Hello and welcome back to Life’s Biggest Questions, I’m Ron McKenzie-Lefurgey.
The Umibozu, otherwise known as the Sea Monks, are giant mythological sea creatures, said
to rise from still waters to capsize unwitting ships.
Having originated in Japan, they are fairly common antagonists in Japanese media, showing
up rather often in anime.
But what if they resided not in the imaginations of artists and seafarers, but actually existed?
Let's explore.
If you want more What If videos, check out our “Biggest What Ifs” playlist on the
channel.
Now get ready, it’s time to ask the question: And now we return to our question: What if
Umibozu was Real?
Stories of the appearance of the Sea Monks vary widely.
In terms of size, they are generally described as being very large, up to 10 meters long.
However, some tales describe them as being very small, just a few inches long.
However, they tend to be described as giant beasts rising from the water, with a huge
black head and great eyes.
While many assume the name Sea Monk entails some religious importance, the name actually
comes from their appearance, since the round, smooth heads of the Umibozu resemble the shaven
head of a Buddhist monk.
It should be noted that in reality, it's believed that these sea monks are simply natural phenomena
being interpreted as supernatural.
It's more likely that people saw a giant squid, a large jellyfish, or even a large cloud forming
in the distance.
Some even believe it could be a rogue wave.
These are waves that form spontaneously and would have much the same appearance and destructive
effects as the Umibozu.
Unfortunately, as with their appearance, stories vary a good deal as to how the Umibozu act,
since tales of the Sea Monks have become mixed with those of other sea creatures.
Some tales speak of them remaining peaceful until spoken to, and only then destroying
the ship.
Others tell of them appearing in human form on a ship, only revealing their true form
when someone was rude to them.
However, the classic Umibozu story is that it rises from the deep in calm waters, and
destroys ships.
And since this is the interpretation most people were expecting, this is the one we’ll
follow for this video.
With all that out of the way, how might the world be different if the Umibozu were real?
Well first and foremost, our view on the ocean would change a great deal.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a new thing to have giant, dangerous creatures under the
water.
Sharks are already pretty darn scary.
However, contrary to what many may believe, sharks aren’t actually malicious towards
us.
They don’t particularly intend to do us harm, most shark attacks are actually a case
of mistaken identity.
However, this is not the case for the Umibozu.
They would actively attempt to sink ships, and what’s worse: they would succeed.
This would cause the sea to become an even more foreboding place and might make sea travel
less common.
Sailors would refuse to go out on calm waters, knowing that a sea monk could be hiding beneath.
And while out at sea, calm waters would see sailors performing all sorts of rituals, in
an attempt to quell the beasts hidden beneath the waves.
This kind of superstition would become rampant among those who traveled across the sea, with
people attempting to exert some amount of control over the situation.
Whether it was by avoiding certain areas or certain sea conditions, saying specific words
to appease them, or carrying certain items, people would engage in a number of superstitious
rituals when going out on the water.
This is actually something that was seen in real life back when many believed in the legend.
Some would say prayers in order to appease the Goddess of the Sea, whom they believed
to be responsible for the Umibozu.
These people believed that the Sea Monks were punishing those who did not pray properly.
Others believed that tobacco smoke repelled the creatures, which would be the one-time
smoking actually saved lives.
In a world where the Sea Monks actually existed, superstitions like this would become commonplace.
People tend to prefer to have some illusion of control in cases like this, and creating
their own methods of warding off the creature, whether or not they were actually effective,
would help them to feel safer.
In terms of sea travel, it’s unclear how much the sea monks would affect the movements
of humanity.
If the attacks were frequent, many people would likely be inclined to not travel across
the ocean, which could greatly limit both exploration and cross-cultural communication.
People wouldn’t want to take a trip to another continent if they felt they might be attacked
by a freaky sea monster.
However, as time went on, and air travel became available, we might see that being prioritized
oversea travel since there wouldn’t be sea monks in the sky.
This would allow people to see much more of the world, and would likely ignite a burst
in travel; people would be going from relatively little access to intercontinental travel to
more than they could possibly imagine.
And it would be lit.
Now, you might say that by the time we had the technology to fly, we would likely have
the technology to kill such creatures.
But that isn’t necessarily the case.
It’s true that firearms and explosives would likely be able to kill a sea monk, but many
stories tell of them capsizing ships quickly with little warning.
Even with enough firepower to kill it, it’s rather likely that the ship would be gone
before anyone had a chance to shoot the thing.
Of course, building larger, sturdier ships would help to fight them off and could allow
the ship enough time to kill the beast, but it would still be a hard fight.
Eventually, particularly when submarines and radar became available, we would be able to
go out and actively hunt the creatures, thus making the oceans safer to traverse.
At this point, the world would likely return to its usual trajectory…
although the Umibozu would definitely be in more TV shows.
Thank you for watching Life’s Biggest Questions, I hope this was interesting and informative,
and maybe even inspired you to look into it further on your own.
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While you’re down there, let me know your favorite kind of sea monster.
Until next time, I’m Ron McKenzie-Lefurgey with Life’s Biggest Questions, wishing you
the best of luck, on your quest for answers.