is the first book of

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 200px, A Mikoshi-nyūdō, specifically a Miage-nyūdō, as portrayed by Toriyama">Miage-nyūdō.html" ;"title="Mikoshi-nyūdō, specifically a Miage-nyūdō">Mikoshi-nyūdō, specifically a Miage-nyūdō, as portrayed by Toriyama , real name Sano ...

's famous ''Gazu Hyakki Yagyō''

e-hon is the Japanese term for picture books. It may be applied in the general sense, or may refer specifically to a type of woodblock printed illustrated volume published in the Edo period (1603–1867). The first were religious items with images ...

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 ...

, published in 1776. A version of the

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 is the second book of Japanese artist Toriyama Sekien's famous ''Gazu Hyakki Yagyō'' tetralogy, published c. 1779. A version of the tetralogy translated and annotated in English was published in 2016. These books are supernatural bestiaries, col ...

'', ''

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, ...

'', and ''

Gazu Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro is the fourth book in Japanese artist Toriyama Sekien's famous ''Gazu Hyakki Yagyō'' tetralogy. A version of the tetralogy translated and annotated in English was published in 2016. The title is a pun; "hyakki", normally written with the characte ...

''. The book is 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 ...

, a collection of ghosts, spirits, spooks and monsters from

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

, and other

artwork A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

. The art of ''Gazu Hyakki Yagyō'' heavily references a 1737 scroll-painting called the ''

Hyakkai Zukan is a picture scroll by Edo period Japanese artist Sawaki Suushi. Completed in 1737, this scroll is a supernatural bestiary, a collections of ghosts, spirits and monsters (Yōkai), which Suushi based on literature, folklore, other artwork. These ...

'' 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 Sansai Zue The is an illustrated Japanese ''leishu'' encyclopedia published in 1712 in the Edo period. It consists of 105 volumes in 81 books. Its compiler was Terashima or Terajima (), a doctor from Osaka. It describes and illustrates various activitie ...

'', it ended up becoming a reference book in its own right, profoundly influencing subsequent ''

yōkai are a class of supernatural entities and spirits in Japanese folklore. The word is composed of the kanji for "attractive; calamity" and "apparition; mystery; suspicious." are also referred to as , or . Despite often being translated as suc ...

'' imagery in Japan. The book proved popular enough to be reprinted three times over the course of the Edo era by various book-sellers. The book is compiled in three sub-volumes: ''Yin'', ''Yang'', and ''Wind''. ''Yin'' features a foreword by poet Maki Tōei, while Wind ends with an afterword by Sekien.

First Volume "Yin" – 陰

The first volume of ''Gazu Hyakki Yagyō'', called "Yin", includes the following yōkai. File:SekienKodama.jpg,
Sekien's comments: File:SekienTengu.jpg, File:SekienYamabiko.jpg, File:SekienYamawarawa.jpg, File:SekienYamauba.jpg, File:SekienInugami.jpg,
Sekien depicted it accompanied by a smaller creature called . File:SekienNekomata.jpg, File:Kappa jap myth.jpg,
Sekien's comments: File:SekienKawauso.jpg, (River otter) File:SekienAkaname.jpg, File:SekienTanuki.jpg, (

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 ...

) File:SekienKamaitachi.jpg, File:SekienAmikiri.jpg, File:SekienKitsunebi.jpg, (Fox-fire)

Second Volume "Yang" – 陽

The second volume of ''Gazu Hyakki Yagyō'', called "Yang", includes the following yōkai. File:SekienJorogumo.jpg, Jorōgumo ( :ja:絡新婦) File:Ten-Japanese-Marten-from-Gazu-Hyakki-Yagyo-by-Sekien.png, Ten (鼬), (Marten) File:SekienSogenbi.jpg, Sōgenbi ( :ja:叢原火)
Sekien's comments: It can be found in the west of Saiin outside the capital, near Mibudera temple. It is also called Sōgenbi of Suzaku. File:SekienTsurubebi.jpg,

Tsurubebi The tsurubebi (釣瓶火, "bucket fire") is a fire yōkai that appears in the ''Gazu Hyakki Yagyō'' by Toriyama Sekien. Concept The illustration does not give any explanatory text, but according to ''Toriyama Sekien Gazu Hyakki Yagyō'', (editor- ...

