The is a yà Âkai found in Japanese yà Âkai emaki such as the Hyakkai Zukan by Sawaki Suushi. They are also depicted in the Gazu Hyakki Yagyà  by Toriyama Sekien.
They are depicted as an animated corpse with darkened skin and dangling eyeballs. Their name literally means "Lacquered Buddha" which references their black lacquered color and their resemblance to Buddha, although the term for Buddha can also be used to mean any deceased spirit. It has also sometimes been referred to as Kurobà  (é»ÂÃ¥ÂÂ). They are often portrayed with largely bloated stomachs and appear often as a Buddhist priest.
They have the appearance of a black bonze and they are depicted with both eyeballs out of their sockets and hanging down. None of the documents have any explanatory text, so it is unknown what kind of yà Âkai they were intending to depict.
In the emakimono and e-sugoroku of the Edo Period, such as the Jikkai Sugoroku (Ã¥ÂÂçÂÂÃ¥ÂÂå Â) (held by the National Diet Library), they are written as ã‹ÂÂã¼ã¨ã or ã‹ÂÂä»Â, and they are depicted with what appears to be long black hair on their backs. There are also examples such as in the Hyakkai Zukan where they are depicted with what appears to be a fish's tail on their backs. In the Gyà Âsai Hyakki Gadan (æÂÂæÂÂç¾鬼ç»è«Â) (1889) by Kawanabe Kyà Âsai, there was a yà Âkai that was unnamed but had the same appearance as the "nuribotoke" of emakimono, with both eyeballs out the eyesockets.
In the Hyakki Yagyà  Emaki (held by the Matsui Library), they are depicted under the name of kurobà  (é»ÂÃ¥ÂÂ). They have the same appearance as the "nuribotoke" of the emakimono and e-sugoroku, with both eyes out of their eye sockets. In this emaki, the korobà  appears as the very first of the yà Âkai.
According to the Edo Period writing Kiyà « Shà Âran (å¬ÂéÂÂç¬Â覧), it can be seen that one of the yà Âkai that it notes is depicted in the Bakemono E (Ã¥ÂÂç©絵) drawn by Kà Âhà Âgen Motonobu is one by the name of "nurihotoke."
In the Gazu Hyakki Yagyà  by Sekien Toriyama, it is depicted appearing out from a butsudan (miniature shrine). Among all the pictures of the nuribotoke, only the one in the Gazu Hyakki Yagyà  by Sekien Toriyama depicts it with a butsudan.
They are often depicted with a long, black appendage coming from their back, which is generally drawn as a catfish's tail, but is sometimes drawn as long black hair, especially in Edo period portrayals. They are believed to appear from butsudan that have either been left open overnight or have been poorly maintained. Often, they appear as a deceased family member in order to scare the family. However, as evidenced by the catfish tail, it may be that the corpse is controlled by another being or be a yà Âkai in disguise. Sometimes it will appear as a Buddhist priest and act as a messenger of the Buddha but give out false prophecies to fool worshipers. According to some stories, it may appear simply to maintain a butsudan that is in disrepair. It is also believed to dance often, especially during the demons' night parade (Hyakki Yakà Â).
In the yà Âkai emaki considered to be made by inserting captions on yà Âkai pictures in preexisting yà Âkai emaki, the Bakemonozukushi Emaki (Ã¥ÂÂãÂÂç©尽ãÂÂ絵巻) (from the Edo Period, held by an individual, entrusted to the Fukuoka Prefecture library), there is a picture thought to be referenced from the "nuribotoke" that is introduced under the name of "umibà Âzu" (æµ·åÂÂ主) (for unknown reasons, this emaki changes the names of all the yà Âkai that appear in it). According to the caption, this umibà Âzu appears at the inlet of Shido, Sanuki Province (now Kagawa Prefecture), and it would eat fishers and reduce them to mere bones, but many people devised a plan that allowed them to kill it.
In literature about yà Âkai starting in the Shà Âwa and Heisei periods, there have started to appear various interpretations based on their name and appearance about how they'd suddenly appear from butsudan and frighten people by popping out their eyes, or how a slothful monk would appear out of the butsudan and attack people, among other interpretations. In the Yà Âkai Gadan Zenshà « Nihonhen (å¦Âæªç»è«Âå ¨é æÂ¥æ¬ç¯Â) (1929), Morihiko Fujisawa gave the caption "a nuribotoke oddity as a spirit of objects" to Sekien's "nuribotoke" picture that was included for illustration. It is also said that the eyes hanging down is meant to convey the idea of "what can the eyes of the people in a house with a dirty butsudan see? Those eyes can't see anything, can they now?" Because of this, they are considered to appear in houses with an untidy butsudan and startle people.