The samurai Miyamoto Musashi killing a Nue
The Nue is a skunk like primate reported in Japan. It has the legs of a tiger, the tail of a snake, the body of a tanuki and the head of a monkey. It is said to bring bad luck and start diseases.
It emits out a venomous cloud when disturbed like a skunk. It lives in high mountains away from people. If people disturb them they are said to bring bad luck and attack. They eat small mammals by killing them with their venomous clouds. It is about 5 feet long and 2 feet high. Appearing in the Heike Monogatari, it has the face of a monkey, the torso of a tanuki, limbs of a tiger, and the tail of a snake. According to which writing it is, sometimes nothing is stated about its torso, or is sometimes depicted to have the torso of a tiger. Also, there are documents such as the Genpei Jōsuiki that state that it has the back of a tiger, the
legs of a tanuki, and the tail of a fox, and furthermore the head of a cat, and the torso of a chicken. Due to its appearance, it is sometimes referred to as a Japanese chimera. Concerning how it appears when it is depicted visually, there is also the though that it is a combination of the animals in the sexagenary cycle, with a northeast tiger, a southeast snake, a southwest monkey, and a northwest Qian (dog and wild boar).