FunayūreiUgume (Kyushu West Coast Variant)

Across the west coast of Kyushu—especially from Hirado in Nagasaki to Amakusa and Goshoura Island—a variant of the funayurei is known as the Ugume. It appears in night fog or under a windless overcast stillness: an old sailboat with bellied sails despite no wind, or a small unmanned skiff, gliding up silently from behind. Its lights are faint, wavering along the gunwales like something between flame and fireflies. The closer it comes, the farther the sound of waves recedes; though the vessel seems to move forward, the surface of the sea slips backward. This is the sign of possession: cold water seeps into the bilge, oars grow heavy, and the compass drifts a hair off. The Ugume has no fixed form, sometimes turning into the silhouette of an island to lure boats, sometimes showing a non-existent cove offshore to run them aground. From the shadow of a rotted mast it will murmur, “Give me a bilge-scoop,” asking for a scoop or ladle to bail. One must hand over a scoop with a hole in the bottom; give a sound one by mistake and it will pour water over the gunwale without cease, weighing the boat down to sink. In Hirado they say a pinch of ash cast upon the sea will lift the fog. On Goshoura, one calls out “Dropping anchor!” throws a stone first, then casts the anchor—a ritual aligning words and action to tell what lies below, “We intend to stay here,” whereupon the Ugume loosens its hold. A thread of tobacco smoke will also thin it, sending it retreating toward the stern. Offerings include rice balls, rice cakes, and a small amount of ash, and special caution is urged on the sixteenth day of Obon. The Ugume are less indiscriminate vengeful ghosts than a host of those who slipped outside the sea’s order, drawn by lapses in shipboard manners, careless speech, or neglected greetings to the sea gods. If faced squarely, with proper names and rites observed, they slip back into the shadow of the tide. The fear that “it disguises itself as boats or islands” along Kyushu’s west coast reflects memories rooted in fickle currents and tangled shoals—an embodiment of losing one’s way at sea. Ugume also portend maritime misfortune; in fishing villages it is said that on nights they draw near, someone somewhere has lost the path home.

Yokai with similar personality and characteristics to Ugume (Kyushu West Coast Variant)

Iso-onna

Shore-Shadow Devouring Iso-onna (Hamahime Lineage)

97%

Compatibility

Ao-andon

Ao-andon, Demoness of the Hyakumonogatari

96%

Compatibility

Funayūrei

Namōrei, Black Little-Craft of Kosode

94%

Compatibility

Yokai with opposite personality and characteristics to Ugume (Kyushu West Coast Variant)

Hotei

Incarnation of Maitreya, the Laughing Monk, Hotei

54%

Compatibility

Fukurokuju

Three-Stars-in-One Long-Headed Deity, Fukurokuju

56%

Compatibility

Ebisu

Ebisu

60%

Compatibility