Setouchi Funayurei Legend

The Setouchi funayurei legend records a maritime tradition of nocturnal sea-ghosts who appear in the Seto Inland Sea and call out to passing vessels, 'Lend us a ladle.' Handing over a sound ladle allows the ghosts to scoop water and sink the ship; the correct reply is to pass a ladle with the bottom knocked out. Multiple origin stories are layered in the region, including the spirits of the defeated Heike at Dan-no-ura, fallen members of the Seto pirate-fleets and lost fishermen. The ghosts are said to appear on windless nights, in heavy fog and at Obon. The cycle joins a maritime accident explanation system with a memorial ethic; in the Seto region it overlaps with the Heike-gani crab tradition. The central setting is the Bisan Seto, especially the waters off Yashima and around the Shiwaku Islands; comparable tales are recorded at Dan-no-ura (Shimonoseki), the Ondo Seto (Kure) and the Kasaoka Islands (Okayama). The Heike Monogatari Kanjo and Tsurugi chapters set the historical background; later sources include the Edo collection Ehon Hyaku Monogatari (1841), the Shokoku Hyaku Monogatari (1677), and Miyamoto Tsuneichi's Setonaikai no Kenkyu.