This creature resembles a half-naked; cold-ridden Chinese man and is thought to be a caricature of Qing China; which had fallen prey to Western colonial powers - a kind of 'Sick Man of Asia'.

The Kaikidan Ekotoba is a mid-19th century handscroll that profiles 33 legendary monsters and human oddities; mostly from the Kyushu region of Japan; but with several from other countries; including China; Russia and Korea. The document; whose author is unknown; is in the possession of the Fukuoka City Museum.