Although in many modern pictures of specters she is conveniently depicted as an old woman as her name suggests, some believe that it is small animals such as Japanese minks or raccoon dogs that throw sand while others believe it to be the work of a specter of an old woman.
近年の書籍の妖怪画では便宜上その名の通り老婆の姿で描かれることが多いが、老婆の妖怪とする説、タヌキやイタチといった小動物の仕業とする説がある。