Skip to content
The Utsuro-Bune Incident episode artwork

Jul 23, 2025 5 min

The Utsuro-Bune Incident

from Forgotten Mysteries Hosted by Sarah Brown

This episode explores a mysterious event from 1803 Japan, where fishermen discovered a strange, round vessel—called the Utsuro-Bune—washed ashore with a foreign-looking woman inside. She spoke no Japanese, carried a guarded box, and soon vanished after locals sent her back to sea.Multiple historical documents from the Edo period recorded the incident, fueling centuries of debate. Was it early foreign contact, symbolic folklore, or even a proto-UFO encounter?Though the truth remains elusive, the story of the Utsuro-Bune lives on as one of Japan’s most fascinating and enduring unsolved mysteries.

Episode details come from the podcast's RSS feed.

Embed this episode

Ready to play

The Utsuro-Bune Incident

0:00 5:12

No transcript yet.

Requests help us decide what to transcribe next.

Frequently asked questions

How long is this episode of Forgotten Mysteries?

This episode is 5 minutes long.

When was this Forgotten Mysteries episode published?

This episode was published on July 23, 2025.

Can I download this Forgotten Mysteries episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.