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Bakemono No E
''Bakemono no e'' (化物之繪, "Illustrations of Supernatural Creatures"), also known by its alternate title ''Bakemonozukushie'' (化物尽繪, "Illustrated Index of Supernatural Creatures"), is a Japanese handscroll of the Edo period depicting 35 Obake, bakemono from Japanese folklore. The figures are hand-painted on paper in vivid pigments with accents in gold pigment. Each bakemono is labeled with its name in hand-brushed ink. There is no other writing on the scroll, no colophon, and no artist's signature or seal. Provenance ''Bakemono no e'' is held by the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Library, L. Tom Perry Special Collections of the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, US and is part of the Harry F. Bruning Collection of Japanese rare books and manuscripts. It is thought that Harry F. Bruning (1886–1975) acquired the scroll from Charles E. Tuttle (1915–1993). ''Bakemono no e'' is thought to have been produced in the late 17th or early 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edo Period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characterized by economic growth, strict social order, isolationist foreign policies, a stable population, perpetual peace, and popular enjoyment of arts and culture. The period derives its name from Edo (now Tokyo), where on March 24, 1603, the shogunate was officially established by Tokugawa Ieyasu. The period came to an end with the Meiji Restoration and the Boshin War, which restored imperial rule to Japan. Consolidation of the shogunate The Edo period or Tokugawa period is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's regional '' daimyo''. A revolution took place from the time of the Kamakura shogunate, which existed with the Tennō's court, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Komainu
, often called lion-dogs in English, are statue pairs of lion-like creatures either guarding the entrance or the ''honden'', or inner shrine of many Japanese Shinto shrines or kept inside the inner shrine itself, where they are not visible to the public. The first type, born during the Edo period, is called , the second and much older type . They can sometimes be found also at Buddhist temples, nobility residences or even private homes. Symbolic meaning Meant to ward off evil spirits, modern ''komainu'' statues usually are almost identical, but one has the mouth open, the other closed (however, exceptions exist, where both ''komainu'' have their mouth either open or closed.Shogakukan Encyclopedia, ''Komainu''). The two forms are called and or referred to collectively as ''a-un''.Iwanami Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version This is a very common characteristic in religious statue pairs at both temples and shrines. The pattern is Buddhist in origin (see the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gangō-ji
is an ancient Buddhist temple, that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, in Nara, Japan. History The original foundation of the temple was by Soga no Umako in Asuka, as Asuka-dera. The temple was moved to Nara in 718, following the capital relocation to Heijō-kyō. Gangō-ji initially held as many as seven halls and pagodas in its precincts, which occupied a wide area within what is now Naramachi, the preserved district of modern Nara city. The original architecture was lost in fires during the 15th through 19th centuries (Muromachi and Edo periods respectively). Architecture The best preserved part of the temple is known as and belongs to the Shingon-risshū school. This site is a part of a group of temples, shrines and other places in Nara that UNESCO has designated as World Heritage Site " Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara", and holds three national treasures: * the , which is one of the few well-preserved structures of the temple, * the Zen room * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gagoze
Gagoze (元興寺), also gagoji, guwagoze, gangō, and gangōji no oni (元興寺の鬼, the oni of gangōji) is a yōkai said to have appeared at Gangō-ji in the Nara Prefecture around the Asuka period. It can also be found in the text of the Heian period '' Nihon Ryōiki'' (in the story, 雷の憙を得て生ま令めし子の強き力在る縁," On a Boy of Great Strength Who Was Born of the Thunder’s Rejoicing"), the '' Honchō Monzui'', among others. In classical yōkai drawings such as the '' Gazu Hyakki Yagyō'' by Toriyama Sekien, it is depicted as an ''oni'' with the appearance of a monk. Concept It was the era of Emperor Bidatsu. In the town of Katawa, Aichi District, Owari Province (now near Furuwatari, Naka-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture), a certain peasant had a run in with a lightning strike. The lightning spirit (Raijin) who came down with the lightning rapidly changed form into that of a child. As the peasant was about to kill the raijin with a rod, the raijin b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ushi-oni
The , or gyūki, is a yōkai from the folklore of western Japan. The folklore describes more than one kind of ''ushi-oni'', but the depiction of a bovine-headed monster occurs in most. ''Ushi-oni'' generally appear on beaches and attack people who walk there. Description ''Ushi-oni'' have brutal, savage personalites. Their appearance varies, mainly based on geographical location. They usually have an ox's head with sharp upward-curving horns, wicked fangs and a slender tongue, They spit poison and enjoy killing and eating humans. Their body is most commonly depicted as spider-like with six legs and long singular claws at the end of each appendage. In other descriptions, they have the head of an ox and an oni's torso. Certain legends claim that they appear in front of temple gates in the mountains wearing human clothing, or flying with the wings of an insect. Other ''ushi-oni'' have a reverse appearance, with an oni's head and an ox's body. They are said to appears in beaches ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nure-onna
