Namazu

The legend or myth in Japan is that a gigantic namazu (catfish) lives inside or beneath the earth (or in the mud Prior to the 1855 Edo earthquake, an eel fisherman reportedly spotted unusually active catfish in a river, which he took as a predictor of an earthquake. Later that night, the earthquake struck. The anecdote, recorded in an 1856 chronicle of journalistic reporting on the earthquake, is the earliest known claim that catfish can naturally predict earthquakes. == History ==

Namazu-e were a known item in the 19th century, and these broadsides were printed in great quantity following the 1855 earthquake near Edo (modern day Tokyo), one of the Ansei great earthquakes. These namazu-e woodblock-prints encompass a large variety of scenes, typically depicting the god subduing the earthquake-causing catfish under a sword or the kanameishi stone. The creature is sometimes referred to as just the "earthquake fish" (jishin-no-uo), and despite the text calling it a catfish, the illustration may be that of a dragon-serpent. Even though the Namazu was held responsible for the disaster, it was also ironically hailed as a yonaoshi daimyōjin (god of "world rectification"), that is to say, a sort of an "avenger of social injustice" which expressed the public's political sentiment at the time. The rich had hoarded their wealth but these were largely disgorged due to the earthquake, and redistributed to the world at large: such is the symbolism of the large gold coins (koban, etc.) scattered by the earthquake depicted in the pictures. A large amount of money went into the rebuilding effort, and the job opportunities resulted in a redistribution of wealth. One picture is printed with a jingle with the refrain "yo-naoshi, yo-naoshi, tate-naoshi" (literally "world-fixing, world-fixing, re-building", which explicitly makes this connection. ==Modern use==

• Catfish are depicted on pictures of emergency earthquake preparedness activities in Japan. For example, the Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) logo by the Japan Meteorological Agency utilizes pictures of the catfish on devices capable of issuing an early warning. The popular earthquake early warning mobile application Yurekuru Call also has a catfish as their icon. • In Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2, the Spirit Beast is a giant Namazu demon who had the evil thoughts of countless people sealed inside it • Namazu is also the name of a song on Danish singer Oh Land's first studio album Fauna, which features a large catfish on the album cover. • In the Japanese version of Secret of Mana, the Earth Slide (Earthquake in the Japanese version) spell is a catfish icon in the ring menu. • In The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, a catfish gives Link the Quake Medallion. • A giant catfish mimicking Namazu's habits appears as a boss figure in the video game Lufia II. • The Pokémon Whiscash, named "Namazun" in Japan, resembles a catfish and has "Earthquake" as its signature move. An episode of the Pokémon anime featuring Whiscash was scheduled to air on November 4, 2004, but was skipped over after the 2004 Chūetsu earthquake. • The Namazu was featured in the episode of River Monsters, "Cold-Blooded Horror". • Namazu appears in a crossover comic book featuring Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo and IDW's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. • The Namazu are a race that resemble short, chubby, bipedal catfish in Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood. The player can undertake crafting and gathering quests for them, or fight Namazu that have forsaken "civilized" garments and have taken up banditry. • In S1:E7 of Dragon Ball GT, the character Zoonama appears as a giant catfish that wiggles his whiskers when detecting earthquakes, and repeats the word "Namazu" in his speech. • The myth of Namazu is briefly mentioned by the character Kenjaku in Chapter 133 of the manga Jujutsu Kaisen, where he uses a Cursed Spirit based off of it to temporarily immobilize the protagonist Yuji Itadori. • The myth of Namazu and a scroll of namazu-e is referenced throughout the 2022 Japanese animated fantasy film of Makoto Shinkai, Suzume. ==Gallery==

File:Takemikazuchi-pins-Namazu-with-Kaname-ishi-spirit-stone-1855.png|Takemikazuchi pins down a catfish (namazu) with a spirit stone (kaname-ishi) to prevent earthquakes 1855. File:Namazu-e - Namazu the saviour.jpg|Namazu the savior. File:Earthquake Early Warning FM Radio EAQ-001.jpg|Earthquake Early Warning FM Radio containing an EEW Namazu logo (lower right of top photo) File:Namazu Emergency Road Earthquake Warning, Tokyo, 2025.jpg|Namazu on an earthquake warning roadsign in Tokyo == Explanatory notes ==