Editing Nue (section)

==History==
The nue is thought to have started appearing in the late [[Heian period]]. For a more precise dating, different sources claim different periods, like the [[Emperor Nijō]] period, the [[Emperor Konoe]] period, the [[Emperor Go-Shirakawa]] period, or the [[Emperor Toba]] period.<ref name="murakami">{{Cite book|author=村上健司|title=京都妖怪紀行 - 地図でめぐる不思議・伝説地案内|year=2007|publisher=角川書店|series=角川oneテーマ21|isbn= 978-4-04-710108-1|pages=12–17頁}}</ref>

The visual appearance may be a combination of the animals in the [[Sexagenary cycle]], with a northeast [[Tiger (zodiac)|Tiger]], a southeast [[Snake (zodiac)|Snake]], a southwest [[Monkey (zodiac)|Monkey]], and a northwest [[Bagua|Qian]] ([[Dog (Zodiac)|Dog]] and [[Pig (Zodiac)|Wild Boar]]).

Originally, the nue were stated to be a bird that resembles the [[green pheasant]],<ref name="漢和">角川書店『角川漢和中辞典』「鵺」「鵼」</ref> but their precise identity is unknown. The 夜 within the 鵺 character is [[Chinese character classification#Phono-semantic compounds|phonetic component]] and thus does not carry a meaning with it. The character 鵼 (kou or kuu) is determined to be a kind of strange bird.<ref name="漢和"/> Due to the use of [[Man'yōgana]], the [[Jōdai Tokushu Kanazukai|historical spelling]] is known to have been ''nuye''. At this early time, although, it had a different semantic meaning. It referred to a bird known as [[White's thrush]].

In Japan, they are considered a bird that makes cries at night, and the word can be seen in the ''[[Kojiki]]'' and the ''[[Man'yōshū]]''.<ref name="murakami"/> The owner of this crying voice was traditionally described as a yellow-red bird as big as a [[Columbidae]],<ref name="漢和"/> but nowadays there is the accepted theory that it is the [[scaly thrush]].<ref name="murakami"/> Since the people of the Heian Period regarded the sorrowful sounding voices of this bird as an ill [[omen]], they were considered to be a wicked bird,<ref>Rosen, Brenda. (2009). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=mI0vKhZXJqwC&pg=PA107 The Mythical Creatures Bible: The Definitive Guide to Legendary Beings]''. Sterling Pub. p. 107. {{ISBN|1-4027-6536-3}}. [[Google Books]].</ref>
and it is said that when the emperor or nobles heard its crying voice, they would make prayers that nothing disastrous would happen.<ref name="murakami"/>

The monster in the ''Heike Monogatari'', in the end, was merely "something that cries with the voice of a nue, its true nature unknown", and was not given a name. But nowadays, this particularly famous monster is usually identified as a "nue".

In a derived sense the word "nue" is also used to refer to entities of unknown true form.

The [[noh]] play ''[[Nue (noh)|Nue]]'', by [[Zeami Motokiyo]], based on the [[setsuwa]], the Heike Monogatari. They are a regular feature of the [[Kiri-noh]] (fifth performance of a noh).

Nue-harai Matsuri ("Nue-warding festival") &ndash; a festival performed every year on January 28 at the [[Izunagaoka Onsen]] in [[Izunokuni, Shizuoka|Izunokuni]], [[Shizuoka Prefecture]]. Among other things the ''nue-odori'' (nue-dance) and the ''mochi-maki'' ([[mochi]]-scattering) are performed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.city.izunokuni.shizuoka.jp/kankou/kankou/nuebarai.jsp|title=鵺払い祭|year=2005|publisher=伊豆の国市役所|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415063639/http://www.city.izunokuni.shizuoka.jp/kankou/kankou/nuebarai.jsp|archive-date=2012-04-15|url-status=dead|access-date=2009-11-11}}</ref>

At [[Osaka Harbor]], the Nue is used as a motif in its emblem design. From the legend of Nuezuka, it was selected for its relation to Osaka bay.<ref name="osakacity" /><ref>[https://www.city.osaka.lg.jp/contents/wdu020/port/information/crest.html The Port of Osaka's Coat of Arms]</ref>