Netsuke "Nue" (Legendary Monster😱) 根付「鵺」😱

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

What do you think this netsuke is? I'm pretty sure you don't know. I didn't know until I saw the nameplate, either. This is a netsuke titled "Nue" carved by Meishu Kawahara from boxwood. I saw this at Tokyo National Museum last August.  

"Nue" by Meishu Kawahara, boxwood 「鵺」 河原明秀 黄楊

"Nue" originally meant (and still means) scaly thrush, a bird about 30 cm long, whose male has a loud song, far-carrying mechanical whistle, but these days, this term is known more as "a legendary monster with the head of a monkey, the legs of a tiger, the body of a dog, the tail of a snake, and the voice of a bird nue😱." 

So, nue is often used in horror and mystery movies, such as "Evil Spirited Island (Akuryou Tou)," whose tagline reads: "If you hear nue singing at night, something dreadful will happen...." Naturally, my perception of nue, which has been shaped by all these things, i.e., the legendary monster, the tagline, and the horrifying story and cover picture of the original book, a serial killer novel by Seishi Yokomizo, makes it very hard for me to believe that this funny and cawaii 4 cm sculpture is a terrifying monster... (It looks like rather angry ME fighting my husband over household chores....😅) 

If you are a netsuke lover, you will surely enjoy the netsuke sculptures listed below!

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河原明秀作の根付「鵺」です。黄楊製です。去年の夏、東京国立博物館で見ました。

「鵼」とも書くそうで、意味も二つあります。
- トラツグミ(鳥)
- 頭は猿、体は狸(犬)、尾は蛇、手足は虎、声は鵺の怪物😱

鵺といえば、横溝正史原作の映画「悪霊島」のキャッチフレーズ「鵺の鳴く夜は恐ろしい」でしょうか。「鵺=怖い」というイメージをしっかり植え付けられました。。。 なのでこれが「鵺」と言われても全然ピンとこない。いや鵺というより「もっと家事やれ!!」と夫に怒鳴る自分にしか見えない。。。😅

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