View source for Devil's Sea

{{short description|Site of reported paranormal activity}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Expand Japanese|ドラゴントライアングル|date=May 2020}}
[[File:Map of Izu Islands.png|thumb|A map of the [[Izu Islands]], the centre of the Devil's Sea legend.]]

The {{nihongo|'''Devil's Sea'''|[[wikt:魔|魔]]の[[wikt:海|海]]|Ma no Umi|lead=yes}}, also known as the '''Devil's triangle''', the '''Dragon's Triangle''', the '''Formosa Triangle''' and the '''Pacific [[Bermuda Triangle]]''', is a region of the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]], south of [[Tokyo]]. The Devil's Sea is sometimes considered a [[paranormal]] location, though the veracity of these claims has been questioned.

== Description ==
[[File:Dragon's Triangle.svg|thumb|A possible form of the Dragon's Triangle. Due to the Berlitz's claim having many inconsistencies, its exact form is unclear.]] The Japanese word ''ma no umi'' (translated as devil sea, troublesome sea, or dangerous sea) has been widely used to describe dangerous marine locations around the world.<ref>Japanese newspaper [[Asahi Shimbun]] has claimed the following areas as "ma-no umi" or "ma-no kaiiki" before 1954: [[Bay of Bengal]] (1914.07.26 morning), [[Kuril Islands]] (1924.05.31 evening), [[Korea Strait]] (1926.03.28 morning), [[Lake Baikal]] (1926.04.02 morning), [[Korsakov (town)]] (1930.05.04 morning), East coast of Japan (1930.07.19 evening), [[Hainan]] (1939.02.11 morning), Near the [[United Kingdom]] (1939.12.15 evening), [[Atlantic Ocean]] (1940.03.08 evening), and [[Taiwan Strait]] (1954.10.20 evening)</ref> This means that there are many locations that the Japanese call ''ma no umi.''

In August of 1945 a [[Mitsubishi A6M Zero]] supposedly went missing. A distress radio transmission from Zero F [[Wing commander (rank)|Wing Commander]] pilot [[Shiro Kawamoto]] crossing the Triangle near the end of the war created more questions than answers. The last thing his message said was "...something is happening in the sky...the sky is opening up-".<ref>{{cite book|last=Brennan |first=Herbie |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/43217660|title=Seriously weird true stories |date=1997 |publisher=Hippo |others=David Wyatt |isbn=0-590-13973-8 |location=London |oclc=43217660}}</ref>

On 4 January 1955, Japanese ship ''Shinyo Maru No. 10'' (第十伸洋丸) lost radio contact near [[Mikura-jima]]. Japanese newspapers then began to label the location as ''ma no umi'' until the ship was found safe on 15 January.<ref>Asahi Shimbun 1955.01.12 morning</ref> [[Yomiuri Shimbun]] showed a map of the sea with points of several other ships that had been lost in recent years, and stated that those ships were lost within the area that the Yokohama Coast Guard Office had classified as a special danger area.<ref name="yomiuri">Yomiuri Shimbun 1955.01.14 morning</ref>{{sfn|Kusche|1975|p=257}} 

In the U.S., ''[[The New York Times]]'' introduced this incident with the term "The Devil's Sea," where nine ships had been lost in perfect weather.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1955/01/16/archives/tokyo-gets-news-from-missing-ship-faint-signal-ends-japanese-fears.html TOKYO GETS NEWS FROM MISSING SHIP; Faint Signal Ends Japanese Fears for Vessel's Fate -- All Aboard Are Safe - The New York Times]</ref>{{sfn|Kusche|1975|p=253}} Yomiuri Shimbun described the size of the ''ma no umi'' as follows: "From the [[Izu islands]] to east of the [[Ogasawara islands]]; about 200 miles east to west, and about 300 miles north to south, where nine ships were lost in the past five years".<ref name="yomiuri"/> However, two of the nine ships were lost near [[Miyake-jima]] and [[Iwo Jima]], about 750 miles apart.{{sfn|Kusche|1975|p=258}}

In 1974, American [[paranormal]] writer [[Charles Berlitz]] introduced the Devil's Sea in his book ''[[The Bermuda Triangle (book)|The Bermuda Triangle]]''. Berlitz claimed that "nine modern ships and several hundred crews were lost without traces between 1950 and 1954; in 1955, the Japanese government sent ''[[Kaiyō No.1-class oceanographic research ship|Kaiyo Maru No 5]]'' to the sea for investigating unexplained ship losses, but this ship vanished as well"{{sfn|Berlitz|1974|p=92}} ... "After the incident, Japanese authorities have labeled the sea as a danger zone."{{sfn|Berlitz|1974|p=91}}

In 1989, Berlitz claimed that the Devil's Sea is also called the Dragon's Triangle in his book ''The Dragon's Triangle''.{{sfn|Berlitz|1989|p=15}} Berlitz continued by theorizing that five Japanese military vessels disappeared while on maneuvers near Japanese shores in early 1942.{{sfn|Berlitz|1989|p=24}}

== Criticisms ==
[[File:Manoumi.svg|thumb|Yomiuri Shimbun described that this blue quadrangle was the ''ma-no umi'' where the coast guard classified as special danger area. The actual danger area was the red circle according to Kusche.]]
In 1975, American author [[Larry Kusche]] published ''The Bermuda Triangle Mystery Solved'', debunking the Devil's Sea legend. Kusche sent letters to government offices which were related to the sea, but nobody knew about the Devil's Sea or such a danger area.{{sfn|Kusche|1975|pp=254–255}} The actual danger zone where the Maritime Safety Agency of Japan warned not to approach was only 10 miles to [[Myōjin-shō]].{{sfn|Kusche|1975|p=260}} 

