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Gazu Hyakki Yagyō
is the first book of Japanese artist Toriyama Sekien's famous ''Gazu Hyakki Yagyō'' e-hon tetralogy, published in 1776. A version of the tetralogy translated and annotated in English was published in 2016. Although the title translates to "The Illustrated Night Parade of a Hundred Demons", it is based on an idiom, ''hyakki yagyō,'' that is akin to pandemonium in English and implies an uncountable horde. The book is followed by ''Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki'', ''Konjaku Hyakki Shūi'', and ''Gazu Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro''. The book is a supernatural bestiary, a collection of ghosts, spirits, spooks and monsters from literature, folklore, and other artwork. The art of ''Gazu Hyakki Yagyō'' heavily references a 1737 scroll-painting called the ''Hyakkai Zukan'' by artist Sawaki Sūshi; Sekien's innovation was preparing the illustrations as woodblock prints that could be mass-produced in a bound book format. Intended as a parody of then-popular reference books such as the ''Wakan Sans ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north toward the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, and Taiwan in the south. Japan is a part of the Ring of Fire, and spans Japanese archipelago, an archipelago of List of islands of Japan, 6852 islands covering ; the five main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu (the "mainland"), Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa Island, Okinawa. Tokyo is the Capital of Japan, nation's capital and largest city, followed by Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Kobe, and Kyoto. Japan is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eleventh most populous country in the world, as well as one of the List of countries and dependencies by population density, most densely populated and Urbanization by country, urbanized. About three-fourths of Geography of Japan, the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tengu
are a type of legendary creature found in Japanese folk religion (Shinto). They are considered a type of ''yōkai'' (supernatural beings) or Shinto ''kami'' (gods). The ''Tengu'' were originally thought to take the forms of birds of prey and a monkey deity, and they are traditionally depicted with human, monkey, and avian characteristics. Sarutahiko Ōkami is considered to be the original model of Konoha-Tengu (a supernatural creature with a red face and long nose), which today is widely considered the ''Tengu''s defining characteristic in the popular imagination. He is the Shinto monkey deity who is said to shed light on heaven and earth. Some experts theorize that Sarutahiko was a sun god worshiped in the Ise region prior to the popularization of Amaterasu. Buddhism long held that the ''Tengu'' were disruptive demons and harbingers of war. Their image gradually softened, however, into one of protective and even manifestations of Buddhist deities, if still dangerous, spirits ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kitsunebi
Kitsunebi (狐火) is an atmospheric ghost light told about in legends all across Japan outside Okinawa Prefecture.村上健司編著 『妖怪事典』 毎日新聞社、2000年、134頁。。 They are also called "hitobosu", "hitomoshi" (火点し), and "rinka" (燐火). Overview Kimimori Sarashina, a researcher of local stories, summarizes the features of the kitsunebi as follows: in places where there'd be no presence of fire, mysterious flames like those of paper lantern or a torch would appear in a line and flicker in and out, with fires that have gone out sometimes even appearing in yet another place, so that if one attempted to chase after what was behind all this, it would disappear in the middle. When they appear between spring and autumn, they show up especially in hot summers and appear easily when it is cloudy when the weather is changing. They are said to appear from between ten and several hundred in a line, and just when one thinks that they have increased, they ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amikiri
Amikiri ( or 網剪) is a Japanese yōkai depicted in the ''Gazu Hyakki Yagyō'' by Toriyama Sekien. Concept It is depicted as a cross between a serpent, bird or a lobster. It has claws similar to that of a crab or a scorpion, but since there is no explanatory text within the book, it is not certain what kind of yōkai it is. Many yōkai depicted in the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō were done in reference to predecessor works like the Hyakkai Zukan, so it can be seen that perhaps it is based on the one that is closest to it in those predecessor works, the kamikiri. It uses its claws to cut fisherman and mosquito nets, which it has a bad habit of, and this behaviour leads to people regarding it as a pest. In various writings from the Shōwa period, Heisei period, and beyond, the amikiri is explained to be a yōkai that cuts meshes and mosquito nets. According to the yōkai researcher Katsumi Tada, "ami" (meaning nets) can lead one to think about "ami" (meaning mysidacea) due to being homop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kamaitachi
is a Japanese yōkai often told about in the Kōshin'etsu region and can also refer to the strange events that this creature causes. They appear riding on dust devils and they cut people using the nails on both their hands that are like sickles. One would receive a sharp, painless wound. Origin It was originally thought to be a corruption of the word "kamae tachi" (stance sword), but like the kyūki in the "Yin" part of Toriyama Sekien's Gazu Hyakki Yagyō, they were thus re-used and depicted as a weasel yōkai, eventually becoming established as the yōkai it is now. In the "Mimibukuro" by Negishi Shizumori as well, children in the estate called Kagaya in Edo were enveloped by a whirlwind, and on the surface of their backs, there remained the footsteps of a beast, and it was written that this was the proof of a "kamae tachi" (). As a beast with fur like that of a hedgehog, and a cry like that of a dog, and one that flies through the air with wings, they are said to attack p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raccoon Dog
