ」と言って海へ消えたと伝えられているそうです。 というわけで、コロナ終息祈願！と、素敵な絵師さんたちが #アマビエ の姿を！！←タグで是非とも拝んでください！ https://t.co/s2XNBdSh8h" / Posted on 03-03-2020
[7] Twitter – Search results for the hashtags #アマビエ, #アマビエ様, #アマビエチャレンジ, and アマビエ祭り
[8] Pixiv – – Search results for the tag アマビエ
[9] Nico Nico Seiga – Search results for the tag アマビエ
[10] Instagram – Search results for the hashtag #アマビエ
[11] J-CAST – 妖怪「アマビエ」のイラストがSNSで人気 伝承に脚光「疫病が流行れば私の絵を見せよ」 / 03-08-2020 (Japanese)
[12] JIJI PRESS – Edo Period Ghost "Amabie" Popular in Japan amid Virus Crisis / 03-12-2020
[13] Twitter – shigeokahide
[14] Wikipedia – Shigeru Mizuki
[15] Twitter – 水木プロダクション: "「アマビエ」です。水木しげるの原画を撮影しました。 江戸時代、熊本の海に現れ「疫病が流行ったら私の写し絵を早々に人々に見せよ」と言って海中に姿を消した妖怪、というより神に近い…もの。 現代の疫病が消えますように。 https://t.co/0P7HfyRe8h" / Posted on 03-17-2020 (Japanese)
[16] Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare – 新型コロナウイルス感染症について / 04-07-2020 (Japanese)
[17] Twitter – 厚生労働省: "【STOP！感染拡大】 自分のため、みんなのため、大切な人のため。私たち一人ひとりが、できることをしっかりやっていく。それが私たちの未来を作ります。国民の皆さま、引き続き、不要不急の外出や３密を避ける行動へのご協力をお願いします。#新型コロナウイルス #アマビエ https://t.co/t0K2xwpGBn https://t.co/FYOuKO4i6m" / Posted on 04-09-2020 (Japanese)
Top Comments
Beatie
Mar 20, 2020 at 02:58PM EDT
GreenLinzerd
Mar 19, 2020 at 07:07PM EDT in reply to