is the fourth book in
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 ...
ese artist
Toriyama Sekien's famous ''
Gazu Hyakki Yagyō''
tetralogy
A tetralogy (from Greek τετρα- ''tetra-'', "four" and -λογία ''-logia'', "discourse") is a compound work that is made up of four distinct works. The name comes from the Attic theater, in which a tetralogy was a group of three tragedies ...
. A version of the tetralogy translated and annotated in English was published in 2016. The title is a
pun; "hyakki", normally written with the characters "hundred" and "''
oni
An is a kind of ''yōkai'', demon, orc, ogre, or troll in Japanese folklore. Oni are mostly known for their fierce and evil nature manifested in their propensity for murder and cannibalism. Notwithstanding their evil reputation, oni possess i ...
''", is instead written with "hundred" and "vessels". This hints that the majority of the ''
yōkai'' portrayed in its pages are of the variety known as ''
tsukumogami'', man-made objects taken sentient form.
''Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro'' is preceded in the series by ''
Gazu Hyakki Yagyō'', ''
Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki'', and ''
Konjaku Hyakki Shūi
is the third book of Japanese artist Toriyama Sekien's ''Gazu Hyakki Yagyō'' tetralogy, published c. 1781. These books are supernatural bestiaries, collections of ghosts, spirits, spooks and monsters, many of which Toriyama based on literature, ...
''.
Published in 1781, it was inspired in part by ''
Tsurezuregusa
is a collection of essays written by the Japanese monk Kenkō (兼好) between 1330 and 1332. The work is widely considered a gem of medieval Japanese literature and one of the three representative works of the zuihitsu genre, along with ''The P ...
'' (''Tales in Idleness''), a 14th-century essay collection by the monk
Yoshida Kenkō
was a Japanese author and Buddhist monk. His most famous work is ''Tsurezuregusa'' (''Essays in Idleness''), one of the most studied works of medieval Japanese literature. Kenko wrote during the Muromachi and Kamakura periods.
Life and work
Ken ...
. The book takes the form of a supernatural
bestiary
A bestiary (from ''bestiarum vocabulum'') is a compendium of beasts. Originating in the ancient world, bestiaries were made popular in the Middle Ages in illustrated volumes that described various animals and even rocks. The natural history a ...
of
yōkai. Unlike previous books in the series, the majority of ''Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro''s
yōkai appear to be of Sekien's own creation, based on turns of phrase or stories from ''
Tsurezuregusa
is a collection of essays written by the Japanese monk Kenkō (兼好) between 1330 and 1332. The work is widely considered a gem of medieval Japanese literature and one of the three representative works of the zuihitsu genre, along with ''The P ...
'' and other works of literature. Also unlike the other books in the series, ''Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro'' has a rudimentary narrative framework, described as the record of a strange dream in early printings (the third printing omits this introduction).
The book is compiled in three sub-volumes: Jō, Chū, and Ge (literally "top", "middle", and "bottom", but generally translated as first, second, and third volume in English.) The imagery below is from the third printing of the book.
List of creatures
First Volume
File:SekienTakarabune1.jpg,
File:SekienChirizukaKaio.jpg,
File:SekienFugurumaYoki.jpg,
File:SekienOsakoburi.jpg,
File:SekienKutsutsura.jpg,
File:SekienBakenokawagoromo.jpg,
File:SekienKinu-tanuki.jpg,
File:SekienKoroka.jpg,
File:SekienTenjoname.jpg,
File:SekienShiro-uneri.jpg,
File:SekienHonekarakasa.jpg,
File:SekienShogoro.jpg,
File:SekienHossumori.jpg,
File:SekienSazae-oni.jpg,
Second Volume
File:SekienYarikechouKoinryoZenfusho.jpg, , , and Zenfushō is a kettle tsukumogami which holds a clawed staff called ''koinryō''. It is pictured alongside monsters called ''Yarikechō'' and ''Koinryō''.
Third Volume
File:SekienMenreiki.jpg,
File:SekienHeiroku.jpg,
File:SekienUngaikyo.jpg,
File:SekienSuzuhiko-hime.jpg,
File:SekienFuru-utsubo.jpg,
File:SekienMukukabaki.jpg,
File:SekienChokuboron.jpg,
File:SekienSetodaisho.jpg,
File:SekienGotoku-neko.jpg,
File:SekienNarigama.jpg,
File:SekienYama-oroshi.jpg,
File:SekienKameosa.jpg,
File:SekienTakarabune2.jpg,
File:SekienTakarabune3.jpg,
See also
*''
Gazu Hyakki Yagyō''
*''
Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki''
*''
Konjaku Hyakki Shūi
is the third book of Japanese artist Toriyama Sekien's ''Gazu Hyakki Yagyō'' tetralogy, published c. 1781. These books are supernatural bestiaries, collections of ghosts, spirits, spooks and monsters, many of which Toriyama based on literature, ...
''
References
Bibliography
*
External links
*{{commons category-inline
Edo-period works
Yōkai