Theubagabi (姥ヶ火[1] or 姥火,[2] "old woman's fire") is anatmospheric ghost light in legends ofKawachi Province (now Osaka Prefecture) andTanba Province (now northernKyoto Prefecture). They are mentioned in old literature, such as theTenpō period book theShokoku Rijin Dan (諸国里人談)[2] andIhara Saikaku's collection of miscellaneous tales theSaikaku Shokoku Banashi (西鶴諸国ばなし)[3] as well as Edo periodkaidan books such as theKokon Hyaku Monogatari Hyōban (古今百物語評判'),[4] theKawachi Kagami Meishōki (河内鑑名所記),[5] andToriyama Sekien's collection of yōkai depictions, theGazu Hyakki Yagyō, among other mentions.[6]
According to theShokoku Rijin Dan, on a rainy night, in Hiraoka, Kawachi (nowHigashiōsaka, Osaka Prefecture), it would appear as a ball of fire with a length of one shaku (about 30 centimeters).[5] It is said that in the past, an old woman stole oil fromHiraoka Shrine and became a mysterious fire from a resulting curse.[2]
Once, when someone was walking along the road at night in Kawachi, the ubagabi suddenly appeared from nowhere and hit this person's face, and when this person looked closely, it took on the form of a chicken-like bird. It is said that when the ubagabi eventually flew away, it turned back into its original appearance as a ball of fire.[2] From this, the yōkai manga artistMizuki Shigeru suggested the possibility that the ubagabi was actually a bird.[7]
In the tale where an old woman became an ubagabi, theSaikaku Shokoku Banashi, it is written about here as the "Mi wo Sute Abura-tsubo (the oil pot that threw away its body)." According to this, the ubagabi is said to fly a length of about one ri (about four kilometers[8]) in a mere instant, and it is said when the ubagabi grazes around someone's shoulder, that person would die within three years. However, it is said that ubagabi would disappear if you say "abura-sashi" (meaning "oil pourer").[3][6]
There is also a legend about an ubagabi appearing at theHozu River inKyoto Prefecture.[1] In theKokon Hyaku Monogatari Hyōban, there was once an old woman who lived near Kameyama (nowKameoka, Kyoto Prefecture) who would receive money from parents, telling them that she would take them to meet people they needed to see, and put the children into the Hozu River. Eventually, perhaps as divine punishment, the old woman experienced a flood and drowned. After that, it is said that a mysterious flame would appear near Hozu River, and people called this the ubagabi.[4]
It is also titled "Ubagabi" (here written as 姥が火) in theGazu Hyakki Yagyō, and it is depicted with an old woman's face within the mysterious flames, but since there is the statement "it's said to be in Kawachi Province" within accompanying description, this makes it a depiction of a Kawachi Province legend.[6]