Source Junichi Yaoi (June 2006). Yaoi Junichi no UFO Taizen (Junichi Yaoi’s Complete UFO Collection), 254-256, Lyonsha.
This is a true story of nine Japanese boys who captured a small UFO about 50 years ago.
Strange Phenomena Shown to the Boys by the Small UFO Captured in the Kera Incident
In my previous article, I introduced the story of nine Japanese boys who captured a mysterious small UFO in 1972 in Kera, Kochi City and recorded detailed sketches and measurements of it.
But later, this small UFO showed the boys a series of mysterious phenomena that could not be explained scientifically.
In this article, I would like to introduce how this small UFO showed a number of strange phenomena to the boys.
They have fallen into the gross but common error of confounding the unusual with the abstruse.
But it is by these deviations from the plane of the ordinary, that reason feels its way, if at all, in its search for the true.
In investigations such as we are now pursuing, it should not be so much asked ‘what has occurred,’ as ‘what has occurred that has never occurred before.’
C. Auguste Dupin
Attempt to disassemble the small UFO
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
The nine curious boys who captured the small UFO accurately measured its weight and size and left numerous sketches, but of course, they were not satisfied with just that.
So they decided to try to disassemble the small UFO in order to find out its true identity.
First, the boys tried to pry the square lid off with a screwdriver and iron leverage, but no matter how hard they tried, they could not open the lid.
They also tried hitting the object as hard as they could with a hammer, but it didn’t dent or even get a scratch.
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
Furthermore, the boys tried to saw off part of the thin edge of the object to analyze it, but no matter how hard they tried, they could not cut the edge off.
They even tried scorching it over a fire.
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
One of the boys had even tried to put the object in the microwave.
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
However, his mother scolded him harshly.
If you do that, we won’t be able to eat (microwaved) food anymore!
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
So, he gave up on putting the object in the microwave.
By the way, when they looked through the holes in the square lid with a magnifying glass, it appeared like the inside of a radio, filled with various parts.
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
And one of the boys inserted a nail into one of those holes and hit it but the nail bent, and the hole widened a bit.
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
Furthermore, when the boys lifted the object and shook it, they heard a clattering sound inside.
However, the object had no parts like nuts and bolts at all, so they had no way to disassemble it.
The Small UFO Suddenly Disappeared Without a Trace
That night, Hiroshi put the object in a plastic bag, put it inside a knapsack, and tied the mouth of the knapsack tightly with a string to prevent the object from escaping from inside.
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
However, when Hiroshi woke up the next morning and checked the knapsack, he found that the object had disappeared out of nowhere!
Hiroshi was surprised and reported to his fellow boys that the object had disappeared.
So, that night, the boys went to the rice field again, and somehow the object was there!
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
And the boys captured it again.
They shook the object, but somehow, this time, no sound was heard inside.
The Boys Conducted Various Experiments on the Small UFO
Interestingly, the boys tried various experiments on the captured object.
For example, they tried to fill the inside of the object with water through multiple holes in the bottom of the object with a watering can.
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
However, the object did not show any reaction, so they got bored with the experiment and left the object alone.
Then, to their surprise, there was a sound like a buzz of a cicada, and the inside of the object began to glow!
According to the boys, the object was emitting a blue-white light from the bottom, flashing in a rather long cycle.
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
Also, something opaque and cottony appeared in the holes and they could not see inside the object.
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
So next, the boys tied an enameled wire through the holes and hung the object upside down from above a Kamoi, a wooden crosspiece as the upper frame of a sliding door that is installed to fit fusuma (sliding doors) and shoji (paper sliding doors) in Japanese rooms.
An example of hangers hanging from above a Kamoi in a Japanese room.
*The above image is for illustrative purposes only.
Then the square lid opened slightly at an angle of about 10 degrees and they could see what looked like radio parts packed inside!
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
However, when the boys rushed to the object to get a better look inside, this square lid slammed shut again quickly, and then they could not open it no matter what they tried.
Surprised by the unexpected discovery, they placed several layers of cushions on the object, and one of them climbed on top of the cushions to prevent the object from escaping.
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
Then Hiroshi left his brother Yasuo and Michio to watch over it and went off to inform their other friends.
