Umi-bōzu
海坊主 (うみぼうず)
Sea Priest
other names:

Dreaded by fishermen, this enormous sea monster can tower as much as thirty meters over the surface of the ocean. Descriptions of the umi-bōzu are various, but most commonly it appears as just the top of a great black head as smooth and hairless as a monk's, with slippery black skin and huge glowing eyes.1 Fishing is scarce when this beast is around, and it has been known to capsize boats and drag people into the sea.2


1. Mizuki 2001, pp. 38-39.

2. Mizuki 2002, p. 128.

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