1
00:00:02,870 --> 00:00:05,573
*

2
00:00:13,181 --> 00:00:15,683
Wow.

3
00:00:15,716 --> 00:00:20,421
It's gigantic.

4
00:00:20,454 --> 00:00:23,524
The rock itself is said
to weigh about 500 tons.

5
00:00:23,557 --> 00:00:25,526
Wow.

6
00:00:25,559 --> 00:00:28,396
You want to just
look down below here.

7
00:00:28,429 --> 00:00:31,499
GIORGIO A. TSOUKALOS:
That's amazing.

8
00:00:31,532 --> 00:00:32,500
It's hovering above the water.

9
00:00:34,668 --> 00:00:36,404
NIKKI TSUKAMOTO:
This monolith is said to be

10
00:00:36,437 --> 00:00:39,140
related to one of the first gods

11
00:00:39,173 --> 00:00:41,775
that descended
from the heavens to Japan,

12
00:00:41,809 --> 00:00:46,380
and he traveled over the country
on a sky ship

13
00:00:46,414 --> 00:00:48,549
made out of a giant rock.

14
00:00:48,582 --> 00:00:50,318
TSOUKALOS: So what you're
telling me is that there is

15
00:00:50,351 --> 00:00:53,221
a deity flying around in the sky

16
00:00:53,254 --> 00:00:57,358
with a gigantic vehicle
made of stone?

17
00:00:57,391 --> 00:00:59,127
(speaks Japanese)

18
00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:01,129
Absolutely.

19
00:01:01,162 --> 00:01:03,097
*

20
00:01:32,893 --> 00:01:35,763
NARRATOR:
Tokyo, Japan.

21
00:01:35,796 --> 00:01:39,167
May 2017.

22
00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:44,638
The University of Tokyo reveals
designs for electric vehicles

23
00:01:44,672 --> 00:01:48,642
that are able to charge while
driving on powered roadways,

24
00:01:48,676 --> 00:01:52,813
enabling the Japanese to travel
freely with unlimited mileage

25
00:01:52,846 --> 00:01:55,749
throughout the country.

26
00:01:55,783 --> 00:01:59,553
This same month,
the Japanese government,

27
00:01:59,587 --> 00:02:02,690
in cooperation
with private companies,

28
00:02:02,723 --> 00:02:05,693
unveils plans to unleash
a countrywide drone

29
00:02:05,726 --> 00:02:08,629
delivery system by 2020,

30
00:02:08,662 --> 00:02:13,301
with self-driving trucks
to follow in 2022.

31
00:02:13,334 --> 00:02:18,639
And Inami Hiyama Laboratory
brings to market

32
00:02:18,672 --> 00:02:22,610
a new prosthetic device
called MetaLimbs,

33
00:02:22,643 --> 00:02:27,481
a pair of wearable robotic arms
controlled by the legs and feet,

34
00:02:27,515 --> 00:02:31,719
giving the user two additional
hands to work with.

35
00:02:31,752 --> 00:02:34,922
These are just a few
of the scientific innovations

36
00:02:34,955 --> 00:02:38,426
introduced by the Japanese
in a single month.

37
00:02:38,459 --> 00:02:41,929
And they,
along with numerous others,

38
00:02:41,962 --> 00:02:45,633
have helped accelerate mankind's
technological advancement

39
00:02:45,666 --> 00:02:47,535
at a breathtaking pace.

40
00:02:47,568 --> 00:02:50,538
Yet, in the midst of this
cutting-edge technology

41
00:02:50,571 --> 00:02:55,209
are antiquated teahouses,
palaces

42
00:02:55,243 --> 00:02:58,446
and shrines dating back
thousands of years

43
00:02:58,479 --> 00:03:01,382
that create a stark contrast

44
00:03:01,415 --> 00:03:04,852
between the old and the new.

45
00:03:04,885 --> 00:03:07,588
Japan can be a puzzle
to a Westerner.

46
00:03:07,621 --> 00:03:09,523
On one hand,
you have this modern culture

47
00:03:09,557 --> 00:03:14,228
with trains that are going
250 miles hour.

48
00:03:14,262 --> 00:03:16,430
Robots can serve you
in the home,

49
00:03:16,464 --> 00:03:19,567
can help people
with handicaps walk.

50
00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:23,371
They can be a robotic pet.

51
00:03:23,404 --> 00:03:26,240
They have parking garages
in which the cars,

52
00:03:26,274 --> 00:03:27,575
uh, park themselves.

53
00:03:27,608 --> 00:03:30,644
So, Japan is always
on the cutting edge

54
00:03:30,678 --> 00:03:33,347
of technological development
and innovation.

55
00:03:33,381 --> 00:03:36,684
Yet, at the same time,
it cherishes and looks back

56
00:03:36,717 --> 00:03:39,253
at its age-old traditions,

57
00:03:39,287 --> 00:03:42,456
some of them going back
several millennia, in fact.

58
00:03:45,359 --> 00:03:46,827
NARRATOR:
While Japan is a nation

59
00:03:46,860 --> 00:03:48,862
where old world traditions

60
00:03:48,896 --> 00:03:51,899
and new world technology
collide,

61
00:03:51,932 --> 00:03:55,403
ancient astronaut theorists
suggest the two

62
00:03:55,436 --> 00:03:58,639
are not as disconnected
as they may seem

63
00:03:58,672 --> 00:04:02,009
and that the secrets
of ancient Japan

64
00:04:02,042 --> 00:04:06,614
help explain why they are at the
forefront of technology today,

65
00:04:06,647 --> 00:04:11,552
secrets that are connected
to extraterrestrial visitation.

66
00:04:18,659 --> 00:04:23,364
December 18, 2007.

67
00:04:23,397 --> 00:04:27,701
Ryuji Yamane of the
Democratic Party of Japan,

68
00:04:27,735 --> 00:04:30,671
under increasing pressure
from his constituents,

69
00:04:30,704 --> 00:04:33,341
publicly demands a response

70
00:04:33,374 --> 00:04:35,609
from the prime minister
and his cabinet

71
00:04:35,643 --> 00:04:39,880
to address the surge
of UFO activity over Japan,

72
00:04:39,913 --> 00:04:43,884
totaling more than 300
reported sightings per month.

73
00:04:45,719 --> 00:04:48,689
The cabinet's official statement

74
00:04:48,722 --> 00:04:51,492
is that it "has not confirmed
the existence

75
00:04:51,525 --> 00:04:55,663
of unidentified flying objects
from outer space."

76
00:04:55,696 --> 00:04:58,732
But within a few hours,
everything changes.

77
00:05:00,801 --> 00:05:03,036
Just hours after this meeting,

78
00:05:03,070 --> 00:05:06,540
the Chief Cabinet Secretary
Nobutaka Machimura

79
00:05:06,574 --> 00:05:08,576
announced on live television

80
00:05:08,609 --> 00:05:11,879
that regarding the question
of extraterrestrials,

81
00:05:11,912 --> 00:05:14,682
he definitely thinks they exist.

82
00:05:17,084 --> 00:05:22,556
Then, a week later, the Japanese
Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba

83
00:05:22,590 --> 00:05:25,759
revealed that he had been
carefully considering

84
00:05:25,793 --> 00:05:29,663
different response scenarios
for an alien invasion.

85
00:05:29,697 --> 00:05:31,899
And what he said is incredible.

86
00:05:31,932 --> 00:05:33,801
He said, and I quote,

87
00:05:33,834 --> 00:05:36,670
"There are no grounds
for us to deny

88
00:05:36,704 --> 00:05:39,807
"that there are
unidentified flying objects

89
00:05:39,840 --> 00:05:44,144
and some life forms
that controls them."

90
00:05:44,177 --> 00:05:48,516
Two years later,
the wife of the prime minister

91
00:05:48,549 --> 00:05:51,752
came out with an extraordinary
series of statements,

92
00:05:51,785 --> 00:05:56,724
in which she claimed that she
had been abducted by aliens,

93
00:05:56,757 --> 00:05:59,159
that she had traveled on a UFO.

94
00:05:59,192 --> 00:06:01,662
For the wife of the
prime minister to come out

95
00:06:01,695 --> 00:06:05,599
and make a statement like that
was absolutely unprecedented.

