Ubume
Sign in to savealt=|thumb|Ubume うぶめ from Bakemono no e (化物之繪, c. 1700), Harry F. Bruning Collection of Japanese Books and Manuscripts, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, [[Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University.]] are Japanese yōkai of pregnant women. They can also be written as ''''. Throughout folk stories and literature the identity and appearance of ubume varies. However, she is most commonly depicted as the spirit of a woman who has died during childbirth. Passersby will see her as a normal-looking woman carrying a baby. She will typically try to give the passerby her child then disappear. When
Article
19 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Attestations
- ''Konjaku Monogatarishū''
- ''Kokon hyakumonogatari hyōban''
- ''Kii Zōdan Shū''
- ''Bencao Gangmu''
- ''Wakan sansai zue''
- Other Japanese lore
- By other names
- Social and cultural influence
- Folkloristics
- In art
- In popular literature
- See also
- Explanatory notes
- Citations
- References
- Further reading
- External links
alt=|thumb|Ubume うぶめ from Bakemono no e (化物之繪, c. 1700), Harry F. Bruning Collection of Japanese Books and Manuscripts, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, [[Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University.]] are Japanese yōkai of pregnant women. They can also be written as ''''. Throughout folk stories and literature the identity and appearance of ubume varies. However, she is most commonly depicted as the spirit of a woman who has died during childbirth. Passersby will see her as a normal-looking woman carrying a baby. She will typically try to give the passerby her child then disappear. When the person goes to look at the child in their arms, they discover it is only a bundle of leaves or large rock.
== Etymology == Some Japanese sources coopt the Chinese name (pinyin: , "lady capturing-bird", translated as "wench bird") and read it Japanese style as "ubume" or "ubumedori".