Nue
This figure is from Shin Megami Tensei, and was actually a lottery prize.
Greek mythology has the Chimera, a creature with the head and body of a lion, a second head of a goat, and a serpent tail (with its own head). Iraq (Persia) has the Manticore, a creature with the body of a lion, the face of a man, the wings of an eagle, and the tail of a scorpion. The Nue is often called “The Japanese Chimera,” though the only connection is its mix-and-match nature. Nue vary from creature to creature and account to account, but most often they have the body of a tiger, the face of a snow monkey, and a snake’s tail – with its own snake head, too. They make bird cries as they fly in the night, concealed within dark clouds of their own making. The Nue is also one of the oldest recorded Yokai, with descriptions and legends strethcing back well over eleven hundred years ago.
The Nue are truly terrible and dangerous. When they appear, they create nightmares, spread curses, and people die. One famous story from AD 1153 involves the emperor himself falling deeply ill under both physical and spiritual ailments, as well as nightmares. One night when a storm struck the imperial palace and set the roof on fire, the samurai Minamoto realized that it was a creature, and he fired an arrow directly into the center of the storm’s black cloud. This killed the Nue, who fell dead to the ground. To avoid its death curse, the inhabitants of Kyoto sent its body to the village of Ashiya, which gave it a proper burial. A nd you can actually visit the mound today, though I doubt anybody will let you dig and excavate the Nue’s body.
Nue
This figure is from Shin Megami Tensei, and was actually a lottery prize.
Greek mythology has the Chimera, a creature with the head and body of a lion, a second head of a goat, and a serpent tail (with its own head). Iraq (Persia) has the Manticore, a creature with the body of a lion, the face of a man, the wings of an eagle, and the tail of a scorpion. The Nue is often called “The Japanese Chimera,” though the only connection is its mix-and-match nature. Nue vary from creature to creature and account to account, but most often they have the body of a tiger, the face of a snow monkey, and a snake’s tail – with its own snake head, too. They make bird cries as they fly in the night, concealed within dark clouds of their own making. The Nue is also one of the oldest recorded Yokai, with descriptions and legends strethcing back well over eleven hundred years ago.
The Nue are truly terrible and dangerous. When they appear, they create nightmares, spread curses, and people die. One famous story from AD 1153 involves the emperor himself falling deeply ill under both physical and spiritual ailments, as well as nightmares. One night when a storm struck the imperial palace and set the roof on fire, the samurai Minamoto realized that it was a creature, and he fired an arrow directly into the center of the storm’s black cloud. This killed the Nue, who fell dead to the ground. To avoid its death curse, the inhabitants of Kyoto sent its body to the village of Ashiya, which gave it a proper burial. A nd you can actually visit the mound today, though I doubt anybody will let you dig and excavate the Nue’s body.