The two remaining boys held the object with the cushions and kept watched over it while they reading comic books and waited.
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
However, even though the two boys were holding it down with the cushions and keeping an eye on it, the object disappeared without a trace!
A short time later, Hiroshi returned with Keikou, but the object was nowhere to be found.
So Keikou looked at Hiroshi and the other boys with suspicion.
Oh, I knew the UFO was nowhere!
No, I’m not lying!
The UFO was really there!
Yasuo and Michio must have hidden it somewhere while I was gone!
Hearing the reports of the two panicked boys, Yasuo and Michio, Hiroshi was dubious and accused them,
You are such liars!!!
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
But strangely enough, the boys later found the object again in an unexpected place.
A few hours after the object disappeared, Kei was playing volleyball in the yard of Mori’s house.
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
Then the ball rolled out of the yard, so he chased the ball to the road outside.
And he found the object near a ditch on the road just outside the yard of Mori’s house.
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
Kei brought the object back to the Mori brothers’ house, and the boys then argued over the object’s identity.
The boys could not for the life of them figure out how the object had disappeared.
Anyway, if it was going to disappear and reappear like a magic trick, it was more than they could handle.
So, just in case, Hiroshi painted the surface of the object’s brim with silver enamel, and Kiyomitsu marked the surface of the brim with oil-based ink.
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
This way, they thought, if the object disappeared again and appeared somewhere else, they would be able to quickly identify it as the one that disappeared.
The Mysterious Object That Appeared and Disappeared Over and Over Again
As they had expected, the object disappeared again and appeared in the rice field.
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
After that, every time the boys captured it, the object disappeared before they knew it, and this happened five or six times again.
However, no matter how many times they captured the object, the same mark that Kiyomitsu had made with an oil-based pen remained on the brim of the object, confirming that it was the same object.
One day, Hiroshi wrapped the object in a cloth, put it in his knapsack.
As he began to walk with the knapsack on his shoulder, he thought he heard a faint sound from the knapsack, so Hiroshi looked inside and found it empty!
According to the boys, every time they captured the object, they kept it in a knapsack.
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
But strangely enough, the object always disappeared from the knapsack.
On another day, Keikou put the object in a plastic bag, closed the mouth, put it in the knapsack, and kept watching the knapsack to see if the object would escape from inside.
Nevertheless, the knapsack was empty before he knew it!
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
Knowing that the object had disappeared from the knapsack without a trace, despite his constant vigilance, Keikou felt creepy and threw the knapsack on the street.
However, after a while, Toshiaki picked up the knapsack again and found the object inside!
On another day, Toshiaki had tied the object with an electric cord and placed it in an upstairs room and closed the windows tightly so that it could never escape.
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
However, when he returned to the room after a brief absence, the object had again disappeared.
Strangely enough, only the electric cord was left in the room, keeping the shape it had when it had bound the object.
He checked the windows of the room, but it was still closed.
Toshiaki had no idea how the object had disappeared from the closed room without untying or cutting the electric cord that was tied to it.
This happened several times, so the boys thought the object was creepy.
Also, one day, Toshiaki caught the object with the Mori brothers, put it in his knapsack, and brought it home.
According to Aiko Kuzuoka, Toshiaki’s mother, she saw a strange light flickering inside the knapsack!
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
The Boys Decided to Show the Adults the Small UFO
The boys were so puzzled by the mysterious object that they decided to show it to the adults for advice.
So Keikou brought the object back to his home to show it to his parents.
Source Junichi Yaoi (June 2006). Yaoi Junichi no UFO Taizen (Junichi Yaoi’s Complete UFO Collection), 254-256, Lyonsha.
His mother, however, did not take him seriously at all.
Hey! What are you going to do with such junk you picked up?
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
Mutsuo Fujimoto, Keikou’s father, was a teacher who served as the chief education officer at the Kochi City Science Center (according to Yaoi. According to Seki, he was a teacher at Kochi Nishi Senior High School).
When Keikou’s father tried hitting the object with a paperweight, it made a metallic sound like hitting brass.
But he also refused to believe his son.
This is a casting used to make tobacco trays!
