Nurikabe: Trickster That Manifests Itself As Invisible, Impassable Wall In Japanese Old Beliefs

A. Sutherland  - AncientPages.com -Nurikabe is among the most popular Yokai monster creatures in Japanese mythology and folk traditions.

Left: Nurikabe, a mythological creature of the Japanese folklore. Montage with a Japanese forest. source; Right: Nurikabe - Painted Bronze Statue on Shigeru Mizuki Road, Japan. sourceLeft: Nurikabe, a mythological creature of the Japanese folklore. Montage with a Japanese forest. source; Right: Nurikabe - Painted Bronze Statue on Shigeru Mizuki Road, Japan. source

It is a yokai, a mysterious force that symbolizes suspicion and strangeness. It defines various supernatural phenomena, objects, and bizarre creatures that dwell in the borderlands and spaces located "in-between."

The belief in a trickster, nurikabe, mainly targets individuals while traveling alone was first recorded in Japan long ago.

In ancient times, it was natural for many travelers to lose their way and feel lost in the darkness unless they possessed their light source.

For many of them, the only light that revealed the path came from the moon and the stars.

In such moments, not only outlaws and wild animals were a potential danger to travelers during the night. With the only goal of blocking roads and delaying foot travel as long as possible, the Yokai nurikabe symbolizes a constant threat to travelers and gives them fear and uncertainty.

The nurikabe can be met on the road anytime, especially at night. Normally invisible, it completely prevents and blocks a path or the main road, forcing travelers to surround it. It can also suddenly appear as an obstacle inside a house.

Any attempt to find a different path or go around, under, or over is in vain. As a wall, the nurikabe could suddenly lengthen or mysteriously rise and move.

It is said that the encounter with a Nurikabe can mean getting lost for a day, and its presence is an unnerving but never deadly experience.

Nurikabe's Appearance Changed With Time

Originally, this yokai was described as an invisible being that manifested as a sizeable invisible wall.

During the Edo period (1603 - 1868), the final period of traditional Japan, artists began to illustrate the creature in a more physical form, giving it a hybrid-like appearance, with arms, legs, and two little eyes.

The nurikabe began to look like a grotesque monster rather than a flat, never-ending wall.

"It is said that if you take a stick and strike at the bottom of it, it will disappear, but if you hit at the top part, nothing will happen."

"A personal experience with a nurikabe-like encounter that occurred when he [Shigeru Mizuki (1922 – 2015), artist and historian] was in New Guinea during World War II. Exhausted and alone, he is walking through the "dark jungle" at night, eager to rejoin his companions and wary of enemies, when suddenly he feels as if he is stuck in "coal tar," unable to move forward or to either side. Completely at a loss for what to do, he sits down to rest for a few minutes, and when he tries to walk again, it is as if nothing at all had happened..." (F.M.Dylan, 'The Book of Yokai')

Written by – A. Sutherland  - AncientPages.com Senior Staff Writer

Updated on January 16, 2024

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