View source for Nurikabe

{{Short description|Yōkai in Japanese folklore}}
{{for|the puzzle with the same name|Nurikabe (puzzle)}}
{{italic title}}
[[File:Torin Nukaribe.jpg|thumb|Illustrated beast labeled "{{translit|ja|Nurikabe}}" in the ''[[Bakemono no e]]'' picture scroll (c. 1660){{right|{{small|―[[Brigham Young University]] [[Harold B. Lee Library|Library]], [[L. Tom Perry Special Collections Library|Special Collections]], the Harry F. Bruning Collection of Japanese Books and Manuscripts.<ref name="stoneman&skabelund2022"/><ref name="papp2010"/>}}}}|alt=]]

The '''{{translit|ja|nurikabe}}''' ({{lang|ja|塗り壁}} or {{lang|ja|塗壁}},<ref name="yoda&alt2012"/> literally "plastered wall",{{sfnp|Foster|2015|p=26}} {{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Hence perhaps "The Wall" or "Mr. Wall"<ref name="yoda&alt2012" /><!--not well-attested at all ("sometimes called" is obviously blind guesswork [[WP:OR]]). Possibly in some manga, anime, translation or dubbing, but needs sourcing for claim.-->}}) is a ''[[yōkai]]'', or spirit, from [[Japanese folklore]]. 

It is said to manifest as an [[invisible]] wall that impedes or misdirects travelers walking at night.{{sfnp|Foster|2015|p=26}}<ref name="yoda&alt2012"/><ref name="aramata-map2021"/> This ''yōkai'' is described as quite tall, to prevent people from climbing over it, and wide enough to dampen any attempts to go around it.<ref name="yoda&alt2012" />

Japanese scholar and folklorist [[Kunio Yanagita]] recorded perhaps the most prominent early example of ''nurikabe'' and other ''yōkai'' in his books.<ref name="foster2015" /> Manga artist [[Shigeru Mizuki]] claims to have had a ''nurikabe''-like experience, being stuck in coal tar in [[New Guinea]], inspiring a ''nurikabe'' character in his [[manga]] ''[[GeGeGe no Kitarō|Gegege no Kitarō]]''.<ref name="foster2015" /><ref name="papp2010" />

It was thought no pre-modern pictorial depictions of ''nurikabe'' existed until 2007, when it was noticed that a [[Brigham Young University]] held yōkai picture scroll from the 17th century included a "white dog-[[White elephant (animal)|elephant]] like creature" labeled as "{{translit|ja|nurikabe}}" (cf. fig. right), matching a later copy held in Japan.

==Mythology==
The ''nurikabe'' takes the form of a wall—usually invisible—that blocks the path of travelers as they're walking. With the exception of [[Shigeru Mizuki|Mizuki Shigeru's]] experience in New Guinea, most legends and accounts of ''nurikabe'' come from [[Kyushu|Kyūshū]], in the [[Fukuoka Prefecture|Fukuoka]] and [[Ōita Prefecture|Ōita]] prefectures.<ref name="foster2015" /> 

Specifically, folklorist [[Kunio Yanagita]] (1938) gives the following lore:
{{Blockquote
|text=It is said in the sea coast of [[Onga District, Fukuoka|Onga County]] (''kōri''), [[Chikuzen Province]] (now district of the same name in [[Fukuoka Prefecture]]) that when one is walking a path at night, suddenly the destination one is going towards [i.e., the spot ahead] suddenly turns into a wall, and one becomes unable to go anywhere, as it happens sometimes. This [yōkai] is called the {{translit|ja|nurikabe}} and is held in fear. If one takes a stick and sweeps at the bottom, it goes away, but striking its top does nothing.
|author=Yanagita
|title=
|source={{nihongo|''Yōkai meii''|妖怪名彙|extra="Yōkai Glossary", 1956 [1938]}}{{Refn|name="yanagita-gloss"|Yanagita (1938) serialized "''Yōkai meii'' part 4" ("Yōkai Glossary"<ref name="foster2024"/> or "Compilation of Yokai Names"{{sfnp|Papp|2010|p=71}})<ref name="yanagita1938"/> Later reprinted as appendix to Yangita (2013) [3rd ed. 1957] [1st ed. 1956] ''Yōkai dangi''.<ref name="yanagita1957"/>}}{{Refn|Yanagita's text is quoted in a differing English translation by Foster.<ref name="foster2015" />}}{{efn|The quote actually continues with the description of the {{translit|ja|nuribō}} under {{section link||Parallels}} below.}}
}}

Note the quoted text above does not explicitly refer to the wall's invisibility, so this is an aspect inferred by commentators.{{sfnp|Foster|2015|p=26}}<ref name="yoda&alt2012"/><ref name="aramata-map2021"/>

Yanagita's writing on the ''nurikabe''<ref name="yanagita1938"/> is thought to represent the earliest attestation of folklore record,<ref name="Kwai200802_p12"/><ref name="kyogoku2007"/> or at least he is credited for making it widely known throughout Japan.<ref name="kyogoku2006"/> 