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
In this way, no matter how much the boys insisted that the object was a small UFO, the adults did not take them seriously, assuming that it was a kids’ prank.
The Boys Took the Small UFO on a City Tour
When they captured the object for the fourth time, the boys felt an affinity for it, as if it were their pet.
One day, the boys decided to go to Kochi City for shopping.
Kochi City as seen from Godaisan Observatory
At that time, they thought,
Let’s give this UFO a tour of Kochi City!
So, they put the object in a knapsack and took it on a bicycle tour around the city.
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
The boys filled a plastic bag full of water, soaked the object in the water, tied the mouth of the plastic bag tightly around it with a wire, and put it in a knapsack.
As for the reason for putting the object in the water, the boys thought that the UFO might not like water because it never appeared on rainy days.
In other words, the boys thought that soaking the UFO in water would weaken it and prevent it from escaping from the knapsack.
However, as the boys were moving, the water in the plastic bag of the knapsack containing the object leaked out.
So, the boys decided to take turns carrying the knapsack.
As a result, their backs were soaked with water and they almost caught a cold.
After some shopping in Kochi City, the boys returned to Mori’s house.
Suddenly, the knapsack on the back of the boy who was carrying the object felt lighter.
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
Oh, no!
It’s getting away!!!
The boy hurriedly put down the knapsack to check inside, but sure enough, the object had disappeared!
Strangely enough, the knot of the knapsack and the wire used to tie the plastic bag were still intact, and only the object had disappeared from the knapsack.
However, a few days later, the boys found the missing object again, this time on the bank of the Kera River.
Again, they brought the object home and found that it had the markings that Hiroshi and Kiyomitsu had put on it.
It’s the same object!
The boys all looked at each other and felt creepy.
The Day the UFO Disappeared for the Last Time
On the night of September 22, 1972, when the boys captured the object in the rice field for the fifth time, they brought it to Ikuo’s house.
After discussing what to do with the object, the boys decided to go show it to their junior high school homeroom teacher, Ms. Junko Muraoka, a science teacher.
However, before showing it to the teacher, they decided to take the object to Ikuo’s house.
But there was a concern that the object might escape again.
So they first put the object in a plastic bag full of water, tied the mouth shut, and then put the bag in another plastic bag, that is, wrapped the object twice, and tied the mouth shut as well.
Then Yasuo tied the plastic bag containing the object tightly crosswise to his right hand with a plastic electrical cord.
In addition, Yasuo held the plastic bag, which was tied to his right hand, tightly with his left hand to prevent the object from escaping.
Then the boys rode three bicycles to Ikuo’s house.
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
Ikuo’s bike was at the front, Keikou’s was next, with Yasuo riding on the back of it, and Hiroshi’s was at the back.
The bicycle shop in Kera, near the place where the small UFO last disappeared.
Source Google Maps
After they departed Keikou’s house, Yasuo suddenly received a strong shock, as if his right hand was pulled strongly diagonally upward to the right.
It was as if the object had jumped out of the plastic bag that was tied to his right hand.
This caused Yasuo to lose his physical balance and fall off the back of the bicycle.
The place where the boys lost sight of the small UFO for the last time.
Source Google Maps
The boys rushed to check inside the plastic bag tied to Yasuo’s right hand, but the object had already disappeared!
Strangely enough, there were no tears on the two layers of plastic bags, and the cross knot of the electrical cord tied to Yasuo’s right hand was still intact.
The boys thought that the impact of the object breaking free from the plastic bag must have caused Yasuo to fall off the back of the bicycle.
After this incident, the small UFO never appeared in front of the boys again.
They continued to search for the object in rice fields and other places for about a month, but it was never found again.
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
The Local Adults Did Not Believe the Boys
The boys thought about reporting this strange incident to the police.
However, they did not report the incident to the police because they thought that adults would not believe their story of picking up a small UFO in a rice field and would call them liars and make fun of them.
In fact, they had even tried to talk to a middle school chemistry teacher about it, but he didn’t take them seriously.
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
The boys were not sure how much the adults who lived in the same area as them knew about the existence of this small UFO.
However, the fact that they had captured a small UFO, touched it with their hands, and measured its weight and size was a stern fact of life for the boys, so they had no idea what to make of this strange incident.
