Minobi – Rain-Cloak Fire of Lake Biwa Folklore

Basic Description

Minobi is a will-o’-the-wisp–like fire said to appear as tiny lights dotting a straw rain cloak on boats crossing Lake Biwa, especially on rainy nights in the rainy season. It neither burns nor spreads; if the cloak is removed, the lights vanish. Brushing at them makes them multiply, glittering like starlight. Some traditions call it the manifestation of drowned spirits, while modern views liken it to a kind of gaseous luminescence; similar reports exist across Japan.

Folklore & Legends

In Hikone, Omi, people say that on rainy nights in the fifth lunar month, small lights cling to a boater’s straw cloak; swatting them only increases their number, but taking off the cloak makes them disappear. In Hokuriku, Echigo, and Dewa, they’re called names like “Minomushibi” or “Minoboshi,” attaching to clothing or umbrellas on rainy journeys or at sea. Some can see them while others cannot, and one might say a person is “possessed by a bagworm” (minomushi). Lighting a flame drives them off, and if left alone they fade after a while.

Yokai Cards2

Minobi (Rain-cloak Fire) across multiple art-style decks

Card gallery

Mysterious Flames of the Night

Phantom Fires and Flame Yokai

A multitude of phantom fires with various origins that illuminate nocturnal fields, shores, graveyards, and eaves. From the Uba-ga-bi of an old woman who stole oil, the flames igniting on straw raincoats on rainy nights, and the Shiranui lining the sea, to hitodama representing the souls of the dead—an illustrated catalog of fire-related fears compiled by artists like Toriyama Sekien.

Tsurube-bi (Bucket Fire)

Ubagabi (Old Woman’s Fire)

Shiranui

Furari-bi (Wandering Flame)

Chōchin-bi (Lantern Fire)

Grave Fire

Fire of the Akuro-gami

Minobi (Rain-cloak Fire)

Hitodama (Human Soul Fire)

Aburabō (Oil Wraith)

Oil Baby

Korōka (Ancient Lantern Fire)

Kazembō (Fire-Monk of Toribe Hill)

Tōdaiki (Human Candelabrum)

Collection Inclusion

This yokai is included in the following collections:

Konjaku Hyakki Shūi (Later Gleanings of a Hundred Ghosts)

A 1781 yokai picture book by Toriyama Sekien in the Hyakki series, pairing each yokai with brief notes.

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Fire Yokai and Ghost Lights | Onibi, Kitsunebi and Shiranui in Japanese Folklore

Explore Japanese fire yokai and ghost lights, including Hitodama, Shiranui, Tsurube-bi, Aosagibi, Kosenjōbi, Wanyūdō and Enenra, grouped by origin.

View collection

Detailed Analysis

Typified by records tracing to Lake Biwa, it is a collective form of strange lights that cling in faint specks to rain cloaks, umbrellas, and garments on rainy nights. They carry no heat and increase in brightness and number when brushed at, yet disperse naturally when garments are removed, a flame is lit, or time passes. Names and interpretations vary by region, with some seeing them as spirits of drowning victims, others as animal tricks or natural bioluminescence. Rather than causing harm, they are said to bewilder and unsettle, and are often visible only to solitary individuals.

Character Profile

This section is our own creative profile for storytelling. It is not historical fact or scholarship.

Yokai Type: Traditional Yokai
Category: Natural Phenomena Spirits
Rarity: Uncommon
Personality: emotionless, neutral
Compatibility: appears on humid, windless nights
Abilities: adheres and multiplies as firefly-like glimmersshifts position in response to the target’s movementsvisual disruption dividing those who can see from those who cannotdissipates over time or when a light is kindled
Weaknesses: disappears when rain cloaks or garments are removed, repelled by lamplight and disperses easily, manifestation ceases with changes in wind or rain
Habitat: Omi Province and the Lake Biwa region, Echigo along the Shinano River basin, Dewa Province Senboku District, Echizen Province Sakai District

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Yokai Compatibility Test

The diagram below is a diagnostic evaluation chart for Canonical Folklore Standard. The higher the value of each item, the stronger that characteristic is expressed.