Some iterations of the legend say that trying to go around the wall is futile as it extends forever.<ref name="TheNippon">''{{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=6OQzAQAAIAAJ |2=The Nippon: Visual Human Life}}''. Kodansha, 1986. p. 759. {{ISBN|4-06-202038-6}}</ref>{{vn|date=May 2025}} It has been suggested that the legend of the ''nurikabe'' was created to explain travelers losing their bearings on long journeys.{{sfnp|Foster|2015|p=26}}<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|chapter=Nurikabe |title=The Element Encyclopedia of the Psychic World |publisher=Harper Element|id=|date=2006|volume=1|pages=491}}</ref>

=== Lore of Ōita ===
Some ''nurikabe-''like experiences that have been recorded have been attributed as the doing of a ''[[Bake-danuki|tanuki]]'' (enchanted [[Japanese raccoon dog]]) in Ōita Prefecture. These happenings, instead of involving a wall, are instances where the traveler suddenly cannot see in front of themselves. This legendary phenomenon is referred to as  "{{nihongo|''tanuki no nurikabe''|狸の塗り壁|extra="racoon dog's plaster wall"}}<ref name="foster2015" /><ref name="kodama1986"/> The same phenomenon is called {{nihongo|''itachi no nurikabe''|イタチの塗り壁|extra="[[weasel]]'s plaster wall"}} locally in [[Kakaji, Ōita|Kakaji]] (now incorporated into [[Bungotakada, Ōita]]).<ref name="kodama1986"/>

Superstition tells that the ''tanuki'' erects a "blind wall" by outspreading its [[scrotum]] into a wide sheet, blocking the nighttime traveler's [[field of vision]].{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|The ''tanuki'' having is a common [[Trope (literature)|trope]]. The creature's outstretched scrotum is said to measure {{nihongo|hachijōjiki|八畳敷|extra="eight tatami mats"}}, as explained in an old Urokogata-ya version of ''[[Bunbuku Chagama]]''.<ref name=urokogataya-bunbukuchagama-web/>}} Either the raccoon dog's or the weasel's ''nurikabe'' wall can be defeated by sitting down in place and [[smoking]] a puff of [[tobacco]],{{efn|name="kiseru"|Traditionally the Japanese would use a pipe called the [[kiseru]].}} then the traveler's vision will be restored, and he is able to resume his journey.<ref name="kodama1986"/><ref name="Kwai201107_p262"/>

There is a tradition of ''nurikabe'' folklore in [[Usuki, Ōita]] as well.{{Refn|Besides the ''Ōita ken shi: Minzoku-hen'' (prefectural history) already cited, {{nihongo|''Usuki shidan''|臼杵史談|extra="Discourse on Usuki's history", 1968}} is cited as a source of ''nurikabe'' material.<ref name="Kwai201107_p262"/>}} Usuki is known for ''abura shikkui'' ("oil plaster"), a proprietary plastering technique, and walls administered this kind of coating will repel water, whose weird appearance may have originally inspired the ''nurikabe'' monster, according to one theory.<ref name="yamaguchi2014"/>

[[Minamiamabe District, Ōita]] (now incorporated into [[Saiki, Ōita|Saiki]] city) has a folk legend that the ''nurikabe'' appears on a [[Defile (geography)|sloped path]] named ''Shichi-magari'' ("Seven Bends"), accompanied by another yōkai called ''[[Azukiarai|azuki-togi]]''  ("[[adzuki bean]] washer"). When a person is walking along at night, the ''nurikabe'' appears suddenly and the view ahead completely darkens. Its true identity is a ''tanuki'', which hops on to the back knot of the ''[[Obi (sash)|obi]]'' around the person's ''[[kimono]]'', then covers the person's eyes with its forepaws. Hence, the way to avoid this misfortune is to tie the ''obi'' in such a way as to prevent the beast from riding it.<ref name="kaku&tsuchiya1980"/>

==Iconography==
=== Yokai picture scroll  ===
;(''Bakemono no e'' and ''Bakemono zukushi emaki'')

An illustration labeled as "nurikabe" of a three-eyed quadruped white creature{{Refn|"white dog-[[White elephant (animal)|elephant]]-like creature".<ref name="BYU-lib"/>}} (see top image) was found in [[Brigham Young University]]'s {{nihongo|''[[Bakemono no e]]''|化物之繪|extra="Illustrations of Supernatural Creatures"}} picture scroll<ref name="yumoto2013"/><ref name="AsahiShimbun20070804eve"/> (which some date to c. 1660<ref name="foster2024"/><ref name="BYU-lib"/>), held by the BYU [[Harold B. Lee Library]] under the [[L. Tom Perry Special Collections Library]]'s<ref name="AsahiShimbun20070804eve"/> Harry F. Bruning collection of <ref name="foster2024"/> Yōkai folklorist [[Michael Dylan Foster]] thinks this creature resembles an [[elephant]],<ref name="foster2024"/> though the later copy (described below) is considered to look like a (stylized) lion or dog by Japanese commentators.<ref name="yumoto2013"/><ref name="AsahiShimbun20070804eve"/>

