The furaribi is a fire yōkai that appears in Japanese classical yōkai pictures such as in the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō by Sekien Toriyama, the Hyakkai Zukan by Sawaki Suushi, and the Bakemonozukushi by an unknown author. In the Hyakkai Zukan and Bakemonozukushi among others, they are depicted as birds with a dog-like face and enveloped in fire. The one in the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō is also a bird enveloped in fire, but the face on this one is reminiscent of Garuda of Hindu mythology. Due to the lack of explanatory text, it is unclear what kind of yōkai all of these were depicting, but there is the theory that they are the incarnations of fire that are the result of the deceased who were not given a memorial and thus wandered the present world as spirits and over time changed in appearance into what is depicted.
Appearance List Bakemono Zukushi Monster Scroll (Edo Period), Gazu Hyakki Yagyō (画図百鬼夜行, “The Illustrated Night Parade of a Hundred Demons” or The Illustrated Demon Horde’s Night Parade, 1776) Vol. 2 “Yang”
Sample Read Bakemono Zukushi Monster Scroll (Edo Period) [Internet Archive]
Description The furaribi is a fire yōkai that appears in Japanese classical yōkai pictures such as in the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō by Sekien Toriyama, the Hyakkai Zukan by Sawaki Suushi, and the Bakemonozukushi by an unknown author. In the Hyakkai Zukan and Bakemonozukushi among others, they are depicted as birds with a dog-like face and enveloped in fire. The one in the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō is also a bird enveloped in fire, but the face on this one is reminiscent of Garuda of Hindu mythology. Due to the lack of explanatory text, it is unclear what kind of yōkai all of these were depicting, but there is the theory that they are the incarnations of fire that are the result of the deceased who were not given a memorial and thus wandered the present world as spirits and over time changed in appearance into what is depicted.
