Nure-onna is a Japanese yōkai which resembles a reptilious creature with the head of a woman and the body of a snake. They are also known to be a paranormal phenomenonat sea under the name of nureyomejo. In legends, they are often said to consume humans, but they have no single appearance or personality.
Concept
They are similar to the yōkai called isoonna of Kyushu, and like the isoonna, they are said to appear at seas or rivers. Their name comes from how their hair is always set in legends. They are also theorized to be the changed form of sea snakes. Many Edo Period publications such as the Hyakkai Zukan, Gazu Hyakki Yagyō, among others, depict this yōkai as a woman with a snake body, which would make it appear as if this was a well-known yōkai of the time, but there are no stories about a snake-bodied nure-onna in the classical literature of the time that can be found. Despite this, according to the essayYōkai Gadan Zenshū, Jō by the early Shōwa period folklorist Morihiko Fujisawa, despite not pointing out any primary sources as references, it states that there is the following story from the year Bunkyū 2 of the Edo Period. In this story, the nure-onna was not directly given an appearance, but the tail with a length of at least 3 chō would appear to imply a snake body. They can also be seen in the essay Tōhoku Kaidan no Tabi by Norio Yamada and in the essay Zusetsu: Nihon Mikakunin Seibutsu Jiten by the literature professor Yoshiko Sasama, but likewise they do not provide any examples of primary sources.
Folklore
In the Iwami region of Shimane Prefecture, the "nure-onna" is a mysteriouswater being used by ushi-oni, and it would appear by the sea and hand over a baby it is hugging to someone and then return to the sea, whereupon an ushi-oni would appear. The person who was requested to hold the baby would usually then try to throw the baby and run away, but by then, the baby would have turned into a heavy stone that would not separate. The person would then be killed and eaten by the ushi-oni, according to legend. Therefore, it is said that one is asked to hug a baby, one ought to do so only after putting on gloves, and one fleeing, one ought to toss everything, including the gloves. In the legends of Ōda, Shimane, a man entrusted with a baby from the nure-onna would be assaulted by an ushi-oni, and just when it seems like he lost their trail, the ushi-oni would then say "too bad, too bad," and it'd be in the same voice as the nure-onna. In classical yōkai depictions such as the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō and Hyakkai Zukan, the nure-onna would have a human face and a snake body, and the concept of feminine water turmoil is generally symbolized with the snake, but in certain tales about the nure-onna, they would appear as an ubume who would make people hug babies. Both of them would hand over a baby symbolizing impurity and chaos, and both of them would lead humans to their deaths.
Mythology
A nure-onna's intentions are unknown. In some stories, she is a monstrous being who is powerful enough to crush trees with her tail and feeds on humans. She carries with her a small, childlike bundle, which she uses to attract potential victims. If a well-intentioned person offers to hold the baby for her, the nure-onna will let them. If they attempt to discard the bundle, however, it is revealed that it is not a child at all. Instead, the bundle becomes incredibly heavy and prevents the victim from fleeing. She then uses her long, snake-like tongue to suck all the blood from her victim's body. In other stories, a nure-onna is simply seeking solitude as she washes her hair and reacts violently to those who bother her. The rokurokubi is a close relative to the nure-onna.