96
00:06:05,633 --> 00:06:09,670
I think the only reason
this isn't on the front page

97
00:06:09,703 --> 00:06:12,440
of every newspaper
in the world is that,

98
00:06:12,473 --> 00:06:15,042
certainly in the United States,
we do tend to be

99
00:06:15,075 --> 00:06:18,712
rather heavily focused on
English-speaking countries,

100
00:06:18,746 --> 00:06:23,150
and, indeed, very U.S.-centric
in our outlook.

101
00:06:23,183 --> 00:06:26,019
If the statements
being made in Japan

102
00:06:26,053 --> 00:06:28,456
were being made in America,

103
00:06:28,489 --> 00:06:31,892
it would be on every major
news network 24-7.

104
00:06:34,194 --> 00:06:37,965
NARRATOR:
Could these profound statements

105
00:06:37,998 --> 00:06:41,735
coming from top Japanese
government officials reveal

106
00:06:41,769 --> 00:06:44,738
that they have knowledge
of alien visitation?

107
00:06:44,772 --> 00:06:47,975
Ancient astronaut theorists
suggest

108
00:06:48,008 --> 00:06:51,579
evidence of alien contact
on these islands

109
00:06:51,612 --> 00:06:54,615
dates back thousands of years,

110
00:06:54,648 --> 00:06:58,519
and can be found within
the teachings of Shintoism.

111
00:06:58,552 --> 00:07:02,523
Shintoism is
the primary religion of Japan,

112
00:07:02,556 --> 00:07:06,627
with over 107 million followers,

113
00:07:06,660 --> 00:07:10,197
and is designed
around a set of ritual practices

114
00:07:10,230 --> 00:07:12,866
that connect present-day Japan

115
00:07:12,900 --> 00:07:16,470
to its ancient mystical past.

116
00:07:16,504 --> 00:07:19,473
At its center
are celestial beings

117
00:07:19,507 --> 00:07:21,809
that, according
to the Japanese people,

118
00:07:21,842 --> 00:07:24,812
still roam their islands
to this day.

119
00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:29,917
The term "Shinto" translates
as "the way of the kami,"

120
00:07:29,950 --> 00:07:32,119
or, uh, "the way of the gods."

121
00:07:32,152 --> 00:07:34,522
It's a tradition

122
00:07:34,555 --> 00:07:38,592
that has a millennia-long
history in Japan.

123
00:07:38,626 --> 00:07:40,628
There are
over eight million kamis,

124
00:07:40,661 --> 00:07:42,095
according
to the Shinto tradition,

125
00:07:42,129 --> 00:07:44,097
and each one of them has

126
00:07:44,131 --> 00:07:47,801
its own particular
personality traits, if you will.

127
00:07:47,835 --> 00:07:49,670
So, in that sense,
they are quite different

128
00:07:49,703 --> 00:07:52,139
from the notion
of monotheistic God that we have

129
00:07:52,172 --> 00:07:57,210
in traditions that are
most widespread in the West.

130
00:07:57,244 --> 00:07:59,146
The kami are
these celestial beings

131
00:07:59,179 --> 00:08:01,782
that are able
to inhabit basically anything,

132
00:08:01,815 --> 00:08:04,284
from a human being

133
00:08:04,317 --> 00:08:07,888
to an animal,
and even inanimate objects.

134
00:08:07,921 --> 00:08:12,292
So on the one hand, they're
these multi-dimensional beings,

135
00:08:12,325 --> 00:08:14,227
but then,
they also describe them

136
00:08:14,261 --> 00:08:18,231
as having come down from their
celestial palace in the sky,

137
00:08:18,265 --> 00:08:22,235
which is called Takamagahara.

138
00:08:22,269 --> 00:08:24,938
The celestial kami will come
into the terrestrial world,

139
00:08:24,972 --> 00:08:27,875
our world, and they need a home,

140
00:08:27,908 --> 00:08:31,211
so they have these major shrines
for these kami

141
00:08:31,244 --> 00:08:33,013
when they come into the world,

142
00:08:33,046 --> 00:08:37,551
so that they can feel at home
in the terrestrial world.

143
00:08:37,585 --> 00:08:42,289
The Japanese archipelago is
dotted with over 81,000 shrines

144
00:08:42,322 --> 00:08:44,658
that are devoted
to the kami gods,

145
00:08:44,692 --> 00:08:47,795
and it's believed
that these are houses or places

146
00:08:47,828 --> 00:08:50,564
where these extraterrestrial
beings come to live

147
00:08:50,598 --> 00:08:52,165
when they're on Earth.

148
00:08:52,199 --> 00:08:54,935
The Japanese people will visit
the shrines of the kami

149
00:08:54,968 --> 00:08:57,004
with the belief
that they are actually praying

150
00:08:57,037 --> 00:09:00,674
to an extraterrestrial being
who can fulfill their blessings.

151
00:09:03,110 --> 00:09:06,880
NARRATOR: If what Shinto
followers call "the kami"

152
00:09:06,914 --> 00:09:09,149
really are otherworldly beings

153
00:09:09,182 --> 00:09:12,620
that have been visiting Japan
since ancient times,

154
00:09:12,653 --> 00:09:17,825
are they still being encountered
today in the form of UFOs?

155
00:09:17,858 --> 00:09:20,694
Perhaps further clues
can be found

156
00:09:20,728 --> 00:09:23,931
by examining ancient
Japanese structures

157
00:09:23,964 --> 00:09:26,767
that defy explanation.

158
00:09:34,041 --> 00:09:38,679
WILLIAM HENRY: There are
thousands of these statuettes

159
00:09:38,712 --> 00:09:42,850
Near the modern-day city
of Osaka,

160
00:09:42,883 --> 00:09:45,218
Giorgio Tsoukalos meets

161
00:09:45,252 --> 00:09:49,089
with fellow ancient astronaut
theorist Takeharu Mikami

162
00:09:49,122 --> 00:09:52,860
to investigate one
of the oldest and holiest sites

163
00:09:52,893 --> 00:09:57,197
in the country--
the Ishi-no-Hoden megalith,

164
00:09:57,230 --> 00:10:00,067
a Shinto shrine said
to be inhabited

165
00:10:00,100 --> 00:10:03,003
by an otherworldly being.

166
00:10:03,036 --> 00:10:07,140
(speakinJapanese)

167
00:10:07,174 --> 00:10:10,043
TSOUKALOS:
Wow.

168
00:10:10,077 --> 00:10:12,179
It's gigantic.

169
00:10:12,212 --> 00:10:13,881
This is...

170
00:10:13,914 --> 00:10:15,148
I had no idea.

171
00:10:15,182 --> 00:10:17,718
I mean, it is massive.

172
00:10:17,751 --> 00:10:20,788
(speaking Japanese)

173
00:10:20,821 --> 00:10:23,757
TSUKAMOTO: The rock itself
is said to weigh about 500 tons.

174
00:10:23,791 --> 00:10:25,926
-500 tons?
-Yes.

175
00:10:25,959 --> 00:10:27,094
Wow!

176
00:10:28,962 --> 00:10:30,664
(Mikami speaking Japanese)

177
00:10:32,432 --> 00:10:35,402
TSUKAMOTO: This is said
to have the soul of a god,

178
00:10:35,435 --> 00:10:37,437
or kami, inside it.

179
00:10:37,470 --> 00:10:40,140
Okay, so to this day,

180
00:10:40,173 --> 00:10:43,243
this is the belief,
that some type of spirit

181
00:10:43,276 --> 00:10:45,212
lives in this,

182
00:10:45,245 --> 00:10:48,816
or that the rock itself
has spirit.

183
00:10:48,849 --> 00:10:50,250
(Mikami speaking Japanese)

184
00:10:50,283 --> 00:10:52,820
TSUKAMOTO:
The spirit of a god is inside,

185
00:10:52,853 --> 00:10:56,790
and the stone carries
a special spiritual meaning now.

186
00:10:56,824 --> 00:10:58,358
TSOUKALOS:
Okay. That's amazing.

187
00:10:58,391 --> 00:11:01,294
I want to...
I need to walk around.

188
00:11:03,263 --> 00:11:06,834
I mean, I had no idea
how massive this is.

