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In some regions of Japan, especially along the coast, local residents have worshipped turtles since ancient times. Fishermen considered the turtle (kame) to be a sea god (kami), and their luck depended on it. Large turtles were often caught in fishing nets off the coast of Japan. Fishermen carefully removed them from the nets, offered them sake, and released them back into the sea.
In ancient Japan, there was also a kind of cult of snakes and mollusks. Nowadays, Japanese people eat them without hesitation, but some species of snakes and mollusks are still considered sacred. These are tanisi, which live in rivers and ponds. Some scholars believe that the reverence for tanisi came to Japan from China. According to legend, in the Aizu region, there once stood the Wakamiya Hachiman Temple, at the foot of which were two ponds. If anyone caught a tanisi in these ponds, they would hear a voice in their sleep at night, demanding its return. Sometimes, the sick would deliberately catch a tanisi in order to hear the voice of the pond kami at night and ask for healing in exchange for releasing the tanisi. Old Japanese medical books stated that tanisi was a good remedy for eye diseases; however, there are also legends that only those who do not eat tanisi are cured of eye diseases.
There are places in Japan where people still believe in the sacred fish okodze. This little creature played a very important role in ancient legends. It was considered a representative of the mountain kami. Hunters would wrap okodze in white paper and say something like a spell: "Okodze, if you bring me luck, I will unwrap you and let you see the sunlight." Many fishermen hung dried okodze at the doors of their huts, hoping that they would be lucky and their homes would be protected from evil spirits. When fishermen got into trouble, they promised the sea kami to offer okodze as a gift if it would have mercy and save them.
There were also beliefs that the dragonfly tombo would bring luck and happiness to the Japanese, and it was associated with courage and even with the national spirit. The dragonfly was perceived as a warlike insect, so it was customary to wear items with a dragonfly image. This custom has survived to this day; the image of a dragonfly can be seen on things and clothes of boys. This attitude towards the dragonfly comes from the depths of Japanese history, when Japan was called the "land of the dragonfly." And now, one can still find the word "dragonfly" in literature as a synonym for Japan.
In ancient times, the shark (same) in Japan was considered a creature endowed with divine power, i.e., a kami. Various legends were told about the shark. One of them tells that once a shark bit off a woman's leg. The woman's father prayed to the sea spirits to avenge his daughter. After some time, he saw a large school of sharks chasing one predator in the sea. The fisherman caught it, killed it, and found his daughter's leg in its stomach.
Fishermen believed that a shark could help avoid misfortune at sea and even carry a drowning person to shore on its back. It was believed that shoals of fish followed the sacred shark. If a fisherman was lucky enough to meet it, he would return with a rich catch.
The Japanese also worshipped the crab.
An amulet made from its dried shell was believed to protect against evil spirits and diseases. It was said that once, crabs appeared in a coastal area where they had never been seen before. Fishermen caught them, dried them, and hung them on trees; since then, evil spirits have avoided these places. Even now, there is a legend that the warriors of the Taira clan, who were defeated in the internecine war with the Minato clan, plunged into the sea and turned into crabs there. Therefore, in some rural areas, it is still believed that the crab's belly resembles a human face.