What is the Mysterious Frog Sand?
A Story of Ancient Frogs Awakening in Yamagata Prefecture
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Click here to hear the sound of the underwater musical sand!
(If you don't hear anything, please try turning up your device's sound level.) According to geological maps of the Pliocene epoch, the strata in Osotani, Iide Town, Nishiokitama District, Yamagata Prefecture, correspond to the coastline of the ancient Sea of Japan from 5 million years ago. This is, so to speak, a fossil of musical sand where it once lay dormant. Mysteriously, it is said to produce the sound of a frog's croak. |
 How to fix it when it breaks? |
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It's just an acrylic tube, 5cm in diameter and 10cm long, containing about 100cc of water and 100g of sand. That's all. The rubber frog is just for charm. When you gently shake it from side to side, it makes a sound like a frog. |
If it won't sing, I'll make it sing
 This happened back when the Nima Sand Museum first opened. I showed 100g of the raw, clay-mixed sand and put up a sign that read, "10,000 yen to whoever can make this sand croak like a frog. " The president of a certain sand company saw it and got angry. President: "Don't make a fool of me!" Me: "Well then, why don't you give it a try?" I offered him a sample. President: "Alright! I'll stay here tonight, and I'll make it sing!" The president was fired up, but... 
The next morning, with a sleepy look on his face, he said,President: "I stayed up all night, didn't even drink, just kept washing it, but it won't make a sound. Why?" 
Me: "Of course, water alone is not enough. Besides, you had greed in your heart, didn't you? You need to mix in some sweat and tears for this one." President: "I get it, I get it!"
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Approved by a Frog?
| I once conducted an experiment on the shores of Lake Shirakawa in the same town of Iide to confirm if the sound was really like a frog's croak. An NHK cameraman, intrigued by the story, came along with me. However, no frogs showed up. Eventually, the cameraman gave up and left.
Just then, I sensed ripples coming from the other side of the lake. "No way...!"
I thought, and as I watched, what should I see but a frog at the very front of the ripples! I wanted to shout, "Hey!" to call the cameraman back, but that would have scared the frog away... Before long, the frog reached my side of the shore and stopped. It poked its head out, sitting sideways and perfectly still. I was completely absorbed and shook the sand frantically. After about five minutes, the frog disappeared into the grass by the shore. The cameraman was disappointed and said, "Let's do it one more time." I replied, "You've got to be kidding." Some people talk about their childhood memories, saying that musical sand used to sing even underwater. Now, however, it no longer does. |
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A Forest Green Tree Frog?
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By the way, I wondered if this sound really resembled that of a real frog. One day, I had the chance to test it with an expert.
I heard that an expert on the Forest Green Tree Frog (Mori-ao-gaeru) would be giving a lecture at Honen-in Temple in Kyoto,
so I went and discreetly made the sound from the back of the audience.
"Oh, is that a frog's croak?!" people turned around in surprise. However, it was the wrong time of year for them to be croaking... "That is unmistakably the voice of a Forest Green Tree Frog."
The expert gave his seal of approval.
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Incidentally, this Frog Sand is patented (Patent No. 2016667), but to this day, no one has ever tried to challenge it.
There are also plans to construct a monument that would be a scaled-up version, using one ton of sand to create the roar of a dinosaur. On Saturday, May 24, 1997, from 7:30 to 8:44 PM, the unique phenomenon of the recently discovered Osotani Frog Sand was featured on NHK General TV's Saturday Special program, "Nippon no Oto Fūkei" (Soundscapes of Japan). |