FUKUI--Amabie, a folklore sea monster with the power to fend off plagues, became a worldwide sensation amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Long before the supernatural mermaid-like “yokai” shot to ...

In early March, Junya Kono, 37, a yokai culture researcher who serves as an instructor at the Kyoto Saga University of Arts, posted an image on Twitter of an amulet he made that depicts Amabie.

In Japan, that form has three legs, a beak, scaly skin and floor-length hair. Meet Amabie, the 19th century half-fish, half-human that's resurfaced to keep people safe. The mermaid-like creature ...