In Japanese folklore, what snow spirit appears as a pale woman?

In Japanese folklore, the snow spirit that appears as a pale woman is Yuki-onna.

Yuki-onna literally means “snow woman.” She is usually described as tall and beautiful, with long black hair, a white kimono, blue lips, and unnaturally pale or transparent skin. In many tales she appears during snowstorms, glides without leaving footprints, and freezes travelers with her breath or leads them to die of exposure.

The legend is documented by the Muromachi-period poet Sōgi, who described seeing a snow woman while staying in Echigo Province, now Niigata Prefecture. Regional versions differ widely: some portray her as a dangerous snow vampire, while others make her a ghost, a mountain spirit, or even a moon princess stranded on Earth.

Yuki-onna is often confused with the Western Snow Queen or with yama-uba, the mountain witch. Lafcadio Hearn’s influential 1904 collection Kwaidan popularized a version in which she marries a man named Minokichi, but Japanese folklore contains many older and contrasting traditions.