Thus, a near identical, but unlabeled, later copy of this painting exists (with different coloration) in a picture scroll belonging to  {{illm|Kōichi Yumoto|ja|湯本豪一}}.{{efn|Yumoto is a renowned yōkai folklorist and collector/museum operator.}} and this unlabeled beast can now be characterized as another "nurikabe" painting by comparison conducted in January 2007.<ref name="AsahiShimbun20070804eve"/><ref name="yumoto2013"/><ref name="BYU-lib"/> Yumoto's scroll was painted by Kanō Yoshinobu ({{lang|ja|由信}}) of the [[Kanō school]] in the year [[1802]]/[[Kyōwa]] 2 dated on the [[Colophon (publishing)|colophon]] of the scroll.<ref name="AsahiShimbun20070804eve"/><ref name="yumoto2013"/><ref name="BYU-lib"/> The "discovery" was made in January 2007 when Associate Professor Lawrence Marceau of the [[University of Auckland]] carried photographic data of the BYU scroll and visited Yumoto to make comparison.<ref name="AsahiShimbun20070804eve"/><ref name="BYU-lib"/><ref name="papp2010"/> Subsequently in August 2007, Yumoto announced the exhibition of his picture scroll illustration now identified as "{{translit|ja|nurikabe}}".{{efn|Yumoto at the time was the head of the curator department at the {{illm|Kawasaki City Museum|ja|川崎市市民ミュージアム}}.}}<ref name="AsahiShimbun20070804eve"/>

Before this "discovery", pre-modern depiction of the ''nurikabe'' was thought not to exist.<ref name="yumoto2013"/><ref name="BYU-lib"/> Manga artist [[Shigeru Mizuki]] called the find "significant"<ref name="foster2024"/> or "important yōkai national treasure"<ref name="AsahiShimbun20070804eve"/><ref name="BYU-lib"/>。After 2007, the visual depiction of ''nurikabe'' circulating around Japan changed completely, from the flat wall creature with eyes, arms and legs depicted by  Mizuki, to this "white dog-[[White elephant (animal)|elephant]]-like creature".<ref name="BYU-lib"/> Mizuki's version was solely based on his imagination and written folklore<ref name="foster2024"/> (cf. {{section link||Mizuki's manga}} below)

But some Japanese scholars are not convinced this image actually depicts the same ''nurikabe'' known by the oral lore of Kyushu.<ref name="BYU-lib"/> Writer-researchers [[Natsuhiko Kyogoku]], {{illm|Katsumi Tada|ja|多田克己}}, {{illm|Kenji Murakami|ja|村上健司}} and journalist Osamu Kato<!--加藤修--> of'' [[Asahi Shimbun]]'' held a panel discussion published in the periodical {{illm|Kwai (periodical)|ja|怪 (ムック)|lt=''Kwai''}}, which rendered opinion that it is unclear whether the scroll picture ''nurikabe'' and the oral folklore ''nurikabe'' are the one and the same.<ref name="Kwai200802_p122"/>

One theory is that ''nurikabe'' is a [[homonym]] for completely different yōkai, and the name match merely coincidence. Another possibility is that the picture labeled "{{lang|ja|nurikabe}}" or just ''nurikabe''{{'}}s name alone circulated to the Kyushu region, and was forcibly matched with local lore that seemed to fit.<ref name="Kwai200802_p122"/> Folklorist {{illm|Kazuhiko Komatsu|ja|小松和彦}} et al. (2009) also deem as  "uncertain" the exact relationship between the scroll picture and the ''nurikabe'' of Yanagita's folklore.<ref name="komatsu2009"/>

=== Inō Heitarō's adventure ===
[[File:Ino_heitaro_monogatari_wall.jpg|right|thumb|140px|A monstrosity on a wall depicted in the {{illm|Inō mononokeroku|ja|稲生物怪録|lt=''Inō mononoke roku''}} (1749).<ref name="sugimoto2004"/>]]

In the Edo Period illustrated yōkai narrative {{illm|Inō mononokeroku|ja|稲生物怪録|lt=''Inō mononokeroku''}} ("Record of strange occurrences in the Inō household", 1749){{sfnp|Foster|2015|p=90}}), there is a scene where a face with eyes and a mouth appears on the wall and glares at the person. There had been advanced theories in the past that this "face on the wall"{{Refn|Nakamura claims this wall yokai is not captioned with any name.<ref name="nakamura1999"/> But Kuramoto claims this being is called {{nihongo|''Kabe no katachi''|壁の形地|en|extra="wall shape"?}} in the text,<ref name="kuramoto1995"/> though it perhaps states {{nihongo|''sono katachi''|其形地|en|extra="that shape"}}. Fujihara's thesis calls it {{nihongo|''kabe no kao''|壁の顔|extra="face of/on the wall"<ref name="fujihara2016"/><!--as commonly used on the web-->}}.}} might be the traceable origin of the ''nurikabe''.<ref name="nakamura1999"/>

On the 30th day of the 7th [[lunar month]] (Inō Heitarō is haunted every day this month<ref name="nakamura1999"/>), the protagonist is met with a mass of [[ash]] (in the form of a humanlike head) which spews a herd of [[Earthworm|earthworms]] (which Heitarō hated), and the wall nearby has sprouted eyes and a mouth, laughing.<ref name="fujihara2016"/><ref name="kuramoto1995"/>

