According to Japanese folklore, Nikurashi is a yōkai which resembles a human woman. Her kimono hangs off of her shoulders erotically, exposing parts of her breasts. Her hair sensuously tumbles down her shoulders. From the neck down she is the picture of temptation. However, her face is puckered and bloated like a catfish, her neck is long and ribbed, and her broad ears flap like an elephant’s. Her hands are also curled and clawed like a beast’s.

Nikurashi comes from the Bakemono tsukushi emaki, which does not include any information about her except for her name. She exists in artwork alone. It is likely that nikurashi created as a pun or a joke, as her name implies the word "nikurashii", which means hateful or detestable. She may be similar to Toriyama Sekien’s yōkai iyaya, who appears to be beautiful from behind, but has a shockingly ugly face.