189
00:11:08,235 --> 00:11:09,369
(Mikami speaks Japanese)

190
00:11:09,402 --> 00:11:11,705
(Tsoukalos speaks Japanese)

191
00:11:11,739 --> 00:11:14,107
So, do you want
to just look down below here?

192
00:11:14,141 --> 00:11:15,743
(Mikami speaking Japanese)

193
00:11:15,776 --> 00:11:18,111
TSUKAMOTO: It looks like
it's floating over the water.

194
00:11:18,145 --> 00:11:19,813
TSOUKALOS:
It really does.

195
00:11:19,847 --> 00:11:22,349
-Oh.
-(Mikami speaking Japanese)

196
00:11:22,382 --> 00:11:25,018
TSUKAMOTO: The name
for this rock is Ame-no-kishi,

197
00:11:25,052 --> 00:11:26,987
or the Floating Rock
from the Heavens.

198
00:11:27,020 --> 00:11:28,922
(speaking Japanese)

199
00:11:31,291 --> 00:11:33,393
TSUKAMOTO: So this monolith
is said to be related

200
00:11:33,426 --> 00:11:35,462
to one of the first gods

201
00:11:35,495 --> 00:11:38,131
that descended
from the heavens to Japan,

202
00:11:38,165 --> 00:11:42,135
and he is said to have traveled
over the country

203
00:11:42,169 --> 00:11:44,805
on a sky ship
made out of a giant rock,

204
00:11:44,838 --> 00:11:48,208
which was called Ama no Iwafune,

205
00:11:48,241 --> 00:11:51,211
which is
the Heavenly Rock Ship.

206
00:11:51,244 --> 00:11:53,113
So what you're telling me
is that there is

207
00:11:53,146 --> 00:11:56,416
an ancient Japanese legend
that speaks of a deity

208
00:11:56,449 --> 00:11:58,752
flying around in the sky

209
00:11:58,786 --> 00:12:02,923
with a gigantic vehicle
made of stone?

210
00:12:02,956 --> 00:12:05,058
-(speaks Japanese)
-Absolutely.

211
00:12:05,092 --> 00:12:06,526
(chuckles)
So, do you think

212
00:12:06,559 --> 00:12:10,030
that is the reason
why it was called

213
00:12:10,063 --> 00:12:15,002
a vehicle made of stone, because
it was so powerful and strong

214
00:12:15,035 --> 00:12:19,106
and virtually indestructible
that the story became

215
00:12:19,139 --> 00:12:21,208
it's a vehicle made of stone?

216
00:12:21,241 --> 00:12:24,044
(speaking Japanese)

217
00:12:24,077 --> 00:12:25,846
TSUKAMOTO:
You're absolutely right,

218
00:12:25,879 --> 00:12:27,347
because the gods were...

219
00:12:27,380 --> 00:12:30,784
flying over the land
on a giant ship.

220
00:12:30,818 --> 00:12:32,519
It wasn't a plane,
because it didn't have wings.

221
00:12:32,552 --> 00:12:33,987
It looked like a ship

222
00:12:34,021 --> 00:12:36,189
made out of very hard material

223
00:12:36,223 --> 00:12:38,992
that was like a very hard stone,

224
00:12:39,026 --> 00:12:42,963
and they would descend from the
heavens and down onto the land,

225
00:12:42,996 --> 00:12:45,465
and thus, they would travel
around the country.

226
00:12:45,498 --> 00:12:47,901
TSOUKALOS:
Another name for Ishi-no-Hoden

227
00:12:47,935 --> 00:12:49,469
is Floating Stone.

228
00:12:49,502 --> 00:12:51,504
So what did they mean by that?

229
00:12:51,538 --> 00:12:53,473
The way that this
is constructed here,

230
00:12:53,506 --> 00:12:56,176
it seems as if it's hovering.

231
00:12:56,209 --> 00:12:58,345
So did they perhaps try

232
00:12:58,378 --> 00:13:01,949
to recreate one of those
hovering or flying sky ships

233
00:13:01,982 --> 00:13:04,584
that they themselves witnessed?

234
00:13:04,617 --> 00:13:08,021
And what's so interesting to me
about this massive monolith

235
00:13:08,055 --> 00:13:10,123
is that there are
no apparent toolmarks

236
00:13:10,157 --> 00:13:13,894
to be found at any place
across the stone.

237
00:13:13,927 --> 00:13:17,865
How did ancient people possibly
quarry and form this rock

238
00:13:17,898 --> 00:13:21,468
to such exacting precision
without sophisticated tools?

239
00:13:23,303 --> 00:13:25,605
NARRATOR:
According to the Japanese,

240
00:13:25,638 --> 00:13:28,575
otherworldly beings
had been visiting their islands

241
00:13:28,608 --> 00:13:31,544
for over 12,000 years.

242
00:13:31,578 --> 00:13:33,947
The earliest culture
that we can identify in Japan

243
00:13:33,981 --> 00:13:35,582
is the Jomon,

244
00:13:35,615 --> 00:13:39,920
which is originally
a Stone Age culture

245
00:13:39,953 --> 00:13:44,858
running roughly
from 10,000 BCE to 300 BCE.

246
00:13:46,426 --> 00:13:49,529
It is a culture that we
don't know an awful lot about,

247
00:13:49,562 --> 00:13:51,164
because they had
no writing system.

248
00:13:51,198 --> 00:13:54,134
All we have is artifacts.

249
00:13:54,167 --> 00:13:56,870
DOMINIC STEAVU: The little that
we do know about the Jomon

250
00:13:56,904 --> 00:13:59,472
comes from
archaeological evidence.

251
00:13:59,506 --> 00:14:03,176
And... one of the most
representative, uh,

252
00:14:03,210 --> 00:14:06,113
artifacts that is tied
to the Jomon

253
00:14:06,146 --> 00:14:08,048
is the Dogu statue.

254
00:14:11,985 --> 00:14:15,522
NARRATOR: Approximately
15,000 Dogu figurines

255
00:14:15,555 --> 00:14:18,358
resembling strange,
humanoid beings

256
00:14:18,391 --> 00:14:22,329
have been found
throughout the Japanese islands.

257
00:14:22,362 --> 00:14:26,166
Ancient astronaut theorists
suggest these figurines

258
00:14:26,199 --> 00:14:30,303
represent the very kami
the Japanese believe descended

259
00:14:30,337 --> 00:14:33,673
to this world
in the ancient past.

260
00:14:33,706 --> 00:14:36,009
HENRY: There are thousands
of these statuettes

261
00:14:36,043 --> 00:14:38,311
that have been recovered,
and these figures have

262
00:14:38,345 --> 00:14:42,449
goggle-type eyes, and they
have rivets all over their body,

263
00:14:42,482 --> 00:14:45,185
indicating that they're wearing
some kind of a space suit

264
00:14:45,218 --> 00:14:46,954
or technological armor.

265
00:14:48,288 --> 00:14:50,958
DAVID CHILDRESS:
So you have to ask yourself,

266
00:14:50,991 --> 00:14:54,627
were these statues sky beings

267
00:14:54,661 --> 00:14:57,664
who came and directed
the Japanese

268
00:14:57,697 --> 00:15:02,235
to have their civilization and
culture, and that ultimately,

269
00:15:02,269 --> 00:15:04,637
these sky gods
are their ancestors?

270
00:15:07,207 --> 00:15:10,477
NARRATOR: Do the Dogu figures
represent extraterrestrials

271
00:15:10,510 --> 00:15:14,614
that visited Japan
thousands of years ago?

272
00:15:14,647 --> 00:15:17,250
And could they
have descended in a craft

273
00:15:17,284 --> 00:15:20,587
that resembled the monolith
called Ishi-no-Hoden,

274
00:15:20,620 --> 00:15:23,190
as ancient astronaut theorists
suggest?

275
00:15:25,758 --> 00:15:28,261
Perhaps further clues
can be found

276
00:15:28,295 --> 00:15:31,098
in Japan's official
historical texts,

277
00:15:31,131 --> 00:15:33,200
which describe the islands

278
00:15:33,233 --> 00:15:36,669
as inhabited
by otherworldly beings.

279
00:15:40,740 --> 00:15:43,176
Ise, Japan.

