The Unsolved Mystery Of Devil’s Sea [Dragon’s Triangle]
The ocean is full of mysteries and stories. These stories have been experienced, created, and propagated by seafarers since time immemorial. One such mystery that has befuddled the world is the mystery of the Devil’s Sea or also known as the Dragon’s Triangle.
We have heard numerous stories of lost cities (Atlantis), vanishing ships, mythological sea creatures, and daredevil pirates like Davy Jone’s Locker Legend. The Devil’s Sea mystery is also one story that has continued to fire up our imagination just as the Bermuda Triangle story.
This article discusses the mystery of the devil’s Sea, what it is, where it is located, some incidents that have taken place here, and some possible explanations.
Following are some interesting facts about the Devil’s Sea or the Dragon’s triangle.
What is the Devil’s Sea?
The Devil’s sea which is also known as the Pacific Bermuda Triangle or the Dragon’s Triangle is a region of the Pacific Ocean lying south of Tokyo. It is also quite often considered as a paranormal location.
The Bermuda Triangle might be on the top of the list of the most mysterious places on the earth, but it is definitely not the only one. The Dragon’s Triangle or the Devil’s Sea is somewhere close on that list. For years it has perplexed marine experts and instilled fear in the hearts of seafarers as several vessels have gone missing along with reports of abandoned ghost vessels drifting away.
None of the incidents have been explained with sufficient proof and naturally, the legend has grown stronger with each accident. The paranormal activities that have contributed to the notoriety of the Dragon’s Triangle are quite similar to those of the Bermuda Triangle.
Also, it is positioned opposite the Bermuda Triangle and is hence called the Pacific Bermuda Triangle. Even if you are hearing the name for the first time it has been present for centuries, weaving its web of mystery that gets thicker with every disappearing ship. It is said that the waters of this area are such that it has the capacity to make the strongest of ships along with the crew vanish, never to be heard of again. Thus, it has gotten into the news various times in the last decade building quite a reputation for itself.
The Japanese word for an area like this if translated in English means dangerous sea, treacherous sea, or evil sea. It is also one of the Twelve Vile Vortices of the world. these are the regions where the electromagnetic field of the Earth is the strongest and the most paranormal activities or disappearances have taken place.
It is quite similar to the more popular Bermuda triangle which lies in the Atlantic Ocean. The devil’s triangle is one of the most mysterious places on the entire Earth. It is also one of the most famous mysteries in history.
The name of the area as the dragon’s triangle comes from a Chinese myth that says that dragons exist below the surface of the water and attack the ships and their crews to satisfy their hunger. This myth has been in existence since 1000 BC. These dragons supposedly attacked the ships and boats that sailed on the surface and devoured the seafarers, hence the name Dragon’s Triangle.
Location
The devil’s triangle is located in a region of the Pacific ocean that lies south of Tokyo. It lies between Japan and the Islands of Bolin and even consists of a major portion of the Philippine Sea. It is also one of the Twelve Vile Vortices.
The 12 vile vortices are geographic areas arranged in a pattern around the globe. They are the major sites of unexplained and mysterious disappearances at sea and must be avoided at all cost according to many. These are actually the areas of the strongest electromagnetic waves on earth.
Some of these reports suggest its presence 110 km away from the eastern coast of Japan. Another report states that it is located near the Japanese Volcano Island Iwo Jima, which is situated around 1,200 km from the Japanese coast. The exact perimeters of the region are not marked on the map. Hence it is difficult to tell its exact location. But it is assumed to be located several hundred kilometers south of Tokyo around the Miyake, a Japanese island.
The triangle is located around Miyake. It is a Japanese island which lies nearly a hundred kilometer south of Tokyo that is the capital of Japan. The exact coordinates of the triangle are not known and hence the exact coordinates of Miyake also not clear. We do not know the exact size or perimeter of the region and it is not even included on the map!
Devil’s Sea: Origin of the Myth
According to the Chinese fable’s dragons lived below the surface of the water. These dragons supposedly attacked the ships and boats that sailed on the surface and devoured the seafarers, hence the name Dragon’s Triangle. These stories date back to 1000 BC and since then they have had a considerable influence on the various unexplained incidents and the resultant legends and myths and would probably continue to do so for upcoming centuries.
As mentioned, previous in the Japanese language it is called “Ma-No Umi” which translates to Sea of the Devil. The name was originally given by countrymen ages ago with the growth of the popularity in the stories of superstition and unexplained accidents at the sea. Since then the Japanese had been afraid of sailing this notorious part of the ocean.
Some Incidents of Disappearances
Several incidents of disappearances of aircraft and ships have taken place over this region. Some of them have been discussed below.
Kublai Khan’s Attack On Japan
It is believed that Kublai Khan, the fifth great Khan of the Mongol empire tried to enter Japan twice in 1274 and 1281. However, he failed to invade the country in both of these attempts and even lost as many as 40,000 crew members and several vessels in this very area.
