1180 A.D.

700 years before the West began using the term "flying saucer," the Japanese reported seeing flying "earthenware vessels." One such object was seen in the Kii province where it appeared near a mountain, reversed and disappeared into the horizon leaving behind a glowing trail of smoke. The Japanese government even conducted an official investigation into the repeated sightings but, in what may be the first instance of a government lying about UFOs, the official outcome of the investigation was that "it is only the wind making the stars sway."