Jack Stoneman, Associate Professor, Asian and Near Eastern Languages
Not far into the Covid-19 crisis, I was approached by a writer for Atlas Obscura wanting information about the Japanese yōkai (supernatural creature) called amabie that seemed to be taking over the internet (we used to say “going viral,” but nobody wants to hear that phrase anymore). Google “amabie” and you will see what a profound effect this previously little-known creature has had around the world. In 1846 a strange light appeared off the coast of Higo Province (present-day Kumamoto Prefecture) and a local official went to investigate, whereupon the amabie appeared and spoke to him. News spread in the form of a broadside.
The amabie prophesied six years of plentiful harvests, but also an epidemic, and urged the official to sketch her form and show it to others. In this and other related legends, the image of the amabie acts
like a protective talisman, warding off illness. In the Old Testament, when the children of Israel were attacked by poisonous fiery serpents, the Lord commanded Moses to make a serpent out of brass, put it on a pole, and show it to people who had been bitten. By simply looking at the brass serpent, they were healed (Numbers 21). In the New Testament, John tells us that the serpent was a symbol of Christ (John 3). And in the Book of Mormon, Alma draws a comparison to the Liahona, which, when heeded, provided miracles for Lehi and his family day by day, “for so was it prepared for them, that if they would look they might live; even so it is with us. The way is prepared, and if we will look we may live forever” (Alma 37). Amabie are cute, but they may not actually be helpful. Our Savior, however, is the ultimate source of healing.