Some people say that it was because of the typhoons or cyclones taking place here. The Japanese people believed that God saved their land from being invaded by the enemies and started believing in this legend even more. Archaeologists later found the remains of Kublai Khan’s fleet in the same area. This was one of the earliest incidents of disappearances in this area.
Mysterious Lady On A Ship
There is a story that during the early 19th centuries a woman was seen to be sailing a vessel on the waters of the Devil’s Sea. The vessel bore a resemblance to the traditional equipment that the Japanese use for burning incense. But where the vessel was headed and who the lady was is still unknown.
Many such incidents took place in the 1940s and 1950s. Several fishing vessels, as well as five military vessels, went missing. All of these are believed to have disappeared around the area between Miyake Island and Iwo Jima.
The Lost Research Vessel
Japan also sent a research vessel to find out about what happened to the missing vessels. However, the research vessel also mysteriously disappeared in the same area in 1952. It had 31 crew members on board. Later on, the remains of the research ship were found but there was no trace of any of the crew members. As a result, the government of Japan declared this area as too dangerous for voyaging or transporting goods.
Possible Explanations
The Chinese and the Japanese people have their myths about explaining the mysterious disappearances of ships in The Devil’s sea. Other than this that have also been several scientific explanations of theories trying to explain the mystery.
Marine specialist and scientists are trying their best to clear the superstition associated with the Devil’s Sea with possible scientific explanations. However, since verification requires proof of which they have none, they have not been too successful so far. Various attempts have been made to dig out the true reason behind paranormal activities at the Devil’s Triangle but in vain.
1) Vile Vortices (Hot and Current Sea Currents)
Some scholars suggest that the mysterious disappearances in this area are caused due to the hot and cold ocean currents in the region. This current creates electromagnetic disturbances which in turn trap the ships that are passing by.
Ivan Sanderson, a scholar, believes that there is an interplay between the hot and cold current in this area. There are certain areas in the world where the electromagnetic pull of the earth is greater than in the rest of the world. Such places are known as Vile Vortices. One such region is the Devil’s Sea. The mentioned currents cause a disbalance in the electromagnetic force there which causes the ships sailing through the region to get trapped.
2) Underwater Volcanoes
Another theory suggests that there are several underwater volcanoes present in this region. The volcanic eruptions could have been responsible for the disappearance is of the vessels. Researchers support this theory by saying that these volcanic disturbances and other seismic activities in the region could also be responsible for the sudden disappearances and appearances of small islands nearby.
3) Methane Hydrate (Methane Ice)
Some researchers also claim that the mysterious activities could be caused as a result of environmental phenomena. They claim that there is methane ice on the bed of the Devil’s Sea. These are clathrate compounds that are sometimes found on the ocean beds generally formed due to the migration of gas from the depths of geological faults. These cause a possible anomaly in the region. When the hydrate gas (methane ice) explodes bubbles are formed on the surface of the water. Along with that, it disturbs the buoyancy and consequentially destroys the vessel leaving no sign of the vessel.
4) Evil Sea
In 1989, an American writer named Charles Berlitz wrote a book about this region called The Dragon’s Triangle which included very detailed research that had been carried out about it. He said that the disappearances of the five military vessels in the 20th century has caused the deaths of more than 700 people and that it was because of the evil nature of the sea.
In this book, he also says that the government-funded a team of 100 scientists to study the Devil’s Sea. The study was aborted when their vessel Kaiyo Maru No. 5 disappeared.
In 1995 another author named Larry Kusche wrote a book about the Bermuda Triangle which challenged Charles Berlitz’s theories. He argued that the vessels that went missing were only fishing vessels and only had 31 crew members on board.
The Japanese government later found the wreckage of the ship too. He wrote his findings in his book The Bermuda Triangle Mystery Solved which came out in 1995. His findings absolutely nullified Berlitz’s claims. According to Kusche, the ship got wrecked due to an undersea volcano and as the wreckage suggests, did not disappear entirely.
These were natural causes and cannot obviously be classified as ‘paranormal’ activity. Moreover, this region is known to be prone to volcanic activities and as mentioned earlier here islands form and disappear every now and then.
Regions like the Bermuda Triangle and the Pacific Bermuda Triangle show that there are places on this planet that present incidents that a most scientific mind finds it difficult to wrap his head around. They are beyond mortal control and better left alone and avoided for one’s own safety.
Despite the many theories that exist that try to explain the mysteries behind the Pacific Bermuda Triangle, the legend still remains a legend and the mystery still remains a mystery. We do not know for sure what happens to the ships that passed through it.
For now, we can only give the theory that we think can explain it. In the future, we may be able to solve this mystery along with the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle.
