Narigama are a tsukumogami of kama, iron kettles or cauldrons used to cook rice in old Japanese kitchens. They have long arms and legs. Their bodies are covered in dark hair as if wearing an animal’s pelt. Flames lick the sides of the kettle which either serves as their head, or which they wear like a helmet. Little is known about the true nature of narigama, however a number of theories exist. They are often depicted cavorting with other tsukumogami in illustrations of the night parade of one hundred demons. A narigama’s most amazing talent is the ability to predict the future. As its name suggest, it begins to emit sounds when it is heated over a fire. When the water inside begins to boil, a narigama will begin to ring or cry like an animal. Depending on the sound that it emits, it is possible to know whether the weather will be rainy or fair. An onmyōji or a priest can even divine good and bad fortunes based on the sounds the narigama makes as its contents are boiled. Illustrations of narigama appear in some of the oldest hyakki yagyō emaki picture scrolls, although they appear without a name or description. Later, Toriyama Sekien included it in Hyakki tsurezure bukuro along with a brief history. According to Sekien, the narigama was first described in the Hakutaku zu, a record of all the supernatural creatures in the world describing their strengths and weaknesses. The entry in the Hakutaku zu explains that the narigama’s ability to “ring” is connected to an ancient oni named Renjo…
Alias Narigama (鳴釜)
Real Names/Alt Names “Ringing kettle”, “Crying kettle”; Alt: Narikama, Kamanari
Description Narigama are a tsukumogami of kama, iron kettles or cauldrons used to cook rice in old Japanese kitchens. They have long arms and legs. Their bodies are covered in dark hair as if wearing an animal’s pelt. Flames lick the sides of the kettle which either serves as their head, or which they wear like a helmet. Little is known about the true nature of narigama, however a number of theories exist. They are often depicted cavorting with other tsukumogami in illustrations of the night parade of one hundred demons. A narigama’s most amazing talent is the ability to predict the future. As its name suggest, it begins to emit sounds when it is heated over a fire. When the water inside begins to boil, a narigama will begin to ring or cry like an animal. Depending on the sound that it emits, it is possible to know whether the weather will be rainy or fair. An onmyōji or a priest can even divine good and bad fortunes based on the sounds the narigama makes as its contents are boiled. Illustrations of narigama appear in some of the oldest hyakki yagyō emaki picture scrolls, although they appear without a name or description. Later, Toriyama Sekien included it in Hyakki tsurezure bukuro along with a brief history. According to Sekien, the narigama was first described in the Hakutaku zu, a record of all the supernatural creatures in the world describing their strengths and weaknesses. The entry in the Hakutaku zu explains that the narigama’s ability to “ring” is connected to an ancient oni named Renjo…