The ''Kaiyo Maru No. 5'' was sent to Myōjin-shō for investigating activity of an undersea volcano, and lost in 1952.{{sfn|Kusche|1975|p=252}} The loss of the Kaiyo Maru was accounted for: undersea volcano eruption. One of eight other lost ships also was accounted for. Most of the nine ships were small fishing boats with poor or no radio. The weather was not perfect.{{sfn|Kusche|1975|pp=258–259}}

In 1995, Kusche's research claimed that Berlitz's military vessels were actually fishing vessels, and some of those listed by Berlitz sank outside the area defined by the Dragon's Triangle. Kusche also wrote that the Japanese research vessel carried not 100 personnel, but only 31 and that an undersea volcano destroyed it on 24 September 1952.<ref name="encyclopedia">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.paranormal-encyclopedia.com/d/dragons-triangle/ |title=Dragon's Triangle (Devil's Sea) |encyclopedia=Paranormal-encyclopedia.com |access-date=28 December 2014}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=December 2018|reason=That page refers this Wikipedia article.}}

In [[Daniel Cohen (children's writer)|Daniel Cohen]]'s 1974 book ''[[Curses, Hexes and Spells|Curses, Hexes & Spells]]'', it's reported that legends of the danger of the Dragon's Triangle go back for centuries in Japan. Its most famous casualty was the ''No. 5 Kaiyō-Maru'', a scientific research vessel, which disappeared with the loss of all hands on 24 September 1952. With such a dramatic history, one would expect there to be all sorts of information on the subject, especially in Japan. A search completed by ''[[Skeptoid]]'' author [[Brian Dunning (author)|Brian Dunning]] for books, newspaper, and magazine articles on the Dragon's Triangle came up completely empty, until a full 20 years after the loss of the ''Kaiyō-Maru''. Apparently, the story (even the very existence of this legendary named region) was not invented until very recently.<ref>{{Skeptoid |id=4337 |number=337 |title=The Bermuda Triangle and the Devil's Sea |date=20 November 2012 |access-date=15 June 2017}}</ref>

Research also explores natural environmental changes, as the cause of such controversial anomalies in the Dragon's Triangle. One of these explanations is the vast field of [[methane hydrates]] present on the bottom of the ocean in the Dragon's Triangle area. [[Methane clathrate]]s (methane hydrates gas) will "explode" when it rises above 18&nbsp;°C (64&nbsp;°F). Methane hydrate gases are described as icelike deposits that break off from the bottom and rise, forming bubbles on the surface of the water.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-the-dragons-triangle.htm|title=What is the Dragon's Triangle?|work=wiseGEEK|access-date=28 December 2014}}</ref> 

These gas eruptions can interrupt [[buoyancy]] and can easily sink a ship, leaving no trace of debris. Another explanation for this "paranormal" activity could be the [[undersea volcano]]es that are very common in this area. It is quite characteristic for small islands in the Dragon's Triangle to frequently disappear and new islands appear due to both volcanoes and seismic activity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-the-dragons-triangle.htm|title=What is the Dragon's Triangle?|work=wiseGEEK|access-date=28 December 2014}}</ref> Because the location of the Dragon's Triangle is not plotted on any official world map, the area and perimeter vary from one author to another author.<ref name="encyclopedia"/>

== In popular culture ==
* The 2013 video game ''[[Tomb Raider (2013 video game)|Tomb Raider]]'' is set on an island in the "Dragon's Triangle", which contains numerous wrecked ships and planes.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/saltzman/2013/01/11/five-things-tomb-raider-marc-saltzman/1818301/ |title=5 things you didn't know about the next 'Tomb Raider' |website=[[USA Today]]}}</ref>
* It is revealed in the final book of ''[[The Unwanteds]]'', a [[fantasy]] book series written by [[Lisa McMann]], that the seven islands traversed throughout the series are located within the Dragon's Triangle.
* The ''[[Mononoke (TV series) |Mononoke]]'' series (aired in 2007) second arc called Umibōzu takes place in a luxurious ship that was set off course and left wandering in the Dragon's Triangle.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Berlitz |first=Charles |author-link=Charles Berlitz |title=The Bermuda Triangle |location=New York |publisher=DOUBLEDAY & COMPANY, INC. |year=1974 |isbn=0385041144 |url=https://archive.org/details/bermudatriangle00berl}}
* {{cite book |last=Kusche |first=Lawrence David |author-link=Lawrence Kusche |title=The Bermuda Triangle mystery - solved |location=New York |publisher=Harper & Row |year=1975 |isbn=0-06-012475-X |url=https://archive.org/details/bermudatriangle100kusc}}
* {{cite book |last=Berlitz |first=Charles |author-link=Charles Berlitz |title=The Dragon's Triangle |location=New York |publisher=WYNWOOD Press |year=1989 |isbn=0-922066-19-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/dragonstriangle00berl_0}}
* [http://www.fig.net/pub/proceedings/korea/abstracts/session2/yashima-nishizawa-ootani-abs.htm Scientific survey of Myojin-sho]
* [http://www.paranormal-encyclopedia.com/v/vile-vortices Paranormal-encyclopedia.com]
* {{cite web |title=Could methane bubbles sink ships? |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna3226787 |website=[[msnbc.com]] |date=21 October 2003}}
{{refend}}
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[[Category:Paranormal triangles]]
[[Category:Geography of Tokyo]]