In "Hyakki Yagyo Emaki," which is a classical picture scroll of a variety of ghosts, a cloth-like ghost having two arms and two legs was illustrated, and folklorist Kazuhiko KOMATSU put forward the hypothesis that this ghost was the origin of Ittan-momen.
古典の妖怪絵巻『百鬼夜行絵巻』に描かれた妖怪の一つに、手足の生えた布状のものがあるが、民俗学者・小松和彦はこれを一反木綿のルーツにあたるものとの仮説を立てている。