This "face in the wall" is related to ''[[hitobashira]]'' ([[human sacrifice]] for buildings){{efn|''hitobashira'' is literally "human pillar", [[human sacrifice]] buried in the foundation, etc., of built structures.}} according to literary critic Shirō Kuramoto, as it is quite conceivable for a sacrificed human to be plastered into the wall.<ref name="kuramoto1995"/> Though Kuramoto is not referring to the ''nurikabe'' monster itself but rather ''nurikabe'' (plaster wall) as a construction technique, a somewhat similar line of thought is already seen in the theory that the ''nurikabe'' monster originated from walls finished with so-called the "oil plaster" of Usuki city (see above).<ref name="yamaguchi2014"/>

=== Mizuki's manga ===
The yōkai manga author [[Shigeru Mizuki]] created the character {{illm|Nurikabe (Gegege)|ja|ぬりかべ (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎)|lt=Nurikabe}}, a large wall with eyes, hands and feet (see fig. under {{section link||In popular culture}} below). The visualization was strictly the invention of Mizuki's mind, except that he relied on Yanagita's folklore<ref name="yanagita1957"/> that the  "wall appears" ahead (tr. Foster).<ref name="foster2024"/> So this Nurikabe is essentially a folk legend based fictional character.<ref name="komatsu2009"/>

== Parallels ==
The {{translit|ja|nuribō}} of [[Iki Island]] (administered by [[Nagasaki Prefecture]]) is considered a similar creature. It is said to jut out from the side of the mountain next to the road at night.<ref name="yanagita1957"/>

=== Nobusuma ===
The {{nihongo|''nobusuma''|野襖|extra={{lit}} "field fusuma"}} is a ''yōkai'' which in some versions has been likened to the ''nurikabe''.<ref name="konno1981"/><ref name="aramata-map2021"/> The ''[[nobusuma]]'' down south from Tokyo in the  [[Shikoku]] region, in {{illm|Tanokuchi, Kōchi|ja|田ノ口村 (高知県)|lt=Tanokuchi}} village, [[Hata District, Kōchi]], purportedly blocks the way and it is so expansive, there is apparently no end to it whether you seek up and down or sideways. When blocked, the traveler needs to calm down and smoke{{efn|name="kiseru"}} his tobacco.<ref name="nakahira1931"/>{{sfnp|Konno|1981|p=31}}{{efn|{{harvp|Aramata|Ōya|2021}} is likely confused in localizing the same legend as occurring in the [[Kantō region]], around Tokyo.}}

[[Hiroshi Aramata]] comments that the above creature should be distinguished from another {{nihongo|''[[nobusuma]]''|[[:ja:野套|野套]]|extra={{lit}} "field quilt/bedding"}} (pronounced the same but written differently<ref name="toriyama-eng"/>), the other type, according to legend around the [[Tokyo]] area, flies up to humans and covers their eyes.<ref name="aramata-map2021"/> But that tactic does resemble the eye-hiding by the tanuki that rides the obi sash behind a person's back,<ref name="kaku&tsuchiya1980"/> described above. In fact, another yōkai [[Reference work|reference]] considers the ''nobusuma'' a kindred or subtype of the {{nihongo|''[[fūri]]''|風狸}} which would generally be construed in Japan to mean "wind tanuki".<ref name="miyamoto_yukie2013-fūri"/>{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|In the original Chinese however, ''[[fengli]]'' ({{lang|zh|風貍}}), correctly means "wind [[leopard cat]]" i.e., a spotted type of Asian wildcat.}} More specifically, the  ''nobusuma'' is said to glide through the air by night, latch onto the back of a mountain hiker, cover his eyes and mouth, and [[bloodsucker|suck the blood]].<ref name="miyamoto_yukie2013-fūri"/> The ''nobusuma'' is illustrated and annotated by [[Toriyama Sekien]] (in his ''[[Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki]]'', 1779), where he describes it as "essentially a [[flying squirrel]] (''[[Japanese giant flying squirrel|musasabi]]'')", which eats nuts and fire.<ref name="toriyama-eng"/>

==={{anchors|Tsuitate-danuki|Kayatsuri-tanuki}} Tsuitate-danuki and Kayatsuri-tanuki ===

In the neighboring prefecture within the same [[Shikoku]] region, similar lore exists concerning the ''[[bakedanuki|tanuki]]'' that blocks the way using other pieces of furniture as impediments, namely the {{illm|tsuitate-danuki|ja|衝立狸|lt=''tsuitate-danuki''}}  using a ''[[tsuitate]]'' ([[portable partition]]) as screen,<ref name="yoda&alt2012"/><ref name="tada2012"/> and the {{illm|kayatsuri-tanuki|ja|蚊帳吊り狸|lt=''kayatsuri-tanuki''}} which hangs a [[mosquito net]].<ref name="tada2012"/> Both are legends of [[Mima, Tokushima]].<ref name="tada2012"/>{{sfnp|Konno|1981|pp=143–144}}

=== Echizen Province tanuki ===
The ''tanuki'' of {{illm|Itoshiro, Fukui|ja|石徹白村|lt=Itoshiro}} village, [[Echizen Province]] (now mostly incorporated into [[Gujō, Gifu]] with the remainder in [[Ōno, Fukui]]), was credited with using a similar tactic of propping up a ''fusuma'' (screen panel) to hinder the wayfarer's path.<ref name="miyamoto_tsuneichi1992"/> (Cf. {{section link||Nobusuma}}, {{section link||Tsuitate-danuki}}, {{section link||Kayatsuri-tanuki}} above).

