Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Tobikura, Flying Warehouse, 野衾
Category: Marten
The Myth
A nobusuma is a supernatural creature said to originate from a bat that has lived to an extraordinary age and developed magical powers. It resembles a Japanese giant flying squirrel, or musasabi, with a broad body suited to gliding between trees. These creatures inhabit forests and mountains, where they feed on nuts, fruits, and berries, but their diet also includes fire and blood.
Nobusuma are dangerous nocturnal predators that attack travelers walking along roads after dark. They swoop down from trees and cling to their victims’ faces, sucking blood from humans and small animals such as cats. Even when they are not hungry, they may dive toward lanterns and torches to blow out their flames before flying back into the darkness with a chilling cry of gaa gaa! Their strange ability to consume fire makes them particularly unsettling creatures of the night.
The nobusuma’s transformation does not necessarily end with this form. After reaching an even greater age, it is said to change once more, becoming either a yamachichi or a momonjii. It should not be confused with another creature called nobusuma, written with different Japanese characters and associated with Kōchi Prefecture, which is a variety of the nurikabe.
Sources
“Nobusuma.” Yokai.com. https://yokai.com/nobusuma/