Mermaids are known as ningyo in Japanese, but they are very different from the mermaids of Western tradition. Unlike the mermaids of the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, ningyo from the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan are hideous to behold. Instead of seductive sirens, they are otherworldly nightmares. Ningyo are more fish than human. They can have anything from ugly, deformed fish-like faces, to entire human torsos with long, bony fingers and sharp claws. Ningyo range in size from a human child to a large seal.
