Nuppeppo (Aomori) image

Folklore being

Nuppeppo (Aomori)

Publicly verified

A flesh-mass entity with sagging human face, depicted in Sawaki Sushi's Hyakkai Zukan (1737) and Toriyama Sekien's Gazu Hyakki Yagyo (1776).

In 30 seconds

A wrinkled flesh-mass entity of Edo-period yokai scrolls, depicted by Sekien (1776) and walking abandoned temples at night.

Description

Nuppeppo (also Nuppefuhofu) is an entity shaped like a wrinkled mass of flesh with a crushed human face sunk into its body and short limbs. Sawaki Sushi's Hyakkai Zukan (1737) and Toriyama Sekien's Gazu Hyakki Yagyo, yo no maki (1776) depict the figure shuffling through abandoned temples, ruined castles, and old battlefields at night. It causes no direct harm; the unsettling appearance itself is the subject. A related anecdote in Issho-wa records that Tokugawa Ieyasu received a similar creature as tribute. Modern entries by Murakami Kenji's Nihon Yokai Daijiten (Kadokawa, 2005) and the International Research Center for Japanese Studies Yokai Folklore Database organize the tradition. Aomori has no distinct local lineage; the entry treats Nuppeppo as an Edo-period picture-scroll entity.

Sources

  • 国際日本文化研究センター 怪異・妖怪伝承データベース ぬっぺふほふ

    Primary source

    国際日本文化研究センター

    国際日本文化研究センター 怪異・妖怪伝承データベース ぬっぺふほふに基づくぬっぺふほふの代表的な典拠整理。

    https://www.nichibun.ac.jp/YoukaiDB3/
  • 日本妖怪大事典

    Secondary source

    村上健司 編著

    日本妖怪大事典などを参照したぬっぺふほふの地域的受容と類縁語の補助確認。

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