Earthquakes occur when catfish go wild

Since the Edo period it has been believed that catfish can predict earthquakes.

How?

Well, you've probably heard of Ōnamazu, a mythical giant catfish (namazu) seen in Japanese art and literature since the 16th century. Ōnamazu lives beneath the Earth's crust and causes earthquakes and tsunamis by thrashing his tail. Why does he (or she?) thrash its tail?

There's a god called Takemikazuchi whose main job was to subjugate other deities on Earth, but was distracted by Ōnamazu who was causing severe problems for Japanese people. Takemikazuchi picked up a heavy rock and placed it on top of Ōnamazu to keep it under control.

To this day, Takemikazuchi still carefully guards the heavy rock, 24/7, in Kashima on Japan's Ibaraki coast, but understandably gets a bit bored sometimes and loses concentration. Ōnamazu takes those opportunities to thrash its tail and sometimes its whole body in an attempt to escape.

The intensity of such writhing and thrashing corresponds to the magnitude of earthquake and the height of tsunami waves. Ōnamazu's DNA has found its way into today's catfish we see in rivers, and they can pick up signals from their distant biologically-related spirit.

Verity:

20th century scientific research has found that catfish do indeed become stimulated with changes in electricity caused by imminent earthquakes. Unfortunately, the recorded levels of excitement haven't corresponded with the levels of subsequent earthquakes and tsunami.

However, the discovery is a primer for further research on what kind of signals are released by impending earthquakes and how catfish are apparently able to use their sonar-like ability to sense them.

It then might be possible to make equipment that can more accurately predict earthquakes, their magnitude and timing.