Japanese Close Encounters: The tale of the Utsuro-bune revisited.

This is a topic which has been discussed before on ATS, but not for a long time, and I feel it is worth revisiting.

Karl 12 wrote a thread well worth reading in 2009 found here. Continuing on an Asian UFO theme I've been exploring today, I hope this thread is of interest to some.



From Wikipedia;

Utsuro-bune (うつろ舟 'hollow ship'?), also Utsuro-fune and Urobune, refers to an unknown object which allegedly washed ashore in 1803 in Hitachi province on the eastern coast of Japan.

As always there are differing interpretations of the tale.

Historians, ethnologists and physicists such as Kazuo Tanaka and Yanagita Kunio have evaluated the "legend of the hollow boat" as part of a long-standing tradition within Japanese folklore. Alternatively, certain ufologists have claimed that the story represents evidence for a close encounter of the third kind.

Our friends at MysteriousUniverse have this to say;

mysteriousuniverse.org...

Peering through the windows, the fishers saw that the walls were covered in strange texts written in an unknown language. It contained items of food and clothing, and to their great surprise, it also contained a beautiful foreign woman.

She was described as 18-20 years old, with a very pale complexion and strikingly red hair that had been artificially extended with strands of white fur or fine fabric. She was dressed in elegant, flowing cloth of unknown origin, and her language was unknown so the fishers were unable to communicate with her, but despite this she remained friendly and courteous. She carried with her a quadratic box, which she protected from the fishers, no matter how pressingly they inquired about its contents.

Utsuro Bune literally means ‘hollow boat’ in Japanese. Is there any evidence to suggest that this vessel was anything other than a 'hollow boat'? Perhaps the main argument put forth is that of the description of the boat, and the visual interpretations that have come forth from this.



Those at UFO digest succinctly say.

ufodigest.com...

The only argument – unsustainable per se – that has been repeated blissfully and unabashedly by the supporters of this free association of UtsuroBune = UFO is based on the rounded shape visible in the ancient drawings. Nothing more. A consideration that would be equally convincing to these supporters of easy explanations if they were to see an old illustration of the Thung Chai, a traditional round vessel measuring 2 meters across, made of bamboo and covered in pitch, used by Vietnamese fishermen to this very day.

Some have drawn a connection between the symbols seen on the Utsuro-bune, and those claimed from Roswell and RAF Bentwaters, but I think this is quite reaching.



Probably the best interpretation of this tale is that it is a Russian unfaithful wife. With Japanese isolationism of the time, it is not difficult to imagine how a young woman with red hair in a strange vessel of metal and wood might provoke speculation.

True or not, the fact is that the story told in the 1825 and 1844 Japanese books corresponds to the Tokugawa period (1603-1867) when Japan was isolated from the rest of the world, living in a wholly feudal society (the Shogunate) and avoiding all foreign influences, especially Western.

It isn’t surprising then that the presence of “someone who came from afar” (a foreigner) would be cause for conversation...whether for or against Japanese isolationism. Some very likely interpretations about the red-haired woman’s identity have been put forth, and perhaps those who suggest paying attention be given to ancient Russian customs -- dealing with unfaithful wives – are correct. The harsh law unwritten law mandated decapitation for the male, his head placed in a box that was later given to the woman, who was then expelled from the community by placing her aboard a small boat, towed out to sea, and then abandoned to her fate.

The proximity between Russia and Japan fosters this hypothesis. Much better, of course, than any passing idea that suggests relating the red-haired woman in the “hollow boat” with visitors from another world.

Perhaps not so unusual after all, but perhaps still a fascinating historical tale, and the exact question of who this mysterious woman was, and what was in her box have never been answered.

Why would they cut HIS head off!??

I always was curious about that tale but I haven't read a lot about it.

a reply to: cuckooold

The harsh law unwritten law mandated decapitation for the male, his head placed in a box that was later given to the woman, who was then expelled from the community by placing her aboard a small boat, towed out to sea, and then abandoned to her fate.

this sounds very possible if the custom was indeed real...

Though I find the drawing interesting. Are the drawings a correct representation of the "boat" from eyewitnesses ?

The fact that she RED HAIR and "Washed" up on shore in a "BOAT" should indicate that it was not a space craft piloted by a non human. Jeez, I've had enough experiences to KNOW that there are "visitors" but come on! Let's grasp at some straws people #face palm.

Nice piece cuckooold.

I would tend toward the more earthly explanation of a Russian/foreigner in a boat.

Perhaps it was a female alien that had crash landed in Russia and taken a husband. Only to be unfaithful to him and be set adrift...as per their custom? The best of both worlds!

Jeeze what is wrong with me today..I'm in a goofy mood and my brain is in weird places.