Nevertheless, the local adults didn’t believe them at all and even called them pranksters.
So, the nine boys were at a loss, feeling that everything was at a standstill.
*The above image is simulated for illustrative purposes only.
However, Lady Luck hadn’t abandoned the boys yet.
Published on May 20, 2021
Updated on May 26, 2021
Written by OTAKUPAPA
References:
- Tsutomu Seki (May 1973). Kera-mura ni Ochita Enban (The Flying Saucer That Fell on Kera Village), Michi no Hoshi Wo Motomete (Searching for Unknown Stars), 187-194, Sankei Shobo.
- Shinichiro Namiki, Kazuo Hayashi (Field Investigator) (April 1973).– JSPS Special Report–Soratobu Enban Ikedori Misui!! Kochi-shi Keramura de Okotta Kisou Tengaina Enban Soudou …… ??? (Attempted Live Capture of Flying Saucer! A Bizarre Flying Saucer Incident in Kera Village, Kochi City …… ???) Unidentified Flying Objects – Information and Research – Vol.1, No. 1, 48-50, Japan Space Phenomena Society (JSPS).
- Mokuyou Special Gendai no Kaiki Tuikyu Daisandan Utyujinwa Tikyuni Kite Iru!! (Thursday Special: Modern Weirdness, Pursuit #3: Aliens are Coming to Earth!!), Nippon Television Network Corporation, broadcast on October 10, 1974.
- Shusaku Endo (1976). Kera-Cho no Soratobu Enban (Flying Saucer in Kera Town), Boku ha Koukishin no Katamari (I Am a Curious Man), 36-44, Shinchosha.
- Junichi Yaoi (July 1978). Zenkoku UFO Mokugeki Tahatsu Chitai (UFO Sighting Zones in Japan), 272-277. Futami Shobo
- Ryoma Mulder (November 2002). Kochi Kogata UFO Hokaku Jiken Tenmatsu Report by Ryoma Mulder (Report on Capture of a Small UFO in Kochi by Ryoma Mulder), http://www.youneeds.com/xfiles/ufo/kela_ufo_catcher.htm
- Hiroshi Yamamoto, Kazuo Shimizu, and Ryutaro Minakami (July 2005). Tondemo UFO Nyumon (Introduction to Ridiculous UFO Cases and Researchers), Yosensha.
- Junichi Yaoi (June 2006). Yaoi Junichi no UFO Taizen (Junichi Yaoi’s Complete UFO Collection), 254-256, Lyonsha.
- Kenichi Nishimoto (May 2009). Kochi-ken Kera-Cho“UFO Hokaku Jiken” no Shogeki (The Impact of the “UFO Capture Incident” in Kera Town, Kochi Prefecture), Nihon “Kaiki” Taizen (The Complete Book of Japanese “Weirdness”), 239-253, Million Shuppan
- Shinichiro Namiki (Feburary 2010). Mikakunin Hikou Buttai UFO Taizen (The Complete Guide to Unidentified Flying Objects UFOs), 227-233, Gakken Plus.
- Shinichiro Namiki, Tanbo de Chugakusei ga Kogata Enban wo Hokaku Nazo no ‘Kera UFO Jikenno Ima wo Ou!! (Junior High School Students Captured a Small Flying Saucer in Rice Fields: Now Tracing the Mysterious ‘Kera UFO Incident!!’), MU Magazine, April 2014 issue, 172-177, Gakken.
- Kenji Sato, Radio Adventure, Kikai Isan (Odd World Heritage), NHK Radio 1, broadcast on May 3, 2016.
- MYSTERY PHOTONICLE (May 2016), 40-41, Digital Ultra Project
- Kozo Niwa, Kazuo Hayashi (June 2016). Nihon no Juyo UFO Jiken: Kochi Keramura UFO Hokaku Jiken (Important UFO Incident in Japan: Kochi Kera Village UFO Capture Incident), https://ameblo.jp/entry-12168532537.html
- Tatsuya Honjo, ASIOS (August 2017). UFO Jiken Chronicle (Chronicle of UFO Incidents), 138-145, Saizusha.
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