Deep-Sea Divers Are Flocking To Japan's Atlantis
One day when Kihachiro Aratake dived beneath the waves just off the shore of the Japanese island of Yonaguni, he must have had no idea what fate had in store for him. By his own admission, the scuba instructor had simply been looking for a new area to take clients. Instead, he stumbled across something in the murky depths that would become an enduring mystery to the entire world. It begged an intriguing question: had he unwittingly unearthed Japan’s answer to The Lost City of Atlantis?
Mystery lies at Yonaguni Island’s eastern point
Aratake’s discovery came way back in 1987 while he was working as the Yonaguni-Cho Tourism Association’s director. He knew he had to come up with new underwater locations for guests to explore.
After all, tourism was both his livelihood and a vitally important element of the island’s economy. So with this aim in mind, he began systematically charting new territory. But when he reached the eastern extremity of the island he found something truly stunning.
An astonishing find
Lecturer John West’s “Diving For Lemuria” essay detailed Aratake’s find. He revealed the shocked diver had found himself looking at “an astonishing rock formation that, in his own words, took his breath away.
“An underwater cliff-face cut into a series of immense geometric terraces, with broad, flat horizontal surfaces, and sheer vertical stone risers.” Amazingly, despite the rational side of his brain insisting otherwise, Aratake couldn’t help thinking the formation looked manmade.
A Japanese Atlantis?
As West theorized, the formation — which resembled an enormous pyramid — “might have served as a grandstand for the retinue of whoever the Japanese equivalent of Poseidon may be. A place where gods convened to watch titanic underwater spectaculars.”
Crazy as it might sound, this isn’t as outlandish a claim as it seems. In fact, lots of commentators have asserted that the formation may be the sunken ruins of Mu, a mythical ancient Pacific civilization!
Dr. Kimura enters the picture
Over subsequent years, the formation became known as the “Yonaguni Monument,” and it attracted the attention of marine geologist Dr. Masaaki Kimura. He plied his trade at the University of Ryukyus’ Department of Physics and Earth Sciences in Okinawa.
The scientist’s biggest fascination, though, was the notion of ancient civilizations being swallowed up by the ocean. He even wrote a book about Lemuria, one of these supposed Atlantis-esque cities.
A theory takes hold
Not unnaturally, therefore, Dr. Kimura became utterly convinced that the monument was part of the remains of an ancient city. He has been exploring the site — and the surrounding area — on dives since the early ’90.
To date, nothing he has found has yet dissuaded him. In fact, every time Dr. Kimura swims amongst the strange, otherworldly ruins, seemingly his commitment to his theory only strengthens.
A guided tour of the monument
But what do the ruins look like up close and personal? Well, inspired by Aratake and Dr. Kimura’s stories of a Japanese Atlantis, Honey Travel’s Deborah Dickson-Smith took the dive 10 meters below the surface to have a look for herself.
She described swimming into the monument in a blow-by-blow account which began with her gliding through a tight tunnel-like feature, which opened out into a very large, very flat square.
The formation gets stranger
From there, Dickson-Smith described laying eyes on two enormous columns which seemed to climb upwards so far that almost reached the surface of the water. She claimed they feature squared-off edges.
This of course, would be highly unusual for any rock formation created naturally. Moving around the columns, she then swam past what looked like walls, before finding herself at what, for all intents and purposes, resembled a stage.
Taking the stage
The intrigued diver wrote, “There are large steps leading up to the stage, and more steps leading on to higher levels of the structure.” She added, “At the edge of the stage, the walls drop down steeply to a depth of around 45 feet.”
With a bit of dramatic license, Dickson-Smith then claimed, “You can just imagine crowds standing below, looking up at some kind of spectacle.” It seems she found herself subscribing to Dr. Kimura’s theory!
It “must be manmade”
In the article, Dickson-Smith revealed it had been the apparent flight of stairs which had truly begun to sell her on Dr. Kimura’s claim. She wrote, “I think it’s when I see the steps that it strikes me the monument simply must be manmade .