280
00:15:43,210 --> 00:15:46,346
In the center
of this remote coastal city

281
00:15:46,379 --> 00:15:51,351
is a massive complex
of 125 individual shrines

282
00:15:51,384 --> 00:15:54,487
erected 2,000 years ago,

283
00:15:54,521 --> 00:15:58,191
dedicated to the supreme goddess
of Shintoism--

284
00:15:58,225 --> 00:16:00,460
Amaterasu.

285
00:16:00,493 --> 00:16:02,529
THOMAS KASULIS:
When Amaterasu is residing

286
00:16:02,562 --> 00:16:06,499
in the terrestrial plane,
instead of the celestial plane,

287
00:16:06,533 --> 00:16:10,437
her home is
the Grand Shrine at Ise,

288
00:16:10,470 --> 00:16:12,672
which is built
without any nails,

289
00:16:12,705 --> 00:16:15,475
any metal fastenings whatsoever.

290
00:16:15,508 --> 00:16:19,412
It's also architecturally unlike
any other shrine in Japan.

291
00:16:21,148 --> 00:16:23,483
TSOUKALOS: Modern architects
still have difficulty

292
00:16:23,516 --> 00:16:26,319
comprehending
how this palace was built.

293
00:16:27,687 --> 00:16:31,158
It is the most important shrine
in Shintoism,

294
00:16:31,191 --> 00:16:34,727
and has been visited by hundreds
of millions of pilgrims

295
00:16:34,761 --> 00:16:36,696
over thousands of years.

296
00:16:36,729 --> 00:16:38,665
Now, allegedly,

297
00:16:38,698 --> 00:16:41,634
the shrine contains something
called the Sacred Mirror,

298
00:16:41,668 --> 00:16:45,038
one of Japan's
three most sacred artifacts,

299
00:16:45,072 --> 00:16:47,074
which are collectively known

300
00:16:47,107 --> 00:16:50,677
as the Imperial Regalia
of Japan.

301
00:16:50,710 --> 00:16:54,647
They were given by Amaterasu
to Emperor Jimmu,

302
00:16:54,681 --> 00:16:57,684
the first emperor of Japan.

303
00:16:57,717 --> 00:17:00,120
And they have only been seen

304
00:17:00,153 --> 00:17:02,755
by the emperors
and high priests of Japan.

305
00:17:02,789 --> 00:17:04,591
But what were they?

306
00:17:04,624 --> 00:17:07,627
And why is the public
not allowed to see them?

307
00:17:09,196 --> 00:17:11,498
If these are items
that are brought to Earth

308
00:17:11,531 --> 00:17:14,734
by celestial beings,
then by definition,

309
00:17:14,767 --> 00:17:18,471
that would make them
of extraterrestrial origin.

310
00:17:20,773 --> 00:17:24,477
NARRATOR: Is it possible
that the Ishi-no-Hoden megalith

311
00:17:24,511 --> 00:17:27,847
and the Ise Grand Shrine
are physical evidence

312
00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:32,785
of extraterrestrial visitations
in Japan's ancient past?

313
00:17:32,819 --> 00:17:36,389
And might the prime minister
of Japan and his cabinet

314
00:17:36,423 --> 00:17:38,425
still have connections

315
00:17:38,458 --> 00:17:41,528
to these same
otherworldly beings?

316
00:17:41,561 --> 00:17:43,830
Perhaps the answer can be found

317
00:17:43,863 --> 00:17:47,367
by more closely examining
Emperor Jimmu,

318
00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:49,736
and the stories
that he was guided

319
00:17:49,769 --> 00:17:52,539
by an intelligence
that spoke to him...

320
00:17:52,572 --> 00:18:00,813
from the sky.

321
00:18:00,847 --> 00:18:02,682
TSOUKALOS:
Why would they label a boat.

322
00:18:05,152 --> 00:18:07,620
In the middle
of this modern metropolis

323
00:18:07,654 --> 00:18:09,822
lies the Daisen Kofun,

324
00:18:09,856 --> 00:18:14,361
a tomb for one of Japan's
long line of divine emperors.

325
00:18:15,928 --> 00:18:20,567
Covering over 400,000
square meters, the Daisen Kofun

326
00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:24,571
is considered the largest tomb
by area in the world.

327
00:18:26,806 --> 00:18:30,277
There are more
than 160,000 kofun

328
00:18:30,310 --> 00:18:32,745
dotting
the Japanese archipelago,

329
00:18:32,779 --> 00:18:35,215
all of which contain the remains

330
00:18:35,248 --> 00:18:37,517
of emperors
or their royal families.

331
00:18:39,219 --> 00:18:43,156
STEAVU: There are burial mounds
throughout the world.

332
00:18:43,190 --> 00:18:46,793
However, there's one specific
shape that exists only in Japan,

333
00:18:46,826 --> 00:18:48,528
and this is the Keyhole Kofun.

334
00:18:50,730 --> 00:18:54,201
JASON MARTELL: Most of these
can only be seen from the sky.

335
00:18:55,802 --> 00:18:58,938
This raises the question as
to why emperors would be buried

336
00:18:58,971 --> 00:19:01,841
in such a way that they
are actually being memorialized

337
00:19:01,874 --> 00:19:03,676
and being seen from the sky.

338
00:19:05,345 --> 00:19:08,481
CHILDRESS: The Japanese
believed that the royal family

339
00:19:08,515 --> 00:19:12,785
was descended from gods
that came from the sky.

340
00:19:12,819 --> 00:19:14,654
So we have to wonder,

341
00:19:14,687 --> 00:19:17,257
is this a way
for the extraterrestrials

342
00:19:17,290 --> 00:19:20,560
to identify the tombs
of their ancestors?

343
00:19:22,962 --> 00:19:25,298
NARRATOR:
Could the thousands of kofun

344
00:19:25,332 --> 00:19:27,534
dotting the Japanese islands

345
00:19:27,567 --> 00:19:31,704
contain the bodies
of extraterrestrial beings?

346
00:19:33,906 --> 00:19:37,277
Curiously, in 2016,

347
00:19:37,310 --> 00:19:39,846
researchers studying
high-resolution photos

348
00:19:39,879 --> 00:19:41,681
of the surface of Mars

349
00:19:41,714 --> 00:19:44,884
spotted an eerily similar
keyhole-shaped mound.

350
00:19:46,653 --> 00:19:49,422
JASON MARTELL: Is this possibly
a kofun found on Mars,

351
00:19:49,456 --> 00:19:51,891
burying some lost
extraterrestrial god?

352
00:19:51,924 --> 00:19:53,993
If so, we can see that there's

353
00:19:54,026 --> 00:19:57,230
definitely a connection between
what we're seeing on Mars,

354
00:19:57,264 --> 00:19:59,632
as some type
of kofun burial site,

355
00:19:59,666 --> 00:20:02,969
and over 160,000
of these found all over Japan.

356
00:20:07,707 --> 00:20:09,876
NARRATOR:
Could the kofuns in Japan,

357
00:20:09,909 --> 00:20:12,479
and the alleged structure
on Mars,

358
00:20:12,512 --> 00:20:14,881
contain definitive proof
of a link

359
00:20:14,914 --> 00:20:17,750
to beings
from outside our world?

360
00:20:21,421 --> 00:20:23,623
To investigate
this theory further,

361
00:20:23,656 --> 00:20:26,993
Giorgio Tsoukalos
and Takeharu Mikami

362
00:20:27,026 --> 00:20:31,698
were granted special access to
one of Japan's oldest tombs...

363
00:20:31,731 --> 00:20:34,501
the Ishibutai Kofun.

364
00:20:35,702 --> 00:20:38,371
TSOUKALOS:
Oh, man, it's gigantic.

365
00:20:38,405 --> 00:20:41,808
TSUKAMOTO: It's a megalith
from sixth century AD.

366
00:20:41,841 --> 00:20:43,843
Okay.

367
00:20:43,876 --> 00:20:46,979
(speaking Japanese)

368
00:20:47,013 --> 00:20:48,881
TSUKAMOTO:
The largest rock on this tumulus

369
00:20:48,915 --> 00:20:52,519
weighs about 77 tons.

370
00:20:52,552 --> 00:20:56,323
Have they calculated the weight
of all the rocks combined?

