The ubagabi is an atmospheric ghost light in legends of Kawachi Province and Tanba Province. They are mentioned in old literature, such as the Tenpō period book the Shokoku Rijin Dan and Ihara Saikaku's collection of miscellaneous tales the Saikaku Shokoku Banashi as well as Edo periodkaidan books such as the Kokon Hyaku Monogatari Hyōban, the Kawachi Kagami Meishōki, and Toiryama Sekien's collection of yōkai depictions, the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō, among other mentions.
Concept
According to the Shokoku Rijin Dan, on a rainy night, in Hiraoka, Kawachi, it would appear as a ball of fire with a length of one shaku. It is said that in the past, an old woman stole oil from Hiraoka Shrine and became a mysterious fire from a resulting curse. Once, when someone was walkingalong the road at night in Kawachi, the ubagabi suddenly appeared from nowhere and hit this person's face, and when this person looked closely, it took on the form of a chicken-like bird. It is said that when the ubagabi eventually flew away, it turned back into its original appearance as a ball of fire. From this, the yōkai manga artistMizuki Shigeru suggested the possibility that the ubagabi was actually a bird. In the tale where an old woman became an ubagabi, the Saikaku Shokoku Banashi, it's written about here as the "Mi wo Sute Abura-tsubo." According to this, the ubagabi is said to fly a length of about one ri in a mere instant, and it's said when the ubagabi grazes around someone's shoulder, that person would die within three years. However, it's said that ubagabi would disappear if you say "abura-sashi". There is also a legend about an ubagabi appearing at the Hozu River in Kyoto Prefecture. In the Kokon Hyaku Monogatari Hyōban, there was once an old woman who lived near Kameyama who would receive money from parents, telling them that she would take them to meet people they needed to see, and put the children into the Hozu River. Eventually, perhaps as divine punishment, the old woman experienced a flood and drowned. After that, it is said that a mysterious flame would appear near Hozu River, and people called this the ubagabi. It is also titled "Ubagabi" in the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō, and it is depicted with an old woman's face within the mysterious flames, but since there is the statement "it's said to be in Kawachi Province" within accompanying description, this makes it a depiction of a Kawachi Province legend.
