Another burst of UFO activity in the history of the Land of the Rising Sun was noted at the end of the Middle Ages - in the XII-XIV centuries. As historians note, these were troubled times in the life of Japan, when power gradually passed to the samurai caste, and the generals (shoguns) were the actual rulers of the country.
The term "flying saucer" is generally believed to be from the United States. It was invented in 1947 by American businessman Kenneth Arnold, after seeing a squadron of strange objects resembling inverted saucers over the Rocky Mountains. However, back in January 1878, a Texas farmer described a certain dark flying object with the words "large saucer", which means, in any case, the right to priority in relation to this term belongs to him.
However, in one ancient Japanese chronicle it is reported that on October 27, 1180, some unusual luminous object, similar to a "clay bowl", flew at midnight from the mountains of Kii province towards Mount Fukuhara, located in the northeast. After some time, he changed his course to the south and disappeared from sight, leaving behind a luminous trail.
Of course, the "clay bowl" is not exactly a saucer, but the first comparison of a UFO with an object from the dish row clearly belongs to the Japanese, so they should fight for the right to the term "flying saucer". True, there will be no benefits from this, but in many UFO articles they will write not only about the United States, but also about the Land of the Rising Sun.
First ufological investigation
According to ufologist Jacques Valais, the Japanese can also be congratulated as organizers of the first official investigation into UFOs. On September 24, 1235, General Yoritsuma camped with his army. Suddenly the sentries saw a strange phenomenon: some mysterious sources of light, looping, circled in the northwestern side of the sky. This continued until early morning. General Yoritsuma ordered what would be called today a "full-scale scientific investigation," and his subordinates went to work. Soon the report was ready: “Everything that was observed, General, is of a completely natural origin,” they firmly declared. "It's the wind that makes the stars sway."
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This funny story was told to Valle by Mr. Yuzuka Matsumura from Yokohama, who sadly added at the end, "Scientists who receive government salaries always make such ambiguous statements."
UFO over medieval Japan
UFOs were for medieval Japan, apparently, so commonplace that they often had a direct impact on people's lives. Riots, uprisings and all kinds of social unrest often occurred due to various celestial phenomena, be it a UFO, a mirage, or a rare atmospheric phenomenon. The fact is that the Japanese peasants perceived any heavenly sign as a direct indication of the "heavenly authorities" to the need to perform this or that action - a rebellion against a local feudal lord or an uprising against foreign invaders. With childlike spontaneity, they believed that their undertaking in this case would certainly be crowned with success.
According to Jacques Vallee, there were many cases when celestial phenomena played a large role in the life of medieval Japan. So, on September 12, 1271, when the head of the famous priest Nichiren was already lying on the block, a bright object appeared in the sky, similar to the full moon. The authorities of Tatsunokushi (Kamakura) were very afraid of this sign, and the execution did not take place.
“On August 3, 989, during a period of great social unrest, three extraordinary brightness of circular objects were observed
»On January 2, 1458, a bright object similar to the full moon was seen in the sky
On the evening of January 3, 1569, a flaming star appeared in the sky. It was perceived as a sign of major changes heralding the fall of the Chu Dynasty. Such phenomena continued in the 17th and 18th centuries.
For example, in May 1606, fireballs were observed all the time over Kyoto, and one night many samurai saw how one such fireball, similar to a rotating red wheel, hovered over Nijo Castle.
On January 2, 1749, anxiety swept across Japan when three "moon-like" circular objects appeared and were observed for four days. The excitement in the society was growing, and since its connection with the mysterious celestial objects seemed crystal clear, the government decided to be proactive and executed the most zealous troublemakers. But when people saw three "moons" in a row in the sky, and after a few days - two "suns", the confusion became general. Whether these were the tricks of a UFO or some unusual atmospheric phenomena is now unknown, but this "parade" of moons and suns caused great excitement in the country.
How a fisherman "caught" an alien
In one of the old Japanese books of the 19th century, there is a mention of a rather strange incident. Not far from Tokyo on the shores of a raging sea in 1803, a Japanese fisherman discovered a strange object resembling a huge cauldron. The "cauldron" had a door and unusual glass panels. The upper half of it was black, as if covered with resin; in the lower part, numerous iron stripes were clearly visible.
The most interesting thing is that inside this mysterious vessel was a beautiful black-haired woman with snow-white skin and bright red eyebrows and lips. She was clutching a small box to her chest and did not understand Japanese at all. Unfortunately, it is not known what happened to this strange woman in the future, but, as some ufologists believe, a Japanese fisherman could well have found an escape capsule from an extraterrestrial spacecraft with an alien who survived in it.
The box, which the woman did not allow anyone to touch, was probably a communication device. Did the beautiful alien manage to call for help and return to her own? We are unlikely to ever find out about this.