White sea light circling boats
Shirami-yuren
In the offshore dark, a white light is born. It swells, circles the boat wildly, and vanishes before you know whether it was beautiful or terrifying.
Overview
Shirami-yuren is a sea apparition from Uwajima, Ehime. At night, pale blue-white strands like somen suddenly appear around a boat, grow large, and whirl around it at great speed.
Encounter
A boat at sea at night sees the water begin to glow. Thin white light rises, grows quickly, circles the vessel, and then disappears without harming it.
Lore
Mizuki Shigeru introduced Shirami-yuren as a Uwajima yokai in Nihon Yokai Taizen and suggested it might be related to luminous plankton. It is also linked to the drowned-spirit tradition called Shirami.
Traits
It appears as blue-white light and circles boats. In related Shirami tales, spirits cling to boats and slow them, and sailors must avoid angering them with insulting words.
