Ino Hayata killing a nue at the imperial palace (Dairi ni Ino Hayata nue o sasu zu), from the series New Forms of Thirty-six Ghosts (Shingata sanjurokkaisen)

This story comes from the historical saga 'Tale of the Heike' (Heike monogatari), specifically book 4, section 15 ‘The Nightbird. In the story, the nue was described as a supernatural creature with the head of monkey, the body of a badger, limbs of a tiger, the tail of a snake and the cry of a thrush. The image depicts Ino Hayata, the assistant to the warrior Minamoto Yorimasa, battling a nue. The pair had been called to help Emperor Konoe, who was tormented by a black cloud that settled over him each night, causing him to suffer from nightmarish visions. When Yorimasa heard strange sounds, he shot an arrow into the cloud, hitting a nue. Ino Hayata then slayed the fantastic beast.