==In popular culture==
{{External media|width=240px|image1=[[:ja:File:Nurikabe.JPG]]<br />Bronze statue of ''nurikabe''. {{illm|Mizuki Shigeru Road|ja|水木しげるロード}}.}}

The ''nurikabe'' has been explicitly referenced in several forms of pop culture. 

There is a ''nurikabe'' character named Nurikabe in [[Shigeru Mizuki]]'s manga series ''[[Gegege no Kitarō]]''. This manga-version of ''nurikabe'' (second half of the 20th century) is depicted as a visible, solid wall with hands, feet and eyes, somewhat anthropomorphically.{{sfnp|Foster|2015|p=26}}<ref name="foster2009" />  The character's main function is to be a shield in order to protect other members of the Kitarō family. Mizuki attributes much of his inspiration for the series to an experience he had with a ''nurikabe'' in New Guinea<ref name="shamoon2013"/> during [[World War II]], as well as to the writings of [[Kunio Yanagita]].<ref name="foster2009" /><ref name="foster2015" />

In the [[Azumanga Daioh]] manga, [[List of Azumanga Daioh characters|Chiyo]] dresses up as a ''nurikabe'' for the "Haunted Coffeehouse" themed cultural festival event. 

The ''[[Mario (franchise)|Mario]]'' franchise features ''nurikabe'' enemies called Whomps, which first appeared in ''[[Super Mario 64]]''.

In [[Ōkami]], enemies named "Blockheads" appear that, like ''nurikabe'', block the way to various locations, and can only be defeated by "knocking" on specific points in a given pattern.

== See also ==
* [[List of legendary creatures from Japan]]
* [[Bai Ze]] - or ''hakutaku'' in Japanese, has a 3-eyed white beast form, with extra eyes on its body
* [[Kudan (yōkai)]] - prophecy beast, sometime compared to ''hakutaku'', variant ''kutabe'' (phonetically [[rhyme]]s with ''nurikabe'' or ''shikkui kabe'' for plaster wall)
* [[Baku (mythology)]] - dream-eating beast-type creature, depicted as a stylized [[tapir]]
* [[Shen (clam-monster)]] - a [[mirage]]-spewing dragon or clam monster

==Explanatory notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|refs=
<ref name="aramata-map2021">{{Cite book|last1=Aramata |first1=Hiroshi |author1-link=荒俣宏 |last2=Ōya |first2=Yasunori  |author2-link=<!--Ōya, Yasunori 應矢泰紀--> |chapter=ぬり壁 |title=アラマタヒロシの日本全国妖怪マップ |publisher=秀和システム |year=2021 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZtRMEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA118 |page=118 |isbn=<!--4798065072, -->9784798065076 |lang=ja}}</ref>

<ref name="AsahiShimbun20070804eve">{{Cite news|last=Kato |first=Osamu |author-link=<!--加藤修--> |title=Nurikabe: jitsu wa konna sugata. Edoki no emaki ni tōjō. Mizuki san 'Kichō na yōkai kokhō' |script-title=ja:「ぬりかべ」実はこんな姿 江戸期の絵巻に登場 水木さん「貴重な“妖怪国宝”」|newspaper=Asahi shimbun<!--朝日新聞-->|edition=<!--東京夕刊-->Tokyo Evening |date=2007-08-04 |page=12 |url=http://www.asahi.com/culture/news_culture/TKY200708040127.html |accessdate=2008-04-15 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170601232451/http://www.asahi.com/culture/news_culture/TKY200708040127.html |archivedate=2017-06-01 |language=ja}}</ref>

<ref name="BYU-lib">{{cite web|url=https://bakemono.lib.byu.edu/ |title=Bakemono no e scroll|script-title=ja:化物之繪 |author=Harold B. Lee Library |author-link=Harold B. Lee Library |website=Brigham Young University |date=2025 |access-date=2025-05-22}} </ref>

<ref name="foster2009">{{Cite book|last=Foster |first=Michael Dylan |author-link=Michael Dylan Foster |title=Pandemonium and parade: Japanese monsters and the culture of yōkai |location=Berkeley |publisher=University of California Press |year=2009 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m7IwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA152 |pages=151–152, 169 |isbn=978-0520253629 |oclc=808601074}}</ref>
<ref name="foster2015">{{Cite book|last=Foster |first=Michael Dylan |author-link=Michael Dylan Foster |title=The book of yōkai : mysterious creatures of Japanese folklore |location=Berkeley |publisher=University of California Press |date=2015-01-14 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0dAkDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA104 |pages=103–104 |isbn=978-0520959125 |oclc=893735854}}</ref>
<ref name="foster2024">{{Cite book|last=Foster |first=Michael Dylan |author-link=:en:Michael Dylan Foster  |title=The Book of Yokai, Expanded Second Edition: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore |publisher=University of California Press |date=2024 |orig-date=2015 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KYT9EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA162 |at=pp. 162, 163, p. 375 n53|isbn=<!--0520389565,--> 9780520389564}}</ref>