371
00:20:56,356 --> 00:20:59,426
(speaking Japanese)

372
00:20:59,459 --> 00:21:02,395
All together, this would weigh
about 2,300 tons.

373
00:21:02,429 --> 00:21:03,663
TSOUKALOS:
Wow!

374
00:21:03,696 --> 00:21:06,065
That's incredible.

375
00:21:06,098 --> 00:21:07,500
Can we go inside?

376
00:21:07,534 --> 00:21:08,801
-Yes.
-All right.

377
00:21:20,747 --> 00:21:22,682
Wow.

378
00:21:24,651 --> 00:21:26,052
So I presume one
of these rocks up there

379
00:21:26,085 --> 00:21:28,355
is the one that's 77 tons.

380
00:21:28,388 --> 00:21:32,091
We would have great difficulty
achieving that today.

381
00:21:32,124 --> 00:21:33,793
And I'm not saying
we can't do it.

382
00:21:33,826 --> 00:21:35,728
Of course we can do it.

383
00:21:35,762 --> 00:21:38,431
But we would use sophisticated,

384
00:21:38,465 --> 00:21:41,067
high-tech, heavy machinery.

385
00:21:41,100 --> 00:21:45,872
TSUKAMOTO: Excavation visitors
have found wooden sleds

386
00:21:45,905 --> 00:21:48,007
that are said
to have been the tools

387
00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:50,477
they used to drag and carry

388
00:21:50,510 --> 00:21:53,780
these large rocks
across the fields.

389
00:21:53,813 --> 00:21:56,583
However, we don't know
exactly how and from where

390
00:21:56,616 --> 00:21:59,085
these rocks were carried from.

391
00:21:59,118 --> 00:22:01,588
Yeah, I completely and utterly
disagree with that notion.

392
00:22:01,621 --> 00:22:03,956
You put 77 tons on wood,

393
00:22:03,990 --> 00:22:06,726
it crushes into dust.

394
00:22:06,759 --> 00:22:10,797
So that's wonderful
that these sleds were found,

395
00:22:10,830 --> 00:22:13,566
but I highly doubt

396
00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:17,470
that 77 tons were
on wooden sleds.

397
00:22:17,504 --> 00:22:22,008
Because I've once seen
a five-ton block being placed

398
00:22:22,041 --> 00:22:23,543
on wooden rollers,

399
00:22:23,576 --> 00:22:26,078
and it got crushed
into oblivion.

400
00:22:26,112 --> 00:22:27,714
This area here,

401
00:22:27,747 --> 00:22:30,983
it's very hilly,
uh, mountainous.

402
00:22:31,017 --> 00:22:33,420
So in those ancient texts,

403
00:22:33,453 --> 00:22:37,757
does it say how these stones
were moved into position?

404
00:22:37,790 --> 00:22:39,526
(speaking Japanese)

405
00:22:39,559 --> 00:22:42,094
TSUKAMOTO: Traditionally,
there were a group

406
00:22:42,128 --> 00:22:45,532
of very skilled artisans
or architects

407
00:22:45,565 --> 00:22:49,536
who held a lot of, uh,
secret skills and technology

408
00:22:49,569 --> 00:22:50,937
that was only kept to them.

409
00:22:50,970 --> 00:22:52,739
But, unfortunately,

410
00:22:52,772 --> 00:22:56,709
we don't know what exactly those
skills and technologies were.

411
00:22:56,743 --> 00:22:58,978
TSOUKALOS: I agree that
there was engineering knowledge

412
00:22:59,011 --> 00:23:00,747
that has been lost.

413
00:23:00,780 --> 00:23:03,182
And to build something
like this,

414
00:23:03,215 --> 00:23:06,653
does he presume
that this knowledge

415
00:23:06,686 --> 00:23:10,457
may have come from some of
those kamis or celestial beings

416
00:23:10,490 --> 00:23:13,793
that are
in Japanese mythologies?

417
00:23:13,826 --> 00:23:16,863
(Mikami speaking Japanese)

418
00:23:16,896 --> 00:23:18,998
TSUKAMOTO: So the further back
in history we go,

419
00:23:19,031 --> 00:23:22,134
-the greater these monuments
become. -TSOUKALOS: Yes.

420
00:23:22,168 --> 00:23:25,037
So the technology was there
from the very beginning.

421
00:23:25,071 --> 00:23:26,739
And if we go back in time

422
00:23:26,773 --> 00:23:29,809
to follow these roots
of these beings, we will go back

423
00:23:29,842 --> 00:23:33,546
to prehistoric times
of the-the era, the age

424
00:23:33,580 --> 00:23:35,982
of the kamis or the deities.

425
00:23:36,015 --> 00:23:38,485
Ancient Japanese Shintos believe

426
00:23:38,518 --> 00:23:41,888
that once you die,
you would be put into a coffin

427
00:23:41,921 --> 00:23:43,222
that was shaped like a boat

428
00:23:43,255 --> 00:23:46,559
and then travel
to the land of the gods.

429
00:23:48,027 --> 00:23:50,963
You know, that's so fascinating,
because...

430
00:23:50,997 --> 00:23:55,067
there are stories
of flying boats

431
00:23:55,101 --> 00:23:56,503
all around the world.

432
00:23:56,536 --> 00:23:58,471
In ancient Egypt,

433
00:23:58,505 --> 00:24:02,709
you have the sun barges
descending from the sky.

434
00:24:02,742 --> 00:24:04,544
In Native American cultures,

435
00:24:04,577 --> 00:24:08,014
you have the flying canoes.

436
00:24:08,047 --> 00:24:11,918
Why would they label a boat
a flying boat?

437
00:24:11,951 --> 00:24:14,921
Well, could it be perhaps
because they didn't have

438
00:24:14,954 --> 00:24:17,757
the vocabulary to say
"airplane"?

439
00:24:17,790 --> 00:24:20,126
I don't think our ancestors
pulled this

440
00:24:20,159 --> 00:24:21,928
out of their own imagination.

441
00:24:21,961 --> 00:24:25,131
I think
they actually saw flying boats,

442
00:24:25,164 --> 00:24:28,735
and thus the legends were born.

443
00:24:30,870 --> 00:24:33,806
NARRATOR: Might the Ishibutai
Kofun have been built

444
00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:37,243
with the help
of extraterrestrial beings,

445
00:24:37,276 --> 00:24:42,582
beings that were also present
on Mars in the distant past?

446
00:24:42,615 --> 00:24:46,519
Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes

447
00:24:46,553 --> 00:24:48,688
and suggest further clues
can be found

448
00:24:48,721 --> 00:24:52,725
by examining another mysterious
megalithic structure,

449
00:24:52,759 --> 00:24:57,196
one that some believe represents
the so-called flying boats

450
00:24:57,229 --> 00:25:00,800
that, according
to the ancient Japanese stories,

451
00:25:00,833 --> 00:25:04,170
were used to travel
to the land of the gods.

452
00:25:10,009 --> 00:25:11,778
TSOUKALOS: So this could be
some type of representation

453
00:25:14,046 --> 00:25:16,215
NARRATOR:
Hitachi Province, Japan.

454
00:25:16,248 --> 00:25:18,751
1803.

455
00:25:22,221 --> 00:25:25,558
Local fishermen
on the Harayadori shore

456
00:25:25,592 --> 00:25:29,762
spot an unusual craft drifting
in the distance.

457
00:25:29,796 --> 00:25:32,164
When the vessel washes ashore,

458
00:25:32,198 --> 00:25:35,101
they are astonished
by what they witness.

459
00:25:38,738 --> 00:25:41,140
NICK POPE: This craft was
likened to the shape

460
00:25:41,173 --> 00:25:43,175
of a Japanese incense burner.

461
00:25:43,209 --> 00:25:45,945
It is almost literally
a flying disk,

462
00:25:45,978 --> 00:25:48,314
a flying saucer.

463
00:25:48,347 --> 00:25:50,817
On the outside of this craft

464
00:25:50,850 --> 00:25:54,721
were multiple
small metal plates,

465
00:25:54,754 --> 00:25:57,990
uh, not too dissimilar
to heat-resistant tiles

466
00:25:58,024 --> 00:26:00,927
that you'd find, say,
on a space shuttle.