She went on, “Each…[were] the same height and width as each other, with sharp 90 degree angles.” The steps and the stage aren’t the only unusual aspects of the monument, though: there’s also the “chapel!”
Going to the chapel
You see, the formation sports a deep alcove which is shaped like a triangle, and appears to be oriented to face exactly due north. Even more unusually, a heavy slab of rock is seemingly strategically placed at the top.
To Aratake’s son Shorty — who acted as Dickson-Smith’s scuba guide — the slab looks suspiciously like an altar. Perhaps this is where ancient beings may have been sacrificed to the gods?
Turtle god
Speaking of gods, Dickson-Smith also witnessed a symmetrical structure which she — and many others — believe looks very much like an enormous turtle or tortoise.
Is there a chance this is a representation of some culturally important creature an ancient civilization worshipped like a god? Interestingly, Dr. Kimura weighed in on this very topic during an interview with The Morien Institute.
Dr. Kimura doesn’t really buy into this
The institute’s representative asked Dr. Kimura whether the supposed tortoise structure could have been inspired by “Urashima Taro,” a well-known Okinawan fable. The academic, though, flatly responded, “I don’t know the direct connection!”
For what it’s worth, though, the fable told of “the kind fisherman who rescued a young turtle from tormentors and set it free in the sea.” After that, the story goes, to reward his kindness he was visited by a “giant turtle” who offered him a ride through a magical marine kingdom.
Dr. Kimura vs Dr. Schoch
To Dr. Kimura, the best indicator of the monument being manmade is its sheer size and intricacy. He told a science conference in 2007, “The largest structure looks like a complicated, monolithic, stepped pyramid that rises from a depth of 25 meters.”
His critics, though — including Boston University professor Dr. Robert Schoch — think he’s over-reaching. In fact, Dr. Schoch told National Geographic magazine, “I’m not convinced that any of the major features or structures are manmade steps or terraces, but that they’re all natural.”
The appliance of science
Dr. Schoch has also explored the site on several dives, so he has been up close and personal to the monument. To illustrate his point that it’s simply a naturally occurring rock formation, he turned to science.
He claimed, “It’s basic geology and classic stratigraphy for sandstones, which tend to break along planes and give you these very straight edges, particularly in an area with lots of faults and tectonic activity.”
Dr. Kimura sticks to his guns
To his credit, Dr. Kimura did admit that, when he’d first heard the story of a potential Atlantis lying beneath the Japanese waves, he had also been skeptical. But that changed when he actually laid his eyes on the monument.
Seeing the site at first hand had completely blown his mind: he insisted, “I think it’s very difficult to explain away their origin as being purely natural, because of the vast amount of evidence of man’s influence on the structures.”
Carvings in the rocks
Fascinatingly, Dr. Kimura claims the monument actually features carvings in the stone — of faces and other basic figures — as well as animal likenesses sculpted from rocks.
This belief has helped cement his theory that it is one of the last remnants of a city sunk beneath the waves thousands of years ago by an event similar to the Yonaguni Jima tsunami of 1771. Not-so-fun fact: this was the biggest tsunami ever recorded in world history.
Asian in origin
Dr. Kimura is also confident the images carved into the underwater monument are Asian in origin. He suggested, “The characters and animal monuments in the water, which I have been able to partially recover in my laboratory, suggest the culture comes from the Asian continent.”
He elaborated further on this idea, adding, “One example I have described as an underwater sphinx resembles a Chinese or ancient Okinawan king.”
The monument isn’t all Dr. Kimura found
On top of this, Dr. Kimura is adamant that the monument isn’t the only thing he has found in that particular area of the briny deep. He claims to have also discovered five temples, the crumbling remains of a castle, a stadium, and a triumphal arch.
Not only that, but the geologist says they’re interconnected by a road system, complete with waterways, and the entire complex is protected by huge walls!
The city
Obviously, all of these things — assuming they are what Dr. Kimura thinks they are — add up to the remnants of an ancient city. Of course, the passionate geologist has completed his due diligence in order to back up his outlandish claim.
