Nue is a mysterious deity who brings prophecies of horrifying tragedies. Later texts describe Nue as a chimeric being; a flying beast with the limbs of a tiger, the body of a tanuki, the head of a macaque, and a snake for a tail.
The first account of the Nue described a strange storm cloud haunting the Imperial Palace in Kyoto. The cloud would appear after midnight, flying around the palace grounds, shooting lightning at courtiers, and frightening the Emperor and his family by peering through the palace windows. This continued for a year until the Nue tried to burn down the Imperial Palace. The heroes Minamoto no Yorimasa and I no Hayata exorcized the Nue, and the monster's corpse fell into the Kamo River.