Large Earthquake Strikes Japan – Is The Oarfish Legend True After All?

MessageToEagle.com – A few days ago we published an article about how latest sightings and events have made people worried because of a Japanese legend foretells that oarfish are omens of earthquakes.

According to traditional Japanese lore, the fish rise to the surface and beach themselves to warn of an impending earthquake – and there are scientific theories that bottom-dwelling fish may very well be susceptible to movements in seismic fault lines and act in uncharacteristic ways in advance of an earthquake – but experts here [in Japan] are placing more faith in their constant high-tech monitoring of the tectonic plates beneath the surface.

“In ancient times Japanese people believed that fish warned of coming earthquakes, particularly catfish,” Hiroshi Tajihi, deputy director of the Kobe Earthquake Centre.

The oarfish is called “Messenger of the Sea God’s Palace”. On Sunday, October 13, a marine science instructor snorkeling off the Southern California coast spotted the silvery carcass of the 18-foot-long, serpent-like oarfish. This rare fish was 18-foot-long with eyes the size of half dollars.

Large Earthquake Strikes Japan - Is The Oarfish Legend True After All?
An 18-foot oarfish was discovered off Toyon Bay on Catalina Island Sunday. (credit: Catalina Island Marine Institute)

Just a few days later, on Friday 18 October a new sighting took place. For the second time in a week, a rare serpent-like oarfish has surfaced in Southern California.

Large Earthquake Strikes Japan - Is The Oarfish Legend True After All?
This oarfish was found washed ashore near the south jetty in Oceanside around 5 p.m. Friday. An 18-foot-long oarfish was found near Catalina earlier in the week. – Photo courtesy of Mark Bussey

On October 25, an earthquake with magnitude 7.3 occurred near Iwaki, Honshu, Japan. Later reports downgraded the preliminary magnitude estimate to 7.1.

Large Earthquake Strikes Japan - Is The Oarfish Legend True After All?

Netscape/AP reported that “The quake hit at 2:10 a.m. Saturday Tokyo time (1710 GMT) about 290 kilometers (170 miles) off Fukushima. Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the Fukushima plant, ordered workers near the coast to move to higher ground. Japanese news service Kyodo said there were no signs of trouble at the plant.”

Now, more and more people are wondering if the legend of the oarfish, the “Messenger of the Sea God’s Palace” is true after all..

MessageToEagle.com