A Phantom Human-Faced Fish Survived in a Pond in Yamagata, Japan! Shocking photos!

The legendary carp that took the world by storm

Yamagata’s Zenhoji Temple is located in the south of the Shonai Plain, nestled in the mountains amidst thick foliage. It is one of the three major prayer halls of the Soto sect of Zen Buddhism, and is a famous temple dedicated to the dragon god.

It was a drizzly autumn weekend, and unfortunately, the sky was cloudy, so the temple was sparsely populated with worshippers. After entering the temple grounds, we headed for the pond behind the main hall (Kaibami-no-ike). As I walked along the edge of the pond for a while and peeked into the water, I noticed that carp were gathering at the sight of people. It was a humanoid fish with a different aura …… from the other Koi. The face of the fish looks just like the human face fish that once dominated the world. Is the “legendary carp” still alive?

Many of you may remember the “human-faced fish” craze that swept Japan in the summer of 1990, triggered by an article in this magazine. People rushed to the pond at the ancient temple of Zenhoji in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata, to catch a glimpse of the human-faced carp living there.

The boom at that time was tremendous. In a city with a population of 100,000 people, 10,000 people a day rushed to see the Koi, and the roads were jammed. At a souvenir shop in front of Zenhoji Temple, ‘manju’ (steamed buns with a human face and fish inside) sold like hotcakes,” said a staff member of the Tourism and Product Division of the Tsuruoka City Office.

Thirty-five years have passed since then. The mysterious fish that colored the Heisei era still lives today.

35-Year-Old Human-Face Fish is Alive!

A staff member of the Public Relations Office of Zenhoji Temple tells us.

The human-faced fish are still in the pond. Currently, there is one gold-colored and two silver-colored carp with a pattern that looks like a human face. The golden carp, in particular, is worth seeing because it is the same color as the one that was reported in the past. Whether it is the same Koi as the one from 35 years ago or its descendant, we do not know. However, I have not heard that the individual that was talked about in ’90 has died.

Koi are long-lived fish, and it is not unusual for them to live for more than 50 years. If that is the case, is it possible that the human-faced fish of that time has been around for a long time since then?

It would not be surprising if some of the individuals from that time are still alive,” he says.

Shigefumi Kanao, a curator at the Lake Biwa Museum and an expert on freshwater fish ecology, says, “It would not be surprising if individuals from that time are still alive.

The human-faced fish I once saw on TV looked to be about 70 cm long. In the right environment, it is conceivable that they could live for 35 years from there.

On the other hand, what about the possibility that the fish is a descendant of the human masked fish of that time? Kanao categorically denies this possibility.

He says, “In an environment where hybrids are mated, it is unlikely that a baby with the exact same pattern as its parents will be born. Even for Nishikigoi breeders, it is an extremely difficult task to select an individual with the desired pattern out of tens of thousands of eggs. If it is a different Koi from the one at that time, it would be natural to think that it grew up with a pattern like a face by chance.

If this is the case, there is a possibility that it is not a descendant but the human face fish that caused a sensation in 1990. ……

Why do “humanoid fish” appear only in this pond? The answer lies hidden in the history of belief at Zenhoji Temple.

There is a legend that Myodatsu Shonin met the Dragon God more than 1,000 years ago in this pond. There is a legend that says, “When a carp climbs a waterfall, it becomes a dragon,” and it is believed that the human-faced fish is a figure on the way to becoming a dragon, and has been cherished since ancient times.

On the banks of Kaigurei Pond, a gold-colored human-faced fish swims among the other carp. Is that face the first generation that knew the bustle of 35 years ago, or is it the newly emerged second generation? Moreover, is it the legendary dragon god himself? The mysterious figure quietly asks visitors a question.

From the October 17, 2025 issue of FRIDAY