The History Channel Japan's Mysterious Pyramids: Have you ever heard of any ancient pyramids in Japan? Me neither. That is what made this such an interesting documentary. The large structure dubbed the Yonaguni Monument was only discovered in 1987, as it is an underwater structure lying half a mile off the coast of Japan's tiny (six miles by two miles) Yonaguni Island, the nation's western-most strip of land. Lying under eighty feet of water, the huge stone megalith (over five hundred feet long and over eight stories tall) makes for quite an awesome sight. With its terrace-like structures and plethora of right angles, it certainly looks manmade. That is certainly what scuba master Kihachiro Aratake thought when he discovered the "ruins" while searching for the breeding grounds of hammerhead sharks that populate that part of the ocean. Obviously, such an intriguing archaeological discovery almost demands scientific study. Ah, but there's a catch, you see. If the Yonaguni Monument is man-made, it would have to have been constructed or designed at least 10,000 years ago because the last time it would have been above water was during the last Ice Age. Mainstream science refuses to consider the possibility (not to mention the growing evidence) that the earliest civilizations developed millennia earlier than 3500 BC. And so it is that the Yonaguni Monument still rests in its underwater environment, its true history and nature not yet dignified with the kind of scientific study it deserves. The scientific work of Japanese scientist Masaaki Kimura suggests a number of features that do not appear to be natural, leading the documentary to suggest early on that the Yonaguni Monument could be a vestige of an ancient civilization unknown as of yet to science, i.e., more evidence in support of an Atlantean-type culture spoken of in the oral histories of peoples all over the world. Asians have their own stories of such an advanced, prehistoric, island-based civilization located in the same general area (including stories of the lost continent of Mu). Comparisons between this structure and other mysterious structures around the world seem to raise the fascinating ante even higher. The most significant western study of this puzzling megalithic structure has been conducted by the formidable triumvirate of Graham Hancock, John Anthony West, and Dr. Robert Schoch, and we get very different takes on the evidence from these three men. I was especially interested in hearing what Dr. Schoch had to say; this is the scientific expert who dates the origins of the Sphinx (based on erosion studies) all the way back to 5000 BC (1500 years before "civilization" began). He basically throws a bucket of water on this potentially explosive story, arguing that nature could indeed have formed even the right-angled terraces we see on the stone structure today. He doesn't rule out the possibility of artificial construction or design at some point, but it's going to take more than the series of newer discoveries (such as a perfectly square "stage" featuring what appear to be faces carved along its base) to convince him. Basically, we end up pretty close to where we started, looking at this huge and impressive underwater structure and wondering about its origins. Even if nothing more sensational than a natural rock formation lies just off the coast of Yonaguni Island, it's still a most fascinating object. It's a pity that close-minded western scientists continue to ignore its existence.

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Documentary