Nurarihyon

Nurarihyon, from Toriyama Sekien "Gazu Hyakki Yakō"

Nurarihyon (ぬらりひょん^?), or Nūrihyon (ぬうりひょん^?), is a Japanese yōkai said to originate from Wakayama Prefecture. It is also sometimes believed to be descended from the Umibōzu of Okayama Prefecture.

The Nurarihyon is usually depicted as an old man with a gourd-shaped head and wearing a kesa. He is sometimes said to be leader of the yōkai.

The Nurarihyon will sneak into someone's house while they are away, drink their tea, and act as if it is their own house. Because it looks human, anyone who sees him will mistake him for the owner of the house, making it very hard to expel him.

Nurarihyon is called the leader of the Hyakki Yakō.

In popular culture

• Nurarihyon is a recurring villain in Shigeru Mizuki's manga GeGeGe no Kitaro and appears as the primary antagonist in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th anime versions of the series.
  • Nurarihyon appeared as the main antagonist in the 2008 live-action Kitaro film (Curse of the 1,000 Year Old Song), portrayed by Ken Ogata in one of his final performances.
• In the manga Hell Teacher Nube, Nurarihyon is the God of Houseguests. He frequently comes to Miki's house and makes himself at home, but finally leaves when a kamidana makes him smile.
• The manga series Nurarihyon no Mago features Nurarihyon as a major character, however, the main character is the grandson of Nurarihyon.
• Nurarihyon appears in the Osaka Arc of Hiroya Oku's manga series Gantz.
• Nurarihyon appears as the head of the yōkai in the first episode of Ninja Sentai Kakuranger part of this monster is used as the basis for the monster "Incisorator" in season 3 of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
• Nurarihyon appeared in the 2005 Takashi Miike film The Great Yokai War, portrayed by Kiyoshirō Imawano.