Folklore being
Nure-Onna
A serpent-bodied female yokai depicted in Toriyama Sekien's Gazu Hyakki Yagyo, with regional counterparts in Shikoku folklore.
Overview
Nure-Onna is a yokai depicted by Toriyama Sekien in Gazu Hyakki Yagyo (Front Volume, "Wind" section, 1776). She appears as a woman with a serpent's body, perpetually wet, encountered at the water's edge.
Context of Appearance
She is said to appear at coastlines, riverbanks, and places where springs emerge from the mountains. Folkloric examples are recorded in coastal villages in Ehime and Kochi Prefectures, where similar stories of a wet-haired woman by the water have been collected.
Referenced Traditions
The Sekien depiction in Gazu Hyakki Yagyo (1776 original; 1805 compilation NDL pid/2553975) is the canonical image. The Nichibun Yokai Tradition Database includes oral cases collected in Minamiuwa District, Ehime ("Iyo no Minzoku" no. 39, 1985) and Hata District, Kochi (Kokugakuin University Folklore Survey, 1965).
Sources
画図百鬼夜行 前篇（合本 1805年刊）
Primary source鳥山石燕
安永5年（1776年）原典の合本。前篇「風」に濡女を蛇体の女として収録
https://dl.ndl.go.jp/pid/2553975日文研 怪異・妖怪伝承データベース — ヌレオンナ（ID:0200240）
Institutional source国際日本文化研究センター
愛媛県南宇和郡。鈴木泰助「妖怪変化の話など」伊予の民俗第39号
https://www.nichibun.ac.jp/cgi-bin/YoukaiDB3/youkai_card.cgi?ID=0200240日文研 怪異・妖怪伝承データベース — ぬれ女（ID:2360955）
Institutional source国際日本文化研究センター
高知県幡多郡大月町旧月灘村。國學院大學民俗学研究会民俗採訪
https://www.nichibun.ac.jp/cgi-bin/YoukaiDB3/youkai_card.cgi?ID=2360955Wikipedia 日本語版 — 濡女
Secondary sourceWikipedia contributors
日本の妖怪。海や川などの水辺に出没し、常に髪が濡れている女
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%BF%A1%E5%A5%B3
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