<ref name="fujihara2016">{{Cite thesis|type=BS |last=Fujihara |first=Ayaka |author-link=<!--冨士原彩夏-->|title=『稲生物怪録』と三次　|script-title=ja:Inō mononokeroku to Miyoshi |publisher=Kyoto University of Advanced Science<!--京都先端科学大学人間文化学会--> |date=2016 |url=https://lab.kuas.ac.jp/~jinbungakkai/pdf/2016/h2016_04.pdf |at=p. 163 #41 （7月30日） |quote=灰が噴出し.. 塊となり.. ミミズが這い出し.. 平太郎はうろたえ.. 壁の顔は.. 睨みつけて}}</ref>

<ref name="kaku&tsuchiya1980">{{Cite book|editor1-last=Kaku |editor1-first=Nobuyuki |editor1-link=<!--加来宣幸--> |editor2-last=Tsuchiya |editor2-first=Kitahiko |editor2-link=<!--土屋北彦-->|title=Kai Nihon no Minwa |script-title=ja:日本の民話 |date=1980-07-01 |publisher=[[:ja:未來社|Mirai Sha]] |volume=36 |pages=413–414}}</ref>

<ref name="Kwai200802_p12">{{cite book|author-link=<!--no byline--> |chapter=Nurikabe ga egakareta nazo no yōkai emaki |script-chapter=ja:ぬりかべが描かれた謎の妖怪絵巻 |trans-chapter=Mysterious yōkai picture scroll depicting the nurikabe |title=Kwai |script-title=ja:怪 |volume=0024 |publisher=Kadokawa shoten |date=February 2008 |series=Kadokawa Mook  |pages=12–|isbn=978-4-04-883992-1}}</ref>
<ref name="Kwai200802_p122">{{cite book|author-link=<!--no byline--> |chapter=Tokubetsu zandankai. Nurikabe no nazo wo saguru  |script-chapter=ja:特別座談会 ぬりかべの謎を探る |trans-chapter=Special roundtable discussion. In search of the nurikabe mystery |title=Kwai |script-title=ja:怪 |volume=0024 |publisher=Kadokawa shoten |date=February 2008 |series=Kadokawa Mook  |pages=122–|isbn=978-4-04-883992-1}}</ref>
<ref name="Kwai201107_p262">{{cite book|author-link=<!--no byline--> |chapter=<!--not given by Ja user-->  |script-chapter= |trans-chapter= |title=Kwai |script-title=ja:怪 |volume=0033 |publisher=Kadokawa shoten |date=July 2011 |series=Kadokawa Mook  |page=262 |isbn=978-4-04-885100-8}}</ref>

<ref name="kodama1986">{{citation|last=Kodama |first=Hiromi |author-link=<!--小玉洋美--> |chapter=Dai 3 shō Dai 4 setsu 3 Yōkai ・ Ryōi |script-chapter=ja:第四章第四節の三 妖怪・霊異: (三) 路傍の怪 |trans-chapter=Ch. 4 Sect. 4.3 Yōkai and spectral wonders: (3) strangeness by the wayside |title=Ōita ken shi: Minzoku-hen |script-title=ja:大分県史 民俗篇 |publisher=Ōita Prefecture <!--大分県--> |date=1986 |pages=360–361}}</ref>
<!-- not used ("「{{URL|1=https://www.nichibun.ac.jp/cgi-bin/YoukaiDB3/youkai_card.cgi?ID=C4410032-000|2=Tanuki no nurikabe 狸の塗り壁
}}"; "{{URL|1=https://www.nichibun.ac.jp/cgi-bin/YoukaiDB3/youkai_card.cgi?ID=C4410031-000|2=Itachi no nurikabe イタチの塗り壁}}"; "{{URL|1=https://www.nichibun.ac.jp/cgi-bin/YoukaiDB3/youkai_card.cgi?ID=C4410032-000|2=ヌリカベ，タヌキ Nurikabe, tanuki}}"; via  [[Kaii-Yōkai Denshō Database]])</ref> -->

<ref name="komatsu2009">{{Cite book|editor-last=Komatsu |editor-first=Kazuhiko |editor-link=:ja:小松和彦|title=Zukai zatsugaku Nihon no yōkai |script-title=ja:図解雑学 日本の妖怪|publisher=[[:ja:ナツメ社|Natsume Sha]] |date=2009-08-06 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dgzd2WFbYnkC |page=29 |isbn=978-4-8163-4747-4 |quote=現代、柳田國男「妖怪名彙」の記述をもとに、もとに、水木しげるが姿を与えたぬりかべ近年、江戸時代の絵巻に描かれた「ぬりかべ」が発見された。ただし、柳田國男「妖怪名彙」に収録された「ぬりかべ」との影響関係は不明である。}}</ref>

<ref name="konno1981">{{Cite book|last=Konno |first=Ensuke |author-link=:ja:今野圓輔 |title=Nihon kaidanshū: Yōkai-hen |script-title=ja:日本怪談集: 妖怪篇 |publisher=[[:ja:社会思想社|Shakai Shisosha]] |date=1981 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4W8nAQAAIAAJ&q=塗壁 |page=15 |isbn=<!--4390110551, -->9784390110556}}</ref>

