Fūri

Overview

Fūri is pictured as a spotted animal clinging to a tree. One long forelimb curls around the trunk, while broad clawed feet grip the bark below. A mane or stiff fringe follows its back and head, and its open mouth faces upward. The surrounding foliage, water and low plants establish a wooded landscape rather than an indoor apparition scene.

The printed label 風狸 supplies the exact identity of this fantastic animal. Its unusual body combines familiar animal features without functioning as a scientific identification of a living species. The plate securely supports climbing behavior, spots and a shaggy outline. Detailed assertions about flight, revival after injury or magical objects associated with the animal need independent textual witnesses; they are not inferred from the pictured posture or the modern English gloss of its name.

Origins & earliest records

Toriyama Sekien, Konjaku Hyakki Shūi (first published 1781), volume 2; the named plate was directly inspected in the digitized institutional copy. This dates a selected representation, not an earliest oral belief.

Records & interpretation

Printed label 風狸 and creature composition directly checked in the enlarged primary scan. The cursive explanatory commentary has not been fully transcribed; detailed popular narratives are excluded unless supported separately.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Konjaku Hyakki Shūi

   Toriyama Sekien · 1781

   Volume 2; IIIF canvas index 20 (zero-based); HyakkishuYiV2Tori_0021.jp2. Named illustration directly inspected.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Primary records and illustrations

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. Institutional primary-book recordKonjaku Hyakki Shūi — Smithsonian Libraries digitized volume 2Research access: 2026-10-05
2. Primary illustrated plate / institutional digitizationFūri (風狸) — exact inspected primary plateResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

Fūri, named plate by Toriyama Sekien

Printed label 風狸 and the pictured composition directly inspected at enlarged resolution. Fūri is a spotted, shaggy animal clinging to a tree trunk in Sekien’s illustrated collection. The exact image URL comes from the returned IIIF manifest, not a guessed page ID.