What is the nuppeppo?
The nuppeppo (or nuppefuhofu) is a yokai that looks like a flabby lump of flesh, with no distinction between face and body. It is depicted as a wrinkled lump of flesh with short arms and legs and is said to give off a smell like rotting flesh. It appears in the Edo-period artist Toriyama Sekien’s Gazu Hyakki Yagyo, but with no explanation of what mischief it does, making it a mysterious yokai.
The “flesh man” at Sunpu Castle
The nuppeppo is linked with the story of a “flesh man” (nikujin) that appeared in 1609 at Sunpu Castle (today’s Shizuoka City), where Tokugawa Ieyasu lived in retirement. According to a late Edo-period essay, a child-sized thing like a lump of flesh appeared in the castle garden, pointing at the sky with fingerless hands. The retainers chased it away, but a scholar who later heard the story said it was a pity, since it must have been the “ho” of old Chinese books, a precious elixir that gives strength to whoever eats it.
What is the nuppeppo really?
The origin of the name is unclear, but one theory says it describes its smooth, featureless (nopperi) appearance. China also has legends of the taisui, a fleshy lump found in the ground, and a connection with such stories has been suggested. Its formless shape only stirs the imagination all the more.
