Japanese artists fight Covid-19 with help of a legendary monster, upbeat DJ mixes and live-streamed temple rituals
- Japanese artists and musicians are finding creative ways to express the fight against the Covid-19 outbreak, and post the results on Instagram and Twitter
- Shrines and temples in the country have also set up dedicated rituals that can be watched and taken part in online
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent declaration of a state of emergency in seven prefectures, the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and a sudden drop in tourism are all taking their toll on Japanese businesses as the country’s coronavirus cases continue to rise.
Far from giving up, though, the Japanese have reacted by finding creative ways to express their fight against the Covid-19 outbreak, from hosting digital ceremonies in famous shrines to the resurfacing of Japanese monsters on social media.
Amabie, a half-fish, half-human Japanese monster (yokai), first appeared during the Edo period (1603-1868) on a wood block print. The legend goes that if its picture was drawn and shown to people, natural disasters would come to an end.
On March 6, Kyoto University Library posted an image of the original 1846 print. People have since interpreted the monster in various forms and posted the results on social media with the hashtag #amabie.
Manga artist Seiichi Tokiwa drew a manga called Amabie is Coming about its appearance in modern times and posted it on Twitter. His post has garnered more than 39,000 likes.