Kuniyoshi Utagawa, Taiba (The End), 1852, the print depicts a nue descending upon the Imperial palace in a black cloud

A nue (鵺) is a legendary creature found in Japanese folklore. It is described as having the head of a monkey, the body of a raccoon dog, the legs of a tiger, and a snake as a tail. According to the legend, a nue can metamorphose into a black cloud and fly. Due to its appearance, it is sometimes referred to as a Japanese chimera.^[1] Nue are supposed to be bringers of misfortune and illness.^[2]

According to The Tale of the Heike, Emperor Konoe, the Emperor of Japan, became ill after having terrible nightmares every night, and a dark cloud appeared at two o'clock in the morning on the roof of the palace in Kyoto during the summer of 1153. The story says that the samurai Minamoto no Yorimasa staked-out the roof one night and fired an arrow into the cloud, out of which fell a dead nue. Yorimasa then supposedly sank the body in the Sea of Japan.

In a local expansion of the story, the nue's corpse floated into a certain bay, and the locals, fearing a curse, buried it. A mound near the bay which exists today is supposed to be the grave created for this nue.^[3]

Etymology [link]

The word, Nue, appears in the oldest of Japanese literature. Early quotes include Kojiki (712) and Wamyō Ruijushō (c. 934). Due to the use of Man'yōgana, the historical spelling is known to have been nuye. At this early time, although, it had a different semantic meaning. It referred to a bird known as White's Thrush.

In the thirteenth century, Heike Monogatari makes reference to a creature called a nue. In addition to having the head of a monkey, the body of a tanuki, the paws of a tiger, and a snake as a tail, it has the voice of a White's Thrush.

Around 1435, Zeami Motokiyo wrote a Noh song titled Nue dealing with the events described in Heike.

In Popular Culture [link]

• In the Nagasarete Airantō manga Nue is the number one rival of the lord of the East
• In the manga/anime series Nurarihyon no Mago (known as Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan in the United States), Nue is the first offspring of the Hagoromo-Gitsune (a type of nine-tailed fox demon).
• In Michael Scott's series, " The Secrets of the Immortal Nicolas Flamel", a nue is held in a cell on Alcatraz Island.
• A Nue appears in Volume 5 of the manga Genju no Seiza, by Matsuri Akino; when the characters unintentionally time travel back to the Heian period in Japanese history, they are attacked by one.
• Nue Houjuu, one of Touhou Project characters, is based on a Nue. The music that plays during the boss fight with her is entitled "Heian Alien", in reference to the Heian period, in which most stories about the Nue were set. In addition, one of her spell cards is titled "The Bow of Genzanmi Yorimasa", in reference to the story about Minato no Yorimasa.
• In the manga/anime series Bleach, Renji Abarai's zanpakuto, Zabimaru, closely resembles a Nue.
• In the manga series Black Bird, Misao had been targeted by a clan of Nue possessing humans, when Kyo's father went to destroy them he found their village already burnt to the ground and the clan dead.
• In the manga/anime series Air Gear, Nue the leader of team "Black Crow" is a Thunder King of Genesis
• In the OVA anime series called "Karas"[Tatsunoko Productions] one of the main characters is called Nue whom has a human/demon transformation(resemblance of a Nue) and controls lightning as one major ability besides being an expert gunner.

References [link]

v t e Japanese folklore Folktales Bunbuku Chagama Hanasaka Jiisan Issun-bōshi Kachi-kachi Yama Kintarō Momotarō Saru Kani Gassen Shita-kiri Suzume Taketori Monogatari Tamamo-no-Mae Tawara Tōda Urashima Tarō Yotsuya Kaidan Text collections Konjaku Monogatarishū Otogizōshi Legendary creatures Dragon Goryō Kappa Kirin Kitsune Nue Obake Oni Shachihoko Shōjō Tanuki Tengu Tsukumogami Yama-uba Yōkai Yūrei Mythology in popular culture Legendary creatures