The Manga That Made Prophecies

 Michel de Nostredame or better known as Nostradamus was a French astrologer that published a book titled Les Prophéties (The Prophecies) that came to predict future events decades after his death in a poetic fashion.

In the year 1999 – many years after Nostradamus’ death – a manga was published by an unknown author going by the pseudonym Tatsuki Ryo and her manga, as expected, did not make an impression on the populous at that time.

Little is known about her other five works and what she is currently doing, but many have assumed that she has retired from the industry entirely. Her first manga was published in 1975. A dream diary notebook was kept by her from 1980 onward when she claims to have had premonitory dreams on several occasions.

Most of her works focused on the Shoujo genre which was plentiful at that time and the market for that was oversaturated. Hence, this manga going unnoticed was expected. The manga titled The Future as I see it is said to be based upon her unusual dreams. From Kanagawa prefecture, she frequently had dreams of the future, and often it is related to death which frightens her. Most of them focus on natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis. She felt that it was necessary for her to pen down her dreams and so she drew and wrote this manga to put all her dreams into a medium that can be conveyed to others.

There are fifteen predictions that mostly came true with some of the events that are stated in the manga occurring years before its publication.

On January 2nd, the author dreamed that the Kobe region of Japan would be struck by a disaster of great magnitude.

Fifteen days later, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake stuck in that region which was considered the largest since the 923 Kanto earthquake. Many lives were lost and the damage amounted to about 10 trillion yen. On March 11th, 1996, the author dreamed of another huge disaster that would strike Japan. Fifteen years later, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck the Pacific Ocean east of the city of Sendai in eastern Japan. This was followed by a deadly tsunami and a major nuclear leak that affected the local population there with at least 15,000 people perishing in that tragedy. Coincidence?

Many of the predictions did come true and they came in an accurate pattern based on fifteen years, or days from when she dreamed. Some have said that this is just a coincidence or that she managed to correctly guest those events. However, how can someone guess such disasters with precise accuracy?

She saw a virus outbreak in her dream on January 2, 1995: The virus would make a comeback in 2020, peaking in April, and would return ten years after disappearing.

While there are a few parts of the forecast that are slightly different from what is happening now, she has specifically stated that an outbreak is taking place now. Yes, she predicted accurately the global coronavirus that has plagued the world. With only half of her prediction coming true, we can only wait in the next ten years for the return of the pandemic upon our lands.

There are two predictions that have yet to come.

• The first was the eruption of Mount Fuji. She dreamed of this way back on August 20th, 1991. The last eruption of that mountain was on December 17th, 1707. The peak of the mountain is still classified as active, but vulcanologists do not anticipate an imminent eruption. Mount Fuji's lava was reported to have changed abnormally in July. It is feared that this dream will, unfortunately, come true.
• The second prediction would be another devastating tsunami that would hit Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. Tatsuki Ryo frequently dreamed of this between June and September of 1981. The possibility of a tsunami is high due to Japan being located at the boundary of several tectonic plates and in the northwest of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Many believe that the prediction would occur in 2026 based on the fifteen-year cycle that is prominently displayed throughout the manga.
• Other predictions that she has made include the death of Freddie Mercury and Princess Diana which occurred before the publication, but many still believe that these are dreams made many years before their demise.

Her manga currently has seen great purchases from many. The first edition of the manga itself is going at an exceedingly high price while the subsequent editions are for a lesser price due to certain censorship being made by the publishers.