<ref name="kuramoto1995">{{cite journal|last=Kuramoto |first=Shirō |author-link=<!--倉本四郎--> |title=『稲生物怪録絵巻」を読む|journal=(Monthly) Taiyō  |number=412　<!--特集　妖怪現る Special Issue: The yōkai appeareth  --> |date=September 1995 |publisher=[[Heibonsha]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ICXjAAAAMAAJ |page=121}}</ref>

<ref name="kyogoku2006">{{Cite book|last=Kyogoku  |first=Natsuhiko |author-link=Natsuhiko Kyogoku |chapter=Ayashimu koto to ayashī mono |script-chapter=ja:怪しむコトと妖しいモノ |editor=Bukkyo University Literature Department<!--佛教大学文学部--> |editor-link=Bukkyo University |title=Mienai sekai no nozokikata: bunka to shite no kaii |script-title=ja:見えない世界の覗き方: 文化としての怪異 |location=Kyoto |publisher=[[:ja:法藏館|Hozokan]] |date=2006 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qFA2qjxyVlAC |pages=13, 18, 26<!--1-35?--> |isbn=978-4-04-883984-6}}</ref>

<ref name="kyogoku2007">{{Cite book|last=Kyogoku  |first=Natsuhiko |author-link=Natsuhiko Kyogoku |title=Yōkai no kotowari Yōkai no ori |script-title=ja:妖怪の理 妖怪の檻 |date=September 2007 |publisher=[[Kadokawa Shoten]] |series=KWAI BOOKS |isbn=978-4-04-883984-6 |url=<!--n/a--> |pages=472–475}}</ref>

<ref name="nakahira1931">{{cite journal|last=Nakahira |first=Etsumaro |author-link=<!--中平悦麿-->|title=Kōchi-ken Hata-gun Tanoguichi no zokushin |script-title=ja:高知縣幡多郡田ノ口村下田ノ口の俗信 |journal=Minkzokugaku |script-journal=ja:民俗学 |volume=3 |number=5 |date=May 1931|publisher=Minkan denshō no kai<!--民間伝承の会--> |url= |pages=302–308 |id={{NDLDC|1583617|format=NDLJP}}|postscript=;}} ("{{URL|1=https://www.nichibun.ac.jp/cgi-bin/YoukaiDB3/youkai_card.cgi?ID=2260178|2=Nobusuma 野襖}}"via [[Kaii-Yōkai Denshō Database]] cites pp. 56–62).</ref>

<ref name="nakamura1999">{{Cite book|editor-last=Nakamura |editor-first=Yukio |editor-link=<!--中村友紀夫--> |title=Yōkai no hon. Ikai no yami ni ugomeku hyakki yagyō no densetsu |script-title=ja:妖怪の本 異界の闇に蠢く百鬼夜行の伝説 |publisher=Gakushu Kenkyusha<!--学習研究社--> |date=1999 |url=<!--n/a--> |page=105 |series=New sight mook|isbn=978-4-05-602048-9}}</ref>

<ref name="miyamoto_tsuneichi1992">{{Cite book|last=Miyamoto |first=Tsuneichi |author-link=:ja:宮本常一 |chapter=Echizen Itoshiro minzokushi |script-chapter=ja:越前石徹白民俗誌 |title=Miyamoto Tsuneichi chosakushū |script-title=ja:宮本常一著作集 |date=October 1992 |publisher=[[:ja:未來社|Miraisha]]|volume=36|isbn=978-4-624-92436-2 |page=111}}</ref>
<ref name="miyamoto_yukie2013-fūri">{{cite book|last=Miyamoto |first=Yukie |author-link=<!--宮本幸枝--> |chapter=Fūri |script-chapter=ja:風狸 |title=Nihon no yōkai FILE |script-title=ja:日本の妖怪FILE |trans-title= |location= |publisher=[[:ja:学研|Gakken]] |date=2013 |url=<!--non previewable--> |page=116–117--> |isbn=978-4-054056-63-3}}</ref>

<ref name="papp2010">{{Cite book|last=Papp |first=Zilia |author-link=<!--Zilia Papp--> |title=Anime and Its Roots in Early Japanese Monster Art |location= |publisher=Global Oriental |date=2010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AfV5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA53 |page=53 |isbn=<!--9004202870, -->9789004202870}}</ref>

<ref name="shamoon2013">{{Cite journal|last=Shamoon |first=Deborah |author-link=<!--Deborah Shamoon-->|date=October 2013|title=The yokai in the database: supernatural creatures and folklore in manga and anime|url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?&id=GALE&#124;A350786701&v=2.1&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&authCount=1|journal=Marvels & Tales |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=276ff |doi=10.13110/marvelstales.27.2.0276|s2cid=161932208 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

<ref name="sugimoto2004">{{Cite book|editor-last=Sugimoto |editor-first=Yoshinobu |editor-link=<!--杉本好伸--> |title=Inō mononokeroku shūsei |script-title=ja:稲生物怪録絵巻集成  |publisher=[[:ja:国書刊行会|Kokusho Kankōkai]] |date=2004 |url=<!--n/a--> |page=266 |isbn=978-4-336-04635-2}}</ref>

