Chōchinbi

Lore & Background

In Tokushima Prefecture, witnesses have reported seeing several tens of paper lantern fires appearing at once and lining up like light bulbs. In Miyoshi District, Tokushima, these flames are called tanukibi (狸火), considered to be fire lit by tanuki. According to the assorted books 'Shokoku Rijindan' from the Kanpō era, the tanukibi in Higashitada town, Kawabe District, Settsu Province (now Kawanishi, Hyōgo Prefecture) appear as fire and simultaneously take the shape of a human pulling cattle, and those unaware of its true form may exchange gossip with it.

In Matsudzuka, Katsuraginoshimo District, Yamato Province (now Kashihara, Nara Prefecture), the mysterious fires are called koemonbi (小右衛門火). They appear mainly on rainy evenings on riverbanks, floating about three shaku above ground, and fly about 4 kilometers to and from a graveyard. According to the collection 'Toenkai' by Kyokutei Bakin, a man named Koemon attempted to uncover its identity; when he struck it with a rod, the fire split into hundreds of pieces and surrounded him. He escaped but fell into a fever and died that night. Another version says the fire merely flew past him with a sound like a shooting star and flew away.

In the Edo Period ghost story 'Otogi Tsugeshou', a koemonbi appears in Ōmi Province (now Shiga Prefecture) on rice paddy fields. It is said to be the manifestation of the resentment of an avaricious village headman named Koemon, whose bad deeds became a capital crime. When travelers tried playing a flute used in ghost stories called 'hyūdorodoro', the koemonbi turned toward them, revealing a blue face floating in the middle of the fire, causing them to flee in fear.

Reader's Guide

Chōchinbi represents a class of Japanese folkloric phenomena where natural or unexplained lights are interpreted as supernatural entities. Its regional variations—tanukibi and koemonbi—illustrate how local beliefs and stories shape the same basic phenomenon. The accounts preserve uncertainty: some attribute the lights to foxes or tanuki, while others link them to human resentment or tragic encounters. The story of Koemon, who died after striking the fire, and the tale of the avaricious headman whose resentment became a flame, show how these legends serve as cautionary tales about hubris, curiosity, and moral transgression. The chōchinbi's tendency to disappear when approached and its association with liminal spaces like rice field paths and riverbanks reflect broader themes in Japanese yōkai lore, where boundaries between the human and spirit worlds are thin. These narratives have been preserved in Edo-period texts such as 'Shokoku Rijindan', 'Toenkai', and 'Otogi Tsugeshou', demonstrating their enduring place in Japanese cultural history.

Did You Know?

• Chōchinbi is said to float about one meter above the ground on footpaths between rice fields.
• In Tokushima Prefecture, witnesses have reported seeing several tens of paper lantern fires appearing at once and lining up like light bulbs.
• In one version of the Koemonbi story, Koemon struck the fire with a rod, causing it to split into hundreds of pieces that surrounded him; he later died of a fever.
• In the 'Otogi Tsugeshou', a koemonbi turned toward travelers playing a flute, revealing a blue face in the middle of the fire.