This illustration was developed for a student-directed art exhibit, “Legends, Cultures, Stories, and Memories”. The participating artists chose to illustrate a legend or memory that personally inspired them. I have always admired the intricacies of Japanese art. And, of course, a story of ghosts, pirates, and marine life, I couldn’t resist the legend of the Bake-Kujira.
“Ghost Whale” is a 14” X 24” depiction of the Japanese urban legend of the Bake-Kujira. It is said that there have been sightings of this ghostly skeletal whale along the coast of western Japan and with it comes a curse unto villagers, that of famine, plague, and fire.