The common raccoon dog (''Nyctereutes procyonoides''), also called the Chinese or Asian raccoon dog, is a small, heavy-set, fox-like canid native to East Asia. Named for its raccoon-like face markings, it is most closely related to foxes. Common raccoon dogs feed on many animals and plant matter, and are unusual among canids (dogs, foxes, and other members of the family Canidae) for climbing trees and for hibernating in cold winters. They are widespread in their native range, and are invasive in Europe where they were introduced for the fur trade. The similar Japanese raccoon dog (''Nyctereutes viverrinus''), native to Japan, is the only other living member of the genus ''Nyctereutes''. Other names for the common raccoon dog include ''mangut'' (its Evenki name), ''neoguri'' (its Korean name) or simply raccoon dog. The raccoon dog is named for the resemblance of its masked face to that of the North American common raccoon (''Procyon lotor''). The closest relatives of the raccoon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bake-danuki
''Bake-danuki'' () are a kind of ''yōkai'' (supernatural beings) found in the classics and in the folklore and legends of various places in Japan, commonly associated with the Japanese raccoon dog or ''tanuki''. Although the ''tanuki'' is a real, extant animal, the ''bake-danuki'' that appears in literature has always been depicted as a strange, even supernatural animal. The earliest appearance of the ''bake-danuki'' in literature, in the chapter about Empress Suiko in the '' Nihon Shoki'' written during the Nara period, there are such passages as "in two months of spring, there are tanuki in the country of Mutsu (), they turn into humans and sing songs ()." Bake-danuki subsequently appear in such classics as the Nihon Ryōiki and the Uji Shūi Monogatari. In some regions of Japan, ''bake-danuki'' are reputed to have abilities similar to those attributed to ''kitsune'' (foxes): they can shapeshift into other things or people, and can possess human beings. Many legends of ''tanuk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akaname
The is a Japanese ''yōkai'' depicted in Toriyama Sekien's 1776 book ''Gazu Hyakki Yagyō'', with its precursor or equivalent documented earlier in 1686. These beings presumably lick the filth and scum that collect in bathtubs and bathrooms. Terminology The word ''aka'' refers to dead skin on a person's body, alongside the dirt, grime, or sweat that may be scrubbed or washed off; the ''aka'' can also refer to scum that accumulates at the bathhouse as a result, including perhaps mildew. Hence the name ''akaname'' means 'scum-licker' or 'filth-licker". There is speculation whether ''aka'' alludes to impurities or defilements of the soul, or negative thoughts known in Buddhism as ''bonnō'' (Sankskrit: '' kleshas''), and the ''yōkai'' may serve as warning not to be so preoccupied with such thoughts as to be derelict in the chores of cleansing the bath of such filth. Another speculation is a possible connection to the sacred water used as offering in Buddhism, known as wate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Otter
Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among other animals. Etymology The word ''otter'' derives from the Old English word or . This, and cognate words in other Indo-European languages, ultimately stem from the Proto-Indo-European language root , which also gave rise to the English word "water". Terminology An otter's den is called a holt or couch. Male otters are called dogs or boars, females are called bitches or sows, and their offspring are called pups or cubs. The collective nouns for otters are bevy, family, lodge, romp (being descriptive of their often playful nature) or, when in water, raft. The feces of otters are typically identified by their distinctive aroma, the smell of which has been described as ranging from freshly ... [...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', ''d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nekomata
''Nekomata'' (original form: , later forms: , , ) are a kind of cat ''yōkai'' described in Japanese folklore, classical kaidan, essays, etc. There are two very different types: those that live in the mountains and domestic cats that have grown old and transformed into ''yōkai''. (2000)、170–171。 ''Nekomata'' are often confused with ''bakeneko''. Mountain ''nekomata'' ''Nekomata'' appear in stories even earlier than in Japan. In the Sui dynasty, the words and described mysterious cats. In Japanese literature, the ''nekomata'' first appeared in the Meigetsuki by Fujiwara no Teika in the early Kamakura period: in the beginning of Tenpuku (1233), August 2, in Nanto (now Nara Prefecture), a nekomata () was said to have killed and eaten several people in one night. The nekomata was described as a mountain beast: according to the Meigetsuki, "They have eyes like a cat, and have a large body like a dog." The essay Tsurezuregusa from the late Kamakura period (circa 1331) asse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inugami
, like kitsunetsuki, is a spiritual possession by the spirit of a dog, widely known about in western Japan. They have seemed firmly rooted until recent years in the eastern Ōita Prefecture, Shimane Prefecture, and a part of Kōchi Prefecture in northern Shikoku, and it is also theorized that Shikoku, where no foxes (kitsune) could be found, is the main base of the inugami. Furthermore, traces of belief in inugami exists in the Yamaguchi Prefecture, all of Kyushu, even going past the Satsunan Islands all the way to the Okinawa Prefecture. In the Miyazaki Prefecture, the Kuma District, Kumamoto Prefecture, and Yakushima, the local dialect pronounces it "ingami" and in Tanegashima, they are called "irigami." It can also be written in kanji as 狗神. Origins The phenomenon of inugami spiritual possession was a kojutsu (also called "kodō" or "kodoku", a greatly feared ritual for employing the spirits of certain animals) that was already banned in the Heian period that was thou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
