Twin ghost fires dancing with a clanging sound
Janjanbi
On a June night, jan, jan, the sound crosses the river. Two fires twist together on the bridge. Do not raise your face; the flames remember those who look.
Overview
Janjanbi is a ghost fire told across Nara. It flies with a jan-jan sound, often as a pair of flames, and is associated with lovers who died tragically or warriors defeated in battle.
Encounter
On a summer night that smells of rain, two fireballs emerge near a river, castle ruin, or graveyard, clanging as they fly and tangle over a bridge. One must not look up at them.
Lore
Janjanbi is a kind of onibi or hitodama. At Uchiai Bridge in Yamatokoriyama, it is tied to the tragic love of Kamei Shikibu and Miyuki; elsewhere in Nara it is linked to defeated warriors.
Traits
The two fires arrive with a sound and dance together over bridges and rivers. Looking at them may invite a curse; one Tenri tale says a man who fought the flames died burned black.
Two great fireballs tangled over Uchiai Bridge, dancing with a jan-jan sound.
Yamato no Densetsu