He was confident the city is around 5,000 years old, he said, because he has studied the stalactites he'd found within caves located throughout the “city.”
More research is needed
Unfortunately, though, Dr. Kimura hasn’t been able to find a smoking gun which categorically proves his theory — even if he does have another promising lead.
He revealed, “Pottery and wood do not last on the bottom of the ocean, but we are interested in further research on a relief at the site that is apparently painted and resembles a cow. We want to determine the makeup of the paint. I would also like to carry out subsurface research.”
Other experts back up Dr. Kimura’s claims
In total, the enormous “city” complex covers an area of around 300 meters by 150 meters: that’s the equivalent of roughly nine football fields laid side-by-side in an oblong.
That’s a huge area to navigate, but that’s exactly what seismology professor Dr. Toru Ouchi did when he wanted to see if Dr. Kimura’s theories stood up to scrutiny. His verdict? The good doctor might be on to something!
Dr. Ouchi vs Dr. Schoch
“I’ve dived there as well and touched the pyramid,” Dr. Ouchi revealed. “What Professor Kimura says is not exaggerated at all. It’s easy to tell that those relics were not caused by earthquakes.”
Naturally, Dr. Schoch would beg to differ with both Dr. Kimura and Dr. Ouchi, though. Returning to rain on their parade, he claimed there was a perfectly rational explanation for everything.
Underwater eddies
“The first time I dived there, I knew it was not artificial,” stated Dr. Schoch. What made him so sure, though? What about the holes in the monument, which Dr. Kimura claimed were from support posts used during construction?
Dr. Schoch was having none of it. He told National Geographic the holes were more likely caused by underwater “eddies.” These are types of whirlpools which wear away stone over time by sheer repetitive, swirling force.
Right or wrong angles
Dr. Kimura’s supporters might then be inclined to ask about the perfectly straight stone steps of the monument. As Dickson-Smith contended, those had to be manmade, because no natural tectonic activity would result in a perfect right angle.
Well, for starters, Dr. Schoch debated whether the steps even were as perfect as pictures made them appear! He claimed, “It’s not as regular as many people claim, and the right angles and symmetry don’t add up in many places.”
Dr. Schoch doesn’t see what Dr. Kimura sees
As for the supposed carvings of faces and rock formations that look like animals, Dr. Schoch was in no mood to entertain the idea.
He scoffed, “Professor Kimura says he has seen some kind of writing or images, but they are just scratches on a rock that are natural. He interprets them as being manmade, but I don’t know where he’s coming from.”
Refusing to be deterred
As previously mentioned, though, Dr. Kimura is a man of steadfast belief, and he refuses to be discouraged from his theory by its critics.
He stated, “The best way to get a definitive answer about their origins is to keep going back and collecting more evidence.” He then reiterated, “If I’d not had a chance to see these structures for myself, I might be skeptical as well.”
Finding common ground
Now, considering Dr. Kimura and Dr. Schoch are the two premier scientific names associated with “Japan’s Atlantis” and they have diametrically opposed viewpoints, it may surprise you to find out they weren’t always so far apart.
In fact, in a 1999 article from Spanish magazine Más Allá de la Ciencia — published eight years before the National Geographic piece — they actually found a lot of common ground. Allow us to explain!
Meeting face-to-face
Dr. Schoch wrote, “During my trips to Japan I have had the opportunity to visit with Dr. Kimura several times, both on site in Yonaguni and in his office in Okinawa. Based on his research, Dr. Kimura has espoused the view that the Yonaguni Monument is, on the whole, an artificial structure.”
He continued, “If this is the case, then the Yonaguni Monument appears to bear testimony to a previously unknown, yet very early and highly sophisticated civilization.”
Living bedrock
“During my own research on the Yonaguni Monument,” Dr. Schoch continued, “one of the first things I found is that the structure is, as far as I could determine, composed entirely of solid ’living’ bedrock. No part of the monument is constructed of separate blocks of rock that have been placed into position.”
