Umibōzu, the Black Sea Monk

The myth

Umibōzu, the "sea monk", is a sea yōkai that rises suddenly from calm water, usually at night: a vast, smooth black head or body, like a monk's shaven head. In many fishermen's accounts it capsizes boats, demands a barrel or a ladle like the funayūrei, or sinks anyone who speaks to it or stares at it. Some traditions say it is the spirit of the drowned, others a being of the sea itself. The commonest advice is to keep silent, not look, and wait for it to sink back down.

Why it has this power

A Rare level-6 Water Undead with 2000 ATK and 2100 DEF, fusion only: the Funayūrei with any Serpent, the drowned joined to the sea's vast body. Defense exceeds attack, like a black mountain that cannot be moved. Water, Moon and Scarab bind the night sea to the dead.

Did you know

Some scholars suggest umibōzu accounts may stem from encounters with whales or freak waves on the open sea.

Connections

• Born from the fusion of: Funayūrei, the Drowned with Ladles + Serpent

Where to get it

• Campaign drop: Kaguya, Guardian of the Torii (Archipelago of the Kami) — grade D: 9.3%
• Born from the fusion of: Funayūrei, the Drowned with Ladles + Serpent

Sources

1. Kaii・Yōkai Denshō Database (folklore of strange phenomena and yōkai) — International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken)
2. The Database of Paintings of Mysterious Phenomena and Yōkai — International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken)