Nue
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2008-07-07T14:53:01Z
Rtkat3
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{{otheruses|NUE}}
[[Image:Kuniyoshi Taiba (The End).jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Kuniyoshi Utagawa]], ''Taiba (The End)'', 1852. The print depicts a nue descending upon the Imperial palace in a black cloud]]
A '''nue''' (鵺) is a [[legendary creature]] found in [[Japanese folklore]]. It is described as having the head of a [[monkey]], the body of a [[raccoon dog]], the legs of a [[tiger]], and a snake as a tail. According to the legend, a nue can transform into a black cloud and fly. Due to its appearance, it is sometimes referred to as a ''Japanese [[Chimera (mythology)|chimera]]''{{Fact|date=February 2008}}. Nue are supposed to be bringers of misfortune and illness.{{Fact|date=February 2008}}
According to [[The Tale of the Heike]], Emperor Konoe, the [[Emperor of Japan]], became sick after having terrible nightmares every night, and a dark cloud appeared at two o'clock in the morning on roof of the palace in Kyoto during the summer of [[1153]]. The story says that the [[samurai]] [[Minamoto no Yorimasa]] staked-out the roof one night and fired an arrow into the cloud, out of which fell a dead nue. Yorimasu then supposedly sank the body in the Sea of Japan.
In a local expansion of the story, the nue's corpse floated into a certain bay, and the locals, fearing a curse, buried it. A mound which exists today is supposed to be this grave.<ref>[http://www.obakemono.com/obake/nue/ Nue; The Obakemono project], www.obakemono.com, 20 August 2006, (accessed [[21 January]],[[2007]])</ref>
==Etymology==
''Nue'' as a word appears in the oldest of Japanese literature. Early quotes include [[Kojiki]] ([[712]]) and [[Wamyō Ruijushō]] (c. [[934]]). Due to the usage of [[Man'yōgana]], the [[Jōdai Tokushu Kanazukai|historical spelling]] is known to have been ''nuye''. At this early time, though, it had a different semantic meaning. It referred to a bird known as [[White's Thrush]].
In the 13th century, [[Heike Monogatari]] makes reference to a creature called a ''nue''. In addition to having the head of a monkey, the body of a tanuki, the paws of a tiger, and the tail of a snake, it has the voice of a [[White's Thrush]].
Around [[1435]], [[Zeami]] wrote a [[Noh]] song titled ''Nue'' dealing with the events described in Heike.
==Popular Culture==
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* The Japanese band [[Kagrra]], has an album titled ''Nue'', containing the track "Nue no Naku Koro" (鵺の哭く頃, ''When the Nue Cries'').
* The [[avex]] artist [[Tomiko Van]] has a song called "Nue no Naku Yoru" (鵺の鳴く夜, ''The Night when the Nue Cries'')
* A Nue appears in many of the games in the [[Megami Tensei]] series, as a potential fight opponent.
* A Nue appears at the gate to the [[Dream (DC Comics)|King of All Night's Dreaming]]'s castle in [[Neil Gaiman]] and [[Yoshitaka Amano]]'s ''[[Sandman: The Dream Hunters]]''.
* Zabimaru, the [[zanpakutō]] of [[Renji Abarai]] in the manga/anime series ''[[Bleach (manga)|Bleach]]'', manifests itself as a nue.
* One of the monsters a player fights in the [[PlayStation 2]] game ''[[Genji: Dawn of the Samurai]]'' is a Nue.
* In the Japanese version of the game [[Blood Will Tell]], Kagemitsu Daigo transforms into a Nue during one of the final battles. However, in the English version, the monster is a [[chimera]].
* In the game [[Breath of Fire III]], the first ''boss'' is a Nue, which kills villagers to feed its young.
* Nue is the name of a Mikura (a [[yōkai]] turned blood-drinking machine) in the anime/CG 6-part OVA [[Karas (anime)|Karas]] voiced by [[Jay Hernandez]]. Unlike the other Mikura, he is against Eko.
* Nue is a [[tiger]] monster in various [[Final Fantasy]] games.
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Japanese legendary creatures]]
[[Category:Mythological hybrids]]
[[de:Nue]]
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[[fr:Nue]]
[[ja:鵺]]
[[no:Nue]]
[[pt:Nue]]
[[ru:Нуэ]]
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[[zh:鵺]]