is a Japanese yōkai which resembles a reptilian creature with the head of a woman and the body of a snake. They are also seen as a paranormal phenomenon at sea under the name of nureyomejo. In legends, they are often said to consume humans, but they have no single appearance or personality. Concept They are similar to the yōkai called isoonna of Kyushu, and like the isoonna, they are said to appear at seas or rivers. Their name comes from how their hair is always wet in legends. They are also theorized to be the changed form of sea snakes. Many Edo Period publications such as the Hyakkai Zukan, Gazu Hyakki Yagyō, among others, depict this yōkai as a woman with a snake body, which would make it appear as if this was a well-known yōkai of the time, but there are no stories about a snake-bodied nure-onna in the classical literature of the time that can be found. Despite this, according to the essay ''Yōkai Gadan Zenshū, Jō'' (妖怪画談全集 日本篇 上, "Discussio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miyazaki Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,073,054 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 7,735 Square kilometre, km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefecture borders Ōita Prefecture to the north, Kumamoto Prefecture to the northwest, and Kagoshima Prefecture to the southwest. Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Miyazaki is the capital and largest city of Miyazaki Prefecture, with other major cities including Miyakonojō, Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Nobeoka, and Hyūga, Miyazaki, Hyūga. Miyazaki Prefecture is located in southeastern Kyūshū on Japan's Pacific coast, with its coastline extending from Nobeoka near the entrance to the Bungo Channel to Shibushi Bay in Kushima. History Historically, after the Meiji Restoration, Hyūga Province was renamed Miyazaki Prefecture. In Japan, Miyazaki Prefecture was first created in 1873 when Mimitsu Prefecture was merged with parts of Miyakonojō Prefecture. The first Miyazaki e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saga Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of 809,248 (1 August 2020) and has a geographic area of 2,440 km2 (942 sq mi). Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasaki Prefecture to the southwest. Saga is the capital and largest city of Saga Prefecture, with other major cities including Karatsu, Tosu, and Imari. Saga Prefecture is located in the northwest of Kyūshū covering an isthmus-like area extending between the Sea of Japan and the Ariake Sea. Saga Prefecture's western region is known for the production of ceramics and porcelain, particularly in the towns of Karatsu, Imari, and Arita. History In ancient times, the area composed by Nagasaki Prefecture and Saga Prefecture was called Hizen Province. The current name dates from the Meiji Restoration. Rice farming culture has prospered here since ancient times, and vestiges can be seen at the ruins of Nabatake in Karatsu and the Yoshinoga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kappa (folklore)
A — also known as , , with a boss called or – is a reptiloid '' kami'' with similarities to ''yōkai'' found in traditional Japanese folklore. ''Kappa'' can become harmful when they are not respected as gods. They are typically depicted as green, human-like beings with webbed hands and feet and a turtle-like carapace on their back. The ''kappa'' are known to favor cucumbers and love to engage in sumo wrestling. They are often accused of assaulting humans in water and removing a mythical organ called the ''shirikodama'' from their victim's anus. Terminology The name ''kappa'' is a contraction of the words ''kawa'' (river) and ''wappa'', a variant form of 童 ''warawa'' (also ''warabe'') "child". Another translation of kappa is "water sprites". The ''kappa'' are also known regionally by at least eighty other names such as ''kawappa'', ''kawako'', ''kawatarō'', ''gawappa'', ''kōgo'', ''suitengu''., citing Ōno (1994), p. 14 It is also called ''kawauso'' 'otter', '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kyushu
is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands. Kyushu has a land area of and a population of 14,311,224 in 2018. In the 8th-century Taihō Code reforms, Dazaifu was established as a special administrative term for the region. Geography The island is mountainous, and Japan's most active volcano, Mount Aso at , is on Kyushu. There are many other signs of tectonic activity, including numerous areas of hot springs. The most famous of these are in Beppu, on the east shore, and around Mt. Aso in central Kyushu. The island is separated from Honshu by the Kanmon Straits. Being the nearest island to the Asian continent, historically it is the gateway to Japan. The total area is which makes it the 37th largest island in the world. It's slightly larger than Taiwan island . T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hyōsube
Hyōsube () is a Japanese yōkai. There are legends about them in many areas such as Saga Prefecture and Miyazaki Prefecture. It is a child-sized river monster from Kyūshū that lives in underwater caves. It prefers to come out at night and loves to eat eggplants. It is a cousin of the supernatural yōkai in kappa folklore. Origin They are said to be the companions of kappa, and they have alternate names of kappa and gawappa in the Saga Prefecture and gaataro in the Nagasaki Prefecture, but it is also said that legends about them are even older than ones about kappa. They are said to have originated from Binzhushen (兵主神), the later name for Chiyou, and there are considered to be legends of them together with the Hata clan among other returnees. Originally revered as battle gods, in Japan they eventually came to acquire faith as food gods, and they are currently enshrined in places like Yasu, Shiga Prefecture and Tanba, Hyōgo Prefecture where there are shrines call ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kōshin
or is a folk faith in Japan with Taoist origins, influenced by Shinto, Buddhism and other local beliefs. A typical event related to the faith is called , held on the Kōshin days that occur every 60 days in accordance with the Chinese sexagenary cycle. On this day some believers stay awake to prevent , entities believed to live inside the body of believers, from leaving it during that night in order to report the good and specially the bad deeds of the believer to the god Ten-Tei. It is not clearly certain when such custom arrived or came into fashion in Japan, although it is believed that by some time in the 9th century it had been already practiced at least by aristocrats. A Japanese monk called Ennin wrote in his travel book upon visiting Tang China in 838, that "Tonight people are not sleeping. It is the same as in our country on Kōshin nights." In the Muromachi period, Buddhist monks started to write about the Kōshin, which led to wider popularity of the faith among pu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