467
00:26:04,330 --> 00:26:06,232
NICK REDFERN:
A hatch opened,

468
00:26:06,265 --> 00:26:09,035
and a young woman came out
of the craft

469
00:26:09,068 --> 00:26:13,172
dressed in clothes
that had never been seen before

470
00:26:13,205 --> 00:26:16,042
and speaking a language
that nobody understood

471
00:26:16,075 --> 00:26:17,644
in the slightest.

472
00:26:17,677 --> 00:26:20,312
CHILDRESS: When they looked
inside the craft,

473
00:26:20,346 --> 00:26:23,015
they could see hieroglyphs

474
00:26:23,049 --> 00:26:26,285
and strange writing
all inside of the craft.

475
00:26:26,318 --> 00:26:30,189
POPE: The story
of the strange Utsuro Bune craft

476
00:26:30,222 --> 00:26:34,694
appears in
three different Japanese texts.

477
00:26:34,727 --> 00:26:38,965
Even today, modern historians,
uh, struggle to understand

478
00:26:38,998 --> 00:26:41,868
what this means.

479
00:26:41,901 --> 00:26:44,737
Nobody can really decipher this.

480
00:26:47,006 --> 00:26:50,777
CHILDRESS: Japanese today are
very familiar with this story.

481
00:26:50,810 --> 00:26:53,813
And to them,
this is a curious story

482
00:26:53,846 --> 00:26:58,317
of one of the gods
of their ancestry

483
00:26:58,350 --> 00:27:02,021
who had somehow arrived there
on the island

484
00:27:02,054 --> 00:27:03,956
in this mysterious craft

485
00:27:03,990 --> 00:27:07,026
and then departed.

486
00:27:09,261 --> 00:27:12,264
NARRATOR:
Could the Utsuro Bune incident

487
00:27:12,298 --> 00:27:15,401
have marked the return
of extraterrestrial beings

488
00:27:15,434 --> 00:27:19,939
that were present in Japan
in the distant past?

489
00:27:19,972 --> 00:27:23,242
Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes

490
00:27:23,275 --> 00:27:26,212
and claim further evidence
can be found

491
00:27:26,245 --> 00:27:29,115
by examining
a strange monolithic stone

492
00:27:29,148 --> 00:27:32,318
that many believe was carved
to resemble the very craft

493
00:27:32,351 --> 00:27:37,123
that have been visiting Japan
for thousands of years.

494
00:27:44,096 --> 00:27:46,365
Asuka Park, Japan.

495
00:27:46,398 --> 00:27:49,435
April 2017.

496
00:27:49,468 --> 00:27:51,370
Does that say "rock ship"?

497
00:27:51,403 --> 00:27:53,672
-"Masuda Rock Ship, this way."
-Oh, all right.

498
00:27:55,407 --> 00:27:57,176
NARRATOR:
Giorgio Tsoukalos

499
00:27:57,209 --> 00:28:00,880
and ancient astronaut theorist
Takeharu Mikami

500
00:28:00,913 --> 00:28:03,983
set out to examine
Masuda-no-Iwafune,

501
00:28:04,016 --> 00:28:06,886
an 800-ton rock structure

502
00:28:06,919 --> 00:28:10,056
that was carved from a single
piece of granite and resembles

503
00:28:10,089 --> 00:28:13,059
no other architecture in Japan.

504
00:28:13,092 --> 00:28:16,428
Hey, check out this-this
square grid on the sides.

505
00:28:16,462 --> 00:28:19,265
I mean, this is something that
I've seen before in India,

506
00:28:19,298 --> 00:28:21,100
in Mahabalipuram,

507
00:28:21,133 --> 00:28:25,204
and they had something
very similar on the side

508
00:28:25,237 --> 00:28:26,405
of some of their rocks as well.

509
00:28:26,438 --> 00:28:28,908
-Mm-hmm.
-I can't wait to see the top.

510
00:28:28,941 --> 00:28:31,210
Amazing.

511
00:28:35,447 --> 00:28:37,183
Oh, man.

512
00:28:37,216 --> 00:28:38,417
-TSUKAMOTO: Whoa.
-(chuckles)

513
00:28:38,450 --> 00:28:41,187
-Wow. That is...
-(Tsukamoto speaks Japanese)

514
00:28:41,220 --> 00:28:42,822
(chuckles)
I mean,

515
00:28:42,855 --> 00:28:46,158
I've never seen anything
like it.

516
00:28:46,192 --> 00:28:48,895
NARRATOR:
While some researchers believe

517
00:28:48,928 --> 00:28:52,131
the Masuda-no-Iwafune megalith
is a tomb,

518
00:28:52,164 --> 00:28:55,868
others claim it is meant
to depict the sky boats

519
00:28:55,902 --> 00:28:59,939
that are described
in ancient Japanese stories.

520
00:28:59,972 --> 00:29:03,910
TSOUKALOS: So, the idea is
that this was the entrance

521
00:29:03,943 --> 00:29:05,177
to a Buddhist temple.
What do they mean by that?

522
00:29:05,211 --> 00:29:06,846
Inside... I mean, where?

523
00:29:06,879 --> 00:29:10,216
TSUKAMOTO: It would actually
predate Buddhism in Japan,

524
00:29:10,249 --> 00:29:12,351
so it wouldn't have anything
to do with Buddhist temples.

525
00:29:12,384 --> 00:29:14,053
Right. So,

526
00:29:14,086 --> 00:29:17,356
what is the actual translation
of "Masuda-no-Iwafune"?

527
00:29:17,389 --> 00:29:20,226
(speaking Japanese)

528
00:29:20,259 --> 00:29:22,528
"Masuda" is the name
of the region,

529
00:29:22,561 --> 00:29:24,263
and "iwafune" literally means

530
00:29:24,296 --> 00:29:26,465
"stone ship" or "rock ship."

531
00:29:26,498 --> 00:29:27,566
Okay.

532
00:29:27,599 --> 00:29:29,468
(Mikami speaking Japanese)

533
00:29:32,004 --> 00:29:34,273
TSUKAMOTO: Yes, it's...
naturally, the iwafune

534
00:29:34,306 --> 00:29:36,308
or the rock ship

535
00:29:36,342 --> 00:29:37,576
would have come down
from the heavens

536
00:29:37,609 --> 00:29:40,046
as a vehicle for the gods

537
00:29:40,079 --> 00:29:41,881
to descend upon Earth.

538
00:29:41,914 --> 00:29:45,484
TSOUKALOS: So, I guess with the
combination of the mythologies

539
00:29:45,517 --> 00:29:47,887
of celestial beings,
this could be

540
00:29:47,920 --> 00:29:50,890
some type of representation
of one

541
00:29:50,923 --> 00:29:53,592
of those flying vehicles
that our ancestors

542
00:29:53,625 --> 00:29:55,327
perhaps witnessed.

543
00:29:58,998 --> 00:30:01,233
NARRATOR:
Could the Masuda-no-Iwafune

544
00:30:01,267 --> 00:30:04,436
have been carved to resemble
the so-called flying boats

545
00:30:04,470 --> 00:30:08,407
that were referred to
in ancient Japanese texts?

546
00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:11,844
And was a similar alien craft
witnessed

547
00:30:11,878 --> 00:30:15,948
by Japanese fishermen in 1803?

548
00:30:15,982 --> 00:30:18,985
Perhaps further clues
can be found

549
00:30:19,018 --> 00:30:23,155
by examining
much more recent UFO sightings

550
00:30:23,189 --> 00:30:26,993
and the long-held belief
that Japan's imperial family

551
00:30:27,026 --> 00:30:31,097
has a connection
to otherworldly beings.

552
00:30:35,634 --> 00:30:37,536
Coming up...

553
00:30:40,306 --> 00:30:42,641
NARRATOR:
Kyushu, Japan.

554
00:30:42,674 --> 00:30:47,079
The seventh century BC.

555
00:30:47,113 --> 00:30:51,383
According to Japan's earliest
known historical texts,

556
00:30:51,417 --> 00:30:55,587
Kojiki and Nihon Shoki,
it is from this point

557
00:30:55,621 --> 00:30:58,090
that the country's first ruler,

558
00:30:58,124 --> 00:31:00,359
Emperor Jimmu,
set out to conquer

559
00:31:00,392 --> 00:31:03,295
and unify
the Japanese islands.