Dr. Schoch explained, “This is an important point, for carved and arranged rock blocks would definitively indicate a manmade origin for the structure — yet I could find no such evidence.”
Giving a false impression
Dr. Schoch continued, “I was unable to determine… the stone of which the Yonaguni Monument is composed. This was due to the fact that the surfaces of the rocks are covered by various organisms — algae, corals, sponges, and so forth — that obscure the actual surfaces.”
Indeed, Dr. Schoch believed, “this coating of organic material tends to make the surfaces of the Yonaguni Monument appear more regular and homogeneous than they actually are.”
Natural wave and tidal action
Dr. Schoch went on to explain that he believed “natural wave and tidal action is responsible for eroding and removing the sandstones in such a way that very regular step-like and terrace-like structures remain.”
Added to this, the more Dr. Schoch compared the natural erosion of coastal rocks in the area with the monument, the more convinced he became of its natural origin. At this point, then, he’s basically saying what he said to National Geographic — simply in more detail.
Terraformed
Here’s where it gets interesting, though. Dr. Schoch revealed that Dr. Kimura had put forth the idea that only some of the monument’s features are “manmade or were modified by humans.”
He added, “Most recently Dr. Kimura has been referring to the Yonaguni Monument and related structures as being terraformed: that is natural geological features that have been manipulated or modified by human hands.” Wait, what?
Dr. Schoch backs down slightly
This idea — that the entire site may have naturally formed but was then added to by ancient humans — is actually something Dr. Schoch can get behind.
He even admitted he hadn’t been on anywhere near as many dives as Dr. Kimura, so therefore only had a short time to search for cast-iron evidence of human manipulation. He added, “Just because I did not find it, does not mean it does not exist.”
Willing to consider the possibility
Dr. Schoch claimed it was sensible to “consider the possibility that the Yonaguni Monument is fundamentally a natural structure that was utilized, enhanced, and modified by humans in ancient times.”
He added that it “may even have been a quarry from which blocks were cut, utilizing natural bedding, joint, and fracture planes of the rock, and thence removed for the purpose of constructing other structures which are long since gone.”
Fitting within tradition
Dr. Schoch believed this idea would actually fit nicely within traditions of the area. He wrote, “On Yonaguni Island… there appears to be an ancient tradition of modifying, enhancing, and improving on nature.”
He explained, “Scattered over the island are apparently very ancient… obviously human-carved, stone ’vessels.’ These are composed of local rock, and clearly were neither made nor transported to the island in modern… times.”
More possibilities for the monument’s origins
Finally, Dr. Schoch claimed, “Beautifully crafted ancient stone tools have been found that could have been used to both shape some of the stone vessels… as well as to modify the Yonaguni Monument.”
He added, “It may have been reshaped to serve as foundation for stone, timber, or mud buildings that have since been destroyed. Or it may have even served as some form of boat dock for an early seafaring people.”
Is it an historical site?
In closing, then, perhaps Dr. Kimura and Dr. Schoch aren’t quite as far apart in their thinking as it might initially appear. What they definitely agree on, though, is that the Yonaguni Monument is a genuine historical artifact.
As such, they feel it should be treated with the requisite care and reverence it deserves. Much to their chagrin, though, Okinawa Prefecture — as well as the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs — does not agree.
An issue of political optics
Many believe that, until a definitive answer emerges about the origins of the monument, the government will never officially declare it a cultural site. Yet the reason behind this may also be much more political in nature.
You see, Yonaguni is very close to Taiwan, which doesn’t have a great relationship with China, which in turn is at odds with Japan. If one of those countries made a move regarding the monument, it could potentially become a political hot potato.
An enduring mystery
All in all, it remains to be seen whether any official answers ever reveal themselves regarding the monument. But until then it will remain as popular a tourist spot as it always has been ever since Aratake discovered it more than 40 years ago.
After all, who doesn’t love a mystery? Especially when that enigma happened to be located in idyllic 27-degree waters with crystal-clear visibility, beautiful coral reefs, and fascinating marine lifeforms swimming all around?