Nobusuma, named plate by Toriyama Sekien
Printed title野衾 and actual illustration inspected. Description records visible composition, not an unchecked translation of cursive text.
Overview
Nobusuma is placed high over a stream and a small waterfall. Its compact furry body has spread limbs, a pointed face and a visible tail, producing a flying-mammal silhouette. Two ordinary birds below it provide contrasting shapes and a sense of movement through the air. Rocks, reeds and a fence define the lower landscape. The creature is neither drawn as a human ghost nor given the long membranous body of a cloth-like apparition.
The title 野衾 and its reading distinguish the named subject. The plate's small animal form is the secure basis of this profile. Identification with a specific living flying-squirrel species, a nocturnal attack story or a later regional monster should be supported separately rather than inferred from the shared ability to glide.
Origins & earliest records
Toriyama Sekien includes the named illustration in Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki, first published 1779. The inspected Smithsonian copy is a later historical edition; the first book appearance is not a claim of the earliest oral tradition.
Records & interpretation
Directly inspected historical illustration and printed name. Pictorial observations are distinguished from narrative claims that would require a separate checked text.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki
Volume 3, IIIF canvas index 8 (zero-based); printed title 野衾 directly inspected.
Family, evolution & connections
Northern flying squirrel
Sekien shows a furry Nobusuma spreading its limbs high over a stream, producing a flying-mammal silhouette. Northern flying squirrel is a representative comparison for gliding form; its American distribution prevents treating it as the pictured Japanese species. The resemblance alone does not establish either a specific animal identity or supernatural origin.
Primary records and illustrations
Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki
Volume3; Smithsonian Libraries copy. IIIF canvas index 8 (zero-based)
Printed title野衾 and actual illustration inspected. Description records visible composition, not an unchecked translation of cursive text.
Encyclopedia background
An additional attributed reference, separate from the editorial profile above.
Read the open encyclopedia overview
A nobusuma (野衾) (lit. "field bedding") or tobikura (飛倉) is a type of flying or sky-gliding yōkai monster, whose lore is localized in the Edo (now Tokyo), which some say is a transmuted bat, and others a flying squirrel.
It may latch onto a human from and cover his eyes and mouth, perhaps to suck blood. It attacks animals to feed on their blood, according to other sources. It is also said to consume fruits or tree-nuts. As for it allegedly consuming flame (or smoke from a fire), a source explains that it engages in a sort of fire-eating and -breathing behavior after chomping the tip off a lit torch.
According to the transmutation theorists, it starts off as bat, but with age eventually becomes a nobusuma, then later another yōkai named yamachichi (lit. "mountain father"); this yamachichi is characterized as a vampire due to its habit of sucking the breath out of a sleeper and even cause death.
Text from Wikipedia contributors, “Nobusuma”. CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted introduction; formatting changed. Retrieved 5 October 2026. The source article may have changed since retrieval.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Institutional primary-book recordSmithsonian Libraries — historical illustrated volumeResearch access: 2026-10-05
- Direct primary illustrationNamed primary plate: 野衾Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
Historical illustrationNobusuma, named plate by Toriyama Sekien
Printed title野衾 and actual illustration inspected. Description records visible composition, not an unchecked translation of cursive text.
