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The nurikabe (ぬりかべ) is a Yōkai, or spirit, from Japanese folklore. It manifests as a wall that impedes or misdirects walking travelers at night. Trying to go around is futile as it extends itself forever. Knocking on the lower left part of the wall makes it disappear. It has been suggested that the legend was created to explain travellers losing their bearings on long journeys.
In popular culture
The nurikabe served as an inspiration for the enemies in the Super Mario video game series known as Whomps and Thwomps.
References
Nurikabe Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA