Japan legendary monster goes viral on hopes for end to epidemic

TOKYO - Social media users have been getting creative recently in posting images of a legendary Japanese "yokai" monster said to have emerged from the sea and prophesied an epidemic, uploading them alongside messages wishing for a swift end to the coronavirus outbreak.The story of the half-human, half-fish "amabie" monster was first featured in a 19th century woodblock-printed news sheet from the Edo Period (1603-1868). The creature was depicted with long hair and a beak and a body covered in scales.An amabie is said to have appeared in the sea off Higo Province, now Kumamoto Prefecture in …READ FULL ARTICLE