Posthuman Blues

Return of the giant jellyfish

To the delight of divers, and to the chagrin of fishermen, the swarms of giant Echizen kurage jellyfish (Nomura's jellyfish) that invade the coast of the Sea of Japan each autumn are back.

These photos were taken 5 meters underwater just offshore from the coastal town of Echizen in Fukui prefecture, where the jellyfish mobs began to arrive about a month later than normal.

I guess I always harbored vague suspicions that photos of Echizen kurage were nifty Photoshop forgeries. Boy, was I wrong.