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Furari-bi (Wandering Flame)
foo-RAH-ree-bee
Category
Natural Phenomena Spirits
Personality
Origin
Japanese folklore
Furari-bi (Wandering Flame)
foo-RAH-ree-bee
Basic Description
Furari-bi is a strange fire depicted in Edo-period yokai art, often shown as a bird wreathed in flames. Examples appear in Toriyama Sekien’s Gazu Hyakki Yagyo, Sawaki Suushi’s Hyakkai Zukan, and the anonymous Bakemono-zukushi. Explanatory notes are scarce, so its nature is unclear. Generally it is understood as a manifestation of unappeased spirits wandering as fire, with the birdlike visage serving as a symbolic form.
Folklore & Legends
A related tale is known from the Jinzu River basin at Isobe Embankment in Toyama: the “Burari-bi” (also called “Hayayuri-bi”). Dating to the Tensho era, it links a tragic story involving the lord Sassa Narimasa to a nightly ghostly fire. Records note that calling its name would reveal a woman’s severed head. Later tellings attribute the lord’s downfall to vengeful spirits. Specific behaviors of Furari-bi itself are sparsely documented, and it is treated as one type of generic ghost-fire.
Detailed Analysis
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