Hi no Tama at Sea

A story for All Hallows’ Eve…

As noted in the 26 March 1904 issue of The Hawaiian Star, Japanese fishermen saw a hi no tama (ball of fire) at sea:

The Honolulu Advertiser printed a story (“Think They Saw a J** Ghost”) on the same day that contained more details.

Miki, Nakamura, and an unnamed gentleman were working on board a sampan off Waikīkī when they saw a “ball of fire, bluish in color and of great intensity” which “appeared suddenly at the Diamond Head side of the bay near J. B. Castle’s place.”

The ball of fire “oscillated and then shot forward in the direction of the harbor of Honolulu, just skimming the surface of the water.” As it picked up speed, it increased in size.

For about half a mile it shot along and then suddenly stopped at a place where the Japanese fishermen know a deep [fishing] hole exists. For an instant it hovered there and again took up its flight toward the city. About opposite Mr. Douglas’ beach home the ball again stopped over a place which is also said to be quite deep. For four or five minutes the ball, now grown to be about two feet in diameter and of great brilliancy, remained poised as if uncertain as to its next flight. Then it started for the shore, its size dwindling gradually as it neared the beach.

The men started to row back to shore as the ball headed out to sea and disappeared.

Chicken skin!

The backstory of the missing Japanese fisherman was covered in the article “A Sampan Tragedy?” in the 24 March 1904 issue of the Evening Bulletin.

The tug Fearless was waiting offshore to tow the ship Astral into the harbor when she came across a drifting sampan with no one aboard.

The sampan was found about fourteen miles in a south-southwesterly direction from the harbor. It was a small craft—what is commonly called a “one-man boat”. [sic] Its mast was standing and its contents just in the condition they would be for a fishing trip. In the boat was a small cooking apparatus, a supply of firewood, fishing lines and other gear, oars and tackle, and an old coat. From the bow of the boat was hanging an anchor with about twenty fathoms of line out.

Captain Olsen of the Fearless sent a crew member over to the sampan. Once on board, the sailor lowered the mast and tied a tow line to one of the boat’s thwarts.

It was Captain Olsen’s intention to tow the sampan into the harbor, but as he neared the Astral the thwart broke and the small craft went adrift again. As both the Astral and the bark Kaiulani were waiting for the Fearless to tow them in, Captain Olsen did not have time to bother further with the small boat.

Transcript:
THEY SAW A GHOST.
     Japanese fisherman [sic] say they saw the ghost of the missing fisherman whose sampan was found off the island last Thursday by the tug Fearless. The ghost took the form of a ball of fire. The “ghost” was seen last Tuesday night off Diamond Head in the vicinity of the J. B. Castle residence.