The Mystery of Mehikari

Mehikari.

Written in kanji, 目光.

Me means “eye.” Hikari means “light.”

The name says it all.

Big eyes that gleam blue-green when they catch the light. Hence, Mehikari.

It lives on the seabed, deep below the surface.

A small fish, only a dozen or so centimeters long.

On its underside is a tiny light-producing organ.

Its eyes reflect light.

This organ gives it off.

What is that light for?

That is still not fully understood.

The name holds no mystery.

Its way of life, though, still does.

Where and how it spends its early life

are also not yet fully understood.

If the light on its underside had caught our attention before its eyes did,

what would we have called this fish?

Perhaps something other than Mehikari.

Sometimes, Japanese feels like a riddle.

TAKO PARTY. IKASAMA. MEHIKARI.