560
00:31:03,329 --> 00:31:05,131
KASULIS: He seems
to have come out of Kyushu,

561
00:31:05,164 --> 00:31:06,632
the southern island,

562
00:31:06,665 --> 00:31:09,902
and moved across Japan
to find a better place

563
00:31:09,936 --> 00:31:11,971
to center the government
and center his realm,

564
00:31:12,004 --> 00:31:14,673
conquering people along the way,

565
00:31:14,706 --> 00:31:18,277
and eventually he settles
in the Yamato region.

566
00:31:18,310 --> 00:31:21,113
And that becomes the center
of Japan's government,

567
00:31:21,147 --> 00:31:24,583
all the way until it moves
to Tokyo in 1868.

568
00:31:28,220 --> 00:31:31,223
STEAVU: As he was working
his way northwards,

569
00:31:31,257 --> 00:31:34,927
he was actually assisted

570
00:31:34,961 --> 00:31:37,463
by a divine crow.

571
00:31:37,496 --> 00:31:41,167
A three-legged crow,
known as Yatagarasu.

572
00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:43,970
"Yatagarasu" loosely translates

573
00:31:44,003 --> 00:31:45,337
to "eight span crow."

574
00:31:45,371 --> 00:31:47,106
So, we can imagine

575
00:31:47,139 --> 00:31:49,108
that this crow would have been
extremely large.

576
00:31:49,141 --> 00:31:50,609
(crow screeches)

577
00:31:50,642 --> 00:31:54,981
In some instances,
Yatagarasu is also depicted

578
00:31:55,014 --> 00:31:59,685
within a fiery orb in the sky.

579
00:31:59,718 --> 00:32:02,021
TSOUKALOS:
This so-called "crow"

580
00:32:02,054 --> 00:32:04,290
guided him on his journey

581
00:32:04,323 --> 00:32:08,227
and advised him in military
matters to ensure his success.

582
00:32:08,260 --> 00:32:11,130
And, when you look at ancient
depictions of this crow,

583
00:32:11,163 --> 00:32:14,533
it is often depicted inside
some kind of an orb,

584
00:32:14,566 --> 00:32:16,502
this circular disc.

585
00:32:16,535 --> 00:32:19,438
So if you look at that,
you have to ask,

586
00:32:19,471 --> 00:32:23,976
what exactly were the ancient
Japanese talking about here?

587
00:32:24,010 --> 00:32:27,646
Because this, to me, sounds more

588
00:32:27,679 --> 00:32:32,084
like he was being guided
by some kind of a flying craft

589
00:32:32,118 --> 00:32:35,387
than an actual crow.

590
00:32:35,421 --> 00:32:39,625
NARRATOR: Could Japan's
first Emperor, Jimmu,

591
00:32:39,658 --> 00:32:42,061
and the imperial family today,

592
00:32:42,094 --> 00:32:46,432
be direct descendants
of extraterrestrials?

593
00:32:46,465 --> 00:32:49,701
And might the three-legged crow,
Yatagarasu,

594
00:32:49,735 --> 00:32:53,772
really have been an alien craft?

595
00:32:53,805 --> 00:32:56,475
Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes,

596
00:32:56,508 --> 00:32:59,745
and suggest further evidence
can be found

597
00:32:59,778 --> 00:33:03,682
by examining a military coup
designed to cover up

598
00:33:03,715 --> 00:33:06,718
this extraterrestrial heritage.

599
00:33:12,791 --> 00:33:17,263
Kyoto, Japan. 1183.

600
00:33:17,296 --> 00:33:22,701
Military general
Minamoto no Yoritomo

601
00:33:22,734 --> 00:33:25,437
besieges the capital city
of Japan,

602
00:33:25,471 --> 00:33:28,274
forcing the current
Emperor Antoku

603
00:33:28,307 --> 00:33:30,709
and his bodyguard to flee.

604
00:33:30,742 --> 00:33:34,446
For nearly 700 years after,

605
00:33:34,480 --> 00:33:37,549
military dictatorships
known as shogunates

606
00:33:37,583 --> 00:33:40,486
maintained strict control
over Japan.

607
00:33:40,519 --> 00:33:44,790
Isolationist policies
allowed few to enter

608
00:33:44,823 --> 00:33:48,694
or exit the islands, with death
as the ultimate penalty.

609
00:33:50,829 --> 00:33:55,567
Only in 1867 did shogun
Tokugawa Yoshinobu,

610
00:33:55,601 --> 00:33:59,705
facing a revolt
from the Japanese people,

611
00:33:59,738 --> 00:34:04,576
relinquish control of the
government back to the emperor.

612
00:34:04,610 --> 00:34:07,213
STEAVU: The Meiji Emperor was
the first of the emperors

613
00:34:07,246 --> 00:34:08,780
after the restoration.

614
00:34:08,814 --> 00:34:11,283
Made a point
of tracing his lineage

615
00:34:11,317 --> 00:34:13,585
all the way back
to Emperor Jimmu...

616
00:34:16,155 --> 00:34:19,291
...and to Amaterasu, as well.

617
00:34:19,325 --> 00:34:22,828
So, this notion
of a divine emperor,

618
00:34:22,861 --> 00:34:27,833
of a living kami at the head
of Japan, was resuscitated.

619
00:34:29,568 --> 00:34:32,804
They wanted to return to
the original Japanese empire,

620
00:34:32,838 --> 00:34:35,207
the one founded by Jimmu,

621
00:34:35,241 --> 00:34:37,609
and his connection with
the extraterrestrial beings.

622
00:34:37,643 --> 00:34:40,512
What happened after this
is extraordinary.

623
00:34:40,546 --> 00:34:42,681
Suddenly Japan takes off.

624
00:34:42,714 --> 00:34:46,285
It starts accelerating
in its technological ability.

625
00:34:46,318 --> 00:34:50,856
It suddenly becomes
a world-conquering nation.

626
00:34:50,889 --> 00:34:55,194
By the early twentieth century,
Japan was a superpower

627
00:34:55,227 --> 00:34:59,565
and it had amassed
a vast colonial empire,

628
00:34:59,598 --> 00:35:03,769
rivaling that of the greatest
Western colonial empires.

629
00:35:03,802 --> 00:35:07,239
And what Japan accomplished
in modernization

630
00:35:07,273 --> 00:35:09,741
in the span of 20 years,

631
00:35:09,775 --> 00:35:11,810
it took most European nations

632
00:35:11,843 --> 00:35:15,347
about 200 or even 300 years
to accomplish.

633
00:35:17,683 --> 00:35:21,153
CHILDRESS:
So you have to wonder

634
00:35:21,187 --> 00:35:23,589
with the reinstating
of the royal family,

635
00:35:23,622 --> 00:35:27,493
was this also a reconnection

636
00:35:27,526 --> 00:35:31,297
to the technical and
extraterrestrial past

637
00:35:31,330 --> 00:35:35,667
that had begun centuries ago
in Japan,

638
00:35:35,701 --> 00:35:38,537
and is now continuing today,

639
00:35:38,570 --> 00:35:41,540
possibly with the guidance
of extraterrestrials?

640
00:35:46,412 --> 00:35:49,815
NARRATOR: Could Japan's
meteoric rise to power

641
00:35:49,848 --> 00:35:52,918
be a direct result of
reinstating the "divine,"

642
00:35:52,951 --> 00:35:55,854
perhaps extraterrestrial,
dynasty

643
00:35:55,887 --> 00:35:59,225
originally established
by Emperor Jimmu?

644
00:35:59,258 --> 00:36:03,629
And is this why some of Japan's
top government officials

645
00:36:03,662 --> 00:36:06,765
have recently made statements
supporting the notion

646
00:36:06,798 --> 00:36:09,901
that alien visitation is real?

647
00:36:09,935 --> 00:36:14,473
Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes,

648
00:36:14,506 --> 00:36:19,811
and suggest further evidence of
an alien presence in Japan today

649
00:36:19,845 --> 00:36:24,616
can be found by examining
a recent mass UFO sighting.

650
00:36:27,486 --> 00:36:33,725
In July 2015, multiple witnesses
in and around the city of Osaka

651
00:36:33,759 --> 00:36:37,929
sighted a fleet of UFOs

652
00:36:37,963 --> 00:36:40,999
moving in a quite
extraordinary fashion

653
00:36:41,032 --> 00:36:44,770
in broad daylight
right over the city.

