

This concept is used in _Windaria_ and an early episode of _Pokémon_ (Episode
20: "The Ghost of Maiden's Peak").

Did it come from a Japanese legend I'm not familiar with, did it come from the
_Windaria_ novel, or is it just a Kunihiko Yuyama thing?


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tropes pokemon windaria
Is turning into stone as a result of waiting for someone for a long time derived from Japanese legend?


Stone legends can be found in various cultures, not just Japan. For example,
Australia has [The Three
Sisters](http://www.bluemts.com.au/tourist/thingstodo/threesisters/), Puerto
Rico has [The Stone Dog](http://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/unusual-osj-
sights/) and you can even find this trope in
[Inca](http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-
Legends/TheShepherdandtheDaughteroftheSun-Inca.html) culture. Someone's love
remaining eternal through petrifaction is just a common (and effective)
storytelling trope.


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Stone legends are indeed pretty common just as TurkeyFried stated. Most of
these are based on _loyalty_ towards a person (most common in anime is waiting
for a loved one).

It is said that the petrifaction version originates from Vietnam

> Hòn Vọng Phu (Statue of Husband Waiting)

But nowadays in TV shows and such they give their own meaning to it and
reasoning.

You can [check this
out](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IWillWaitForYou) for some
more examples of this phenomena.


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