産うぶ女め

noun

Ubume; ghost of a woman who died in childbirth

A well-known yōkai in Japanese folklore: the spirit of a woman who died during or shortly after childbirth, often depicted carrying a baby and asking passersby to hold it.

• 産うぶ女めは、日本にほんの古こ典てん的てきな怪かい談だんによく登とう場じょうする妖よう怪かいだ。

  Ubume is a yōkai that often appears in classic Japanese ghost stories.

• 夜よ道みちで産うぶ女めに出で会あったという話はなしを聞きいたことがある。

  I've heard a story about encountering an Ubume on a night road.

noun

woman in late pregnancy; woman about to give birth

Only when written 産女 / 孕女

Rare literal meaning; in modern Japanese, 臨月の女性 or 出産間近の女性 are more common. Found mainly in older texts or as a direct reading of the kanji 産女/孕女.

• 古こ文ぶん書しょには、産うぶ女めのための産うぶ屋やの記き述じゅつが見みられる。

  In old documents, there are descriptions of a birthing hut for women about to give birth.