<ref name="stoneman&skabelund2022">{{cite book|last1=Stoneman |first1=Jack  |author1-link=<!--Jack Stoneman--> |last2=Skabelund |first2=Aaron Herald |author2-link=<!--Aaron Herald Skabelund-->  |title=Discovery & Wonder: The Harry F. Bruning Collection at Brigham Young University |location=Provo, UT |publisher=BYU Academic Publishing |date=2022 |url=<!--n/a--> |pages=250–251 |isbn=<!--1611650518,   -->9781611650518|postscript=;}} ([https://books.google.com/books?id=4ulTzwEACAAJ Cover art depicts ''nurikabe''])</ref>

<ref name="tada2012">{{Cite book|last=Tada |first=Katsumi|authorlink=:ja:多田克己 |title=Gensō sekai no jūnin tachi |script-title=ja:幻想世界の住人たち |volume=4 |orig-date=1990-12-03 |date=2012-03-08 |publisher=[[:ja:新紀元社|Shinkigensha]] |series=<!--新紀元文庫--> |url=<!--non-previewable https://books.google.com/books?id=pkqBtgAACAAJ--> |pages=154–155 |isbn=978-4-7753-0996-4}}</ref>

<ref name="toriyama-eng">{{citation|last=Toriyama |first=Sekien |author-link=Toriyama Sekien |translator=Hiroko Yoda |translator2=Matt Alt |chapter=Nobusuma |title=Japandemonium Illustrated: The Yokai Encyclopedias of Toriyama Sekien |publisher=Courier Dover Publications |year=2017 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hj9-rgEACAAJ&pg=PT182 |page=137 |isbn=9780486818757 }}</ref>

<ref name=urokogataya-bunbukuchagama-web>{{cite web|url=https://www.kodomo.go.jp/gallery/edoehon/bunbuku/index_e.html |author=National Diet Library |title=Bunbuku's Teakettle |work=Edo Picture Books and Japonisme |year=2018 |access-date=2019-06-28}}</ref>

<ref name="yamaguchi2014">{{cite book|last=Yamaguchi |first=Bintarō |author-link=:ja:山口敏太郎 |chapter=Yōkai hakase no repōto: Nurikabe |script-chapter=ja:妖怪博士のレポート：ぬりかべ |title=Daihakuryoku! Nihon no yōkai daihyakka |script-title=ja:大迫力！日本の妖怪大百科 |trans-title= |location= |publisher=Seitosh[[:ja:西東社|Seitosha]] |date=2014 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d64YBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA156 |page=156 |isbn=<!--4791687159, -->9784791687152}}</ref>

<ref name="yanagita1938">{{cite journal|last=Yanagita |first=Kunio |author-link=Yanagita Kunio |title=Yōkai meii (4) |script-title=ja:妖怪名彙（四）|journal=Minkan denshō |script-journal=ja:民間伝承 |volume=4 |number=1/cumulative 37|date=20 September 1938 |publisher=Minkan denshō no kai<!--民間伝承の会--> |url= |page=12 |id={{NDLDC|2264271|format=NDLJP}}|postscript=;}} citing {{nihongo|Zoku hōgen shū|続方言集}} ("{{URL|1=https://www.nichibun.ac.jp/cgi-bin/YoukaiDB3/youkai_card.cgi?ID=2180774|2=Nurikabe 塗り壁}}" via [[Kaii-Yōkai Denshō Database]]).</ref>
<ref name="yanagita1957">{{Cite book|last=Yanagita |first=Kunio |author-link=Yanagita Kunio |chapter=Nurikabe |script-chapter=ja:ヌリカベ |title=Yōkai dangi |script-title=ja:妖怪談義 |edition=3 |publisher=Gutenberg 21 |date=2013 |orig-date=1957 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AZ3kAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT130 |page=unpaginated |postscript=;}} citing {{nihongo|''Zoku hōgen shū''|続方言集}}</ref>

<ref name="yoda&alt2012">{{Cite book|last1=Hiroko |first1=Yoda |author1-link=<!--依田寬子-->|last2=Alt |first2=Matt |author2-link=<!--Matt Alt--> |others=Illustrated by Tatsuya Morino<!--森野達也--> |chapter=31. Nurikabe |title=Yokai Attack!: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide |edition= Rev. |location=Rutland, VT |publisher=Tuttle Pub |date=2012 |orig-date=2008 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ArQAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA138 |pages=138–140 |isbn=978-1462908837|oclc=856525665}}</ref>

<ref name="yumoto2013">{{Cite book|last=Yumoto |first=Kōichi |authorlink=:ja:湯本豪一 |title=Konjaku yōkai taikan |script-title=ja:今昔妖怪大鑑 |trans-title=Yokai Museum: The Art of Japanese Supernatural Beings from YUMOTO Koichi Collection |publisher=PIE International<!--パイインターナショナル--> |year=2013 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=20CoEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA38 |page=38 |isbn=978-4-756-24337-9 }} {{in lang|ja|en}}</ref>
}}


{{Japanese folklore long}}

[[Category:Yōkai]]