Hitodama (Human Soul Fire)Hitodama (Traditional Tale Version)

A depiction based on the traditional understanding of hitodama. It is a spirit flame that appears in answer to impending death or powerful emotions, said to fly to one’s family line or close relations. It drifts lower than shoulder height with a faint trailing tail. Though it seems to be carried by the wind, it is also said to travel as if toward a destination. Its color is often pale blue, but varies by region, with many reports of orange or red. Sightings cluster near places of passage or boundary—temple and shrine grounds, graveyards, old roads, field ridges, and pond edges. Early modern essays, local gazetteers, and modern folklore collections mention it as a “greeting flame before death” or “parting flame,” and distinguish it from onibi and kitsunebi, which have different origins. Scientific explanations have been attempted, yet tradition regards it as a sign of a soul’s coming and going.

This yokai is included in the following collections:

Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki

Published in 1779, Toriyama Sekien’s sequel to Gazu Hyakki Yagyō adds notes to each yokai in three volumes: Rain, Dusk, and Dawn.

テーマ別

今昔画図続百鬼鳥山石燕

Fiery Yokai

A collection of fiery yokai—Furari-bi, Kosenjō-bi, Shiranui, Aosagabi—exploring Japan’s eerie lights and flames.

注目

火

Yokai with similar personality and characteristics to Hitodama (Traditional Tale Version)

Battlefield Will-o'-Wisp

Battlefield Will-o’-the-Wisp (Classical Form)

92%

Compatibility

Resurrection Incense

Canon-Conforming Incense Apparition

92%

Compatibility

Blue Lady-in-Waiting

Emaki and Sekien Lineage Iconography

92%

Compatibility

Yokai with opposite personality and characteristics to Hitodama (Traditional Tale Version)

Sakata no Kintoki

The Herculean Boy of Mt. Ashigara: Sakata no Kintoki

61%

Compatibility

Yokkabu-i

Deity Preaching Warnings of the Water

63%

Compatibility

Aka Manto

Pre-War Red Caped Kidnapper / Post-War Red or Blue Paper

64%

Compatibility