654
00:36:44,803 --> 00:36:48,807
And various people caught them
from different angles on camera.

655
00:36:48,840 --> 00:36:52,511
Now, the government was quick
to dismiss them as candles

656
00:36:52,544 --> 00:36:54,813
or lanterns in the sky.

657
00:36:54,846 --> 00:36:57,483
But the erratic movements
and patterns suggested

658
00:36:57,516 --> 00:36:59,485
that they were technological
in nature.

659
00:37:03,655 --> 00:37:05,691
NARRATOR:
Similar white orbs

660
00:37:05,724 --> 00:37:07,759
were reported
four years earlier,

661
00:37:07,793 --> 00:37:10,396
during one of the worst
environmental disasters

662
00:37:10,429 --> 00:37:12,531
in mankind's history.

663
00:37:12,564 --> 00:37:16,835
On March 26, 2011,

664
00:37:16,868 --> 00:37:20,038
two weeks after the meltdown
of the Fukushima Daiichi

665
00:37:20,071 --> 00:37:22,441
nuclear power plant
in Okuma, Japan,

666
00:37:22,474 --> 00:37:24,876
a fleet of white orbs

667
00:37:24,910 --> 00:37:30,282
was recorded
hovering over the site.

668
00:37:30,316 --> 00:37:34,420
If we go back and look at the
history of the UFO subject,

669
00:37:34,453 --> 00:37:36,855
we find a great deal
of interest with,

670
00:37:36,888 --> 00:37:40,058
for example,
our atomic energy plants,

671
00:37:40,091 --> 00:37:44,062
our nuclear missile silos.

672
00:37:44,095 --> 00:37:47,699
And it suggests to me that maybe

673
00:37:47,733 --> 00:37:51,303
we're seeing alien entities
who are deeply concerned

674
00:37:51,337 --> 00:37:54,840
by our usage of atomic power.

675
00:37:59,511 --> 00:38:03,549
NARRATOR: Could the white orbs
witnessed above Osaka

676
00:38:03,582 --> 00:38:07,553
and Fukushima
be alien craft belonging

677
00:38:07,586 --> 00:38:10,789
to the same celestial beings
the Japanese trace back

678
00:38:10,822 --> 00:38:13,091
to their very origins?

679
00:38:13,124 --> 00:38:16,728
Perhaps further clues
can be found

680
00:38:16,762 --> 00:38:21,099
by examining recent attempts
by Japanese astronomers

681
00:38:21,132 --> 00:38:24,936
to make contact with
extraterrestrial beings.

682
00:38:33,979 --> 00:38:37,583
July 1983.

683
00:38:37,616 --> 00:38:42,554
At the University of Tokyo
Astronomical Observatory,

684
00:38:42,588 --> 00:38:47,493
astronomers Hisashi Hirabayashi
and Masaki Morimoto

685
00:38:47,526 --> 00:38:50,896
target a telescope
towards the star Altair.

686
00:38:50,929 --> 00:38:56,702
Using radio waves, they transmit
a short, binary-encoded message

687
00:38:56,735 --> 00:39:00,506
in an attempt to contact
extraterrestrial life.

688
00:39:02,774 --> 00:39:06,011
This was a groundbreaking
piece of history

689
00:39:06,044 --> 00:39:08,947
in terms of the search
for extraterrestrial life.

690
00:39:08,980 --> 00:39:13,151
This message basically
told information

691
00:39:13,184 --> 00:39:17,022
regarding human life,
human history, DNA,

692
00:39:17,055 --> 00:39:20,091
and also the location
of the Earth itself.

693
00:39:20,125 --> 00:39:23,094
So, any potential
extraterrestrials

694
00:39:23,128 --> 00:39:25,931
living in the vicinity of Altair

695
00:39:25,964 --> 00:39:29,468
would potentially know
where we're coming from.

696
00:39:29,501 --> 00:39:33,539
CHILDRESS: The star of Altair is
16 light-years away from Earth,

697
00:39:33,572 --> 00:39:35,907
and so it was expected

698
00:39:35,941 --> 00:39:38,477
that the binary message
would reach that star

699
00:39:38,510 --> 00:39:41,112
by around 1999.

700
00:39:41,146 --> 00:39:45,050
And now, from 2015 on,

701
00:39:45,083 --> 00:39:50,422
the Japanese are expecting some
kind of reply from their signal.

702
00:39:50,456 --> 00:39:52,958
REDFERN: Now, what's
particularly intriguing

703
00:39:52,991 --> 00:39:55,694
is that Altair
actually represents

704
00:39:55,727 --> 00:39:58,597
one of the ancient
Japanese gods.

705
00:39:58,630 --> 00:40:01,733
This makes me wonder
if the scientific community

706
00:40:01,767 --> 00:40:04,102
had come to a conclusion
that perhaps

707
00:40:04,135 --> 00:40:07,939
their ancient god,
represented by Altair,

708
00:40:07,973 --> 00:40:09,941
may not have been a god
after all.

709
00:40:09,975 --> 00:40:12,911
CHILDRESS:
So you have to wonder here,

710
00:40:12,944 --> 00:40:15,113
are these Japanese astronomers

711
00:40:15,146 --> 00:40:18,617
trying to contact
the extraterrestrial gods

712
00:40:18,650 --> 00:40:20,786
that they believe

713
00:40:20,819 --> 00:40:24,055
came to Earth and started
the Japanese civilization?

714
00:40:24,089 --> 00:40:25,624
It would seem so.

715
00:40:27,826 --> 00:40:32,898
NARRATOR: In 2010, JAXA,
Japan's national space program,

716
00:40:32,931 --> 00:40:35,967
announced plans to establish
a base on the moon

717
00:40:36,001 --> 00:40:38,203
by the year 2020.

718
00:40:38,236 --> 00:40:43,675
And recently, the Shimizu
Corporation unveiled designs

719
00:40:43,709 --> 00:40:46,011
for their LUNAR RING project,

720
00:40:46,044 --> 00:40:49,548
a massive band of solar panels
surrounding the moon

721
00:40:49,581 --> 00:40:55,086
that would beam limitless
clean power back to Earth.

722
00:40:55,120 --> 00:40:57,222
When you look at
all this together,

723
00:40:57,255 --> 00:40:59,925
you can't help but wonder
what's going on here?

724
00:40:59,958 --> 00:41:04,930
Is it about reaching out
to extraterrestrials,

725
00:41:04,963 --> 00:41:07,933
or is it perhaps about using

726
00:41:07,966 --> 00:41:11,036
extraterrestrial knowledge
and technology

727
00:41:11,069 --> 00:41:13,605
that the Japanese already have?

728
00:41:13,639 --> 00:41:18,009
HENRY: This suggests that the
Japanese people are serious

729
00:41:18,043 --> 00:41:20,679
about colonizing space

730
00:41:20,712 --> 00:41:22,681
and may be working with
extraterrestrials

731
00:41:22,714 --> 00:41:25,584
on developing this enormously
advanced technology.

732
00:41:25,617 --> 00:41:29,521
NARRATOR: Is it possible
that there is a link

733
00:41:29,555 --> 00:41:31,857
between Japan's
technological advancements

734
00:41:31,890 --> 00:41:36,294
and the country's connection
to extraterrestrial beings?

735
00:41:36,327 --> 00:41:41,667
And are these beings the same
otherworldly entities

736
00:41:41,700 --> 00:41:44,235
that have been influencing the
development of Japanese culture

737
00:41:44,269 --> 00:41:46,572
for thousands of years?

738
00:41:46,605 --> 00:41:49,975
Ancient astronaut theorists
say, yes,

739
00:41:50,008 --> 00:41:54,112
and believe the proof lies
not only at various locations

740
00:41:54,145 --> 00:41:56,815
found throughout
the Japanese landscape,

741
00:41:56,848 --> 00:41:59,685
but also on Earth's
neighboring planets...

742
00:41:59,718 --> 00:42:01,820
and one in particular...

743
00:42:01,853 --> 00:42:04,790
soon to be explored.

744
00:42:04,823 --> 00:42:07,659
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