Case file · Folklore / legend
Jayabaya's prophecy and the Japanese
Javanese prophecies attributed to the 12th-century king Jayabaya of Kediri foretold that 'yellow men from the north' would drive out the white rulers and stay only as long as a maize plant lives; many saw the 1942 Japanese invasion as its fulfilment.
1942 CE · -7.82, 112.01 · status: legend
The account
Japanese propaganda exploited the prophecy. The Japanese occupation ended in 1945, about three and a half years later.
The sceptical view
The prophecies were written down long after Jayabaya and reworked over time.