Furu-tsubaki no rei

Overview

Furu-tsubaki no rei is Sekien’s old camellia spirit, labelled 古山茶の霊 in Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki. A flowering tree occupies the foreground of the plate. Amid its large rounded petals appears a face with a projecting nose, visible eye, and open mouth. Branches, foliage, and blossoms form the creature’s body rather than surrounding a separate person. Behind it stands a damaged building with broken roof material and a hanging screen.

The accompanying text associates the spirit with an old camellia becoming strange and deceiving people. The important distinction is age and transformation: this is a particular literary image of a tree taking supernatural form, rather than a claim that all camellias are harmful. The ruin supplies visual atmosphere but does not, by itself, prove a fixed rule that the spirit inhabits abandoned houses. Its exact powers and regional narrative variants require additional witnesses.

Origins & earliest records

Japan; Toriyama Sekien’s illustrated collection

Records & interpretation

Directly inspected labelled primary woodblock plate; descriptive claims limited to this witness.

Selected bibliography

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

1. 01

   Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki

   Toriyama Sekien · 1779

   Inspected Smithsonian digitization; image canvas index 17 (zero-based, not printed page number).

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. Primary illustrated sourceKonjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki digitized primary plate 古山茶の霊Research access: 2026-10-05
2. Institutional catalogSmithsonian Libraries digitized volumeResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

Furu-tsubaki no rei, named plate by Toriyama Sekien

Furu-tsubaki no rei is Sekien’s old camellia spirit, labelled 古山茶の霊 in Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki. A flowering tree occupies the foreground of the plate. Amid its large rounded petals appears a face with a projecting nose, visible eye, and open mouth. Branches, foliage, and blossoms form the creature’s body rather than surrounding a separate person. Behind it stands a damaged building with broken roof material and a hanging screen. Caption label checked at enlarged resolution.