( :ja:釣瓶火) File:SekienFuraribi.jpg, Furaribi ( :ja:ふらり火) File:SekienUbagabi.jpg, Ubagabi ( :ja:姥ヶ火).
Sekien's comments: It is said to appear in

Kawachi Province was a province of Japan in the eastern part of modern Osaka Prefecture. It originally held the southwestern area that was split off into Izumi Province. It was also known as . Geography The area was radically different in the past, with Kawachi ...

. File:SekienKasha.jpg,

Kasha In English, kasha usually refers to pseudocereal buckwheat or its culinary preparations. In various East-Central and Eastern European countries, ''kasha'' can apply to any kind of cooked grain. It can be baked but most often is boiled, either in ...

( :ja:火車) File:SekienYanari.jpg, Yanari ( :ja:鳴屋) File:SekienUbume.jpg,

Ubume are Japanese yōkai of pregnant women. They can also be written as '. Throughout folk stories and literature the identity and appearance of ubume varies. However, she is most commonly depicted as the spirit of a woman who has died during childbir ...

( :ja:産女) File:SekienUmizato.jpg, Umi zatō ( :ja:海座頭) File:SekienNoderabo.jpg, Noderabō ( :ja:野寺坊) File:SekienTakajo.jpg, Takaonna ( :ja:高女) File:SekienTenome.jpg, Tenome ( :ja:手の目) File:SekienTesso.jpg, Tesso ( :ja:鉄鼠).
Sekien's comments: Raigō became a plague of rats, and went into the world. File:SekienKurozuka.jpg,

Kurozuka Kurozuka (, "black mound") is the grave of an onibaba in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture (previously Oodaira), Adachi District or the legend of that onibaba. It lives in Adachigahara (the name of the eastern shore of Abukuma River as well a ...

( :ja:黒塚) File:SekienRokurokubi.jpg,

Rokurokubi ''Rokurokubi'' (ろくろ首, 轆轤首) is a type of Japanese ''yōkai'' (apparition). They look almost completely like humans with some differences. There is a type whose neck stretches and another whose head detaches and flies around freely ...

( :ja:ろくろ首) File:Sakabashira.jpg,

Sakabashira Sakabashira (逆柱, さかばしら) or sakasabashira (逆さ柱, さかさばしら), meaning "reverse pillar," is a folk belief about wooden structures in Japan, and it refers to reversing the vertical direction of a tree from its original dire ...

( :ja:逆柱) File:SekienMakuragaeshi.jpg, Makuragaeshi ( :ja:枕返し) File:SekienYukionna.jpg,

Yuki-onna is a spirit or yōkai in Japanese folklore that is often depicted in Japanese literature, films, or animation. She may also go by such names as ''yuki-musume'', cited by ("snow daughter"), ''yuki-onago'' ("snow girl"), ''yukijorō'' (雪女郎, ...

( :ja:雪女) File:SekienIkiryo.jpg,

Ikiryō , also known as , , or , is a disembodied spirit or ghost in Japanese popular belief and fiction that leaves the body of a living person and subsequently haunts other people or places, sometimes across great distances. The term(s) are used in ...

( :ja:生霊) File:SekienShiryo.jpg,

Shiryō are the souls of the dead in Japanese folklore. This contrasts with , which are souls of the living. Summary Classical literature and folklore material has left many mentions of , and they have various behaviors. According to the , they were con ...

( :ja:死霊) File:SekienYurei.jpg,

Yūrei are figures in Japanese folklore analogous to the Western model of ghosts. The name consists of two kanji, (''yū''), meaning "faint" or "dim" and (''rei''), meaning "soul" or "spirit". Alternative names include , meaning ruined or depart ...

(幽霊)

Third Volume "Wind" – 風

The third volume of ''Gazu Hyakki Yagyō'', called "Wind", includes the following yōkai. File:SekienMikoshi.jpg, File:SekienShoukera.jpg, File:SekienHyousube.jpg, File:SekienWaira.jpg, File:SekienOtoroshi.jpg, File:SekienNuribotoke.jpg, File:SekienNureonna.jpg, File:SekienNurarihyon.jpg, File:SekienGagoze.jpg, File:SekienOuni.jpg, File:SekienAobouzu.jpg, File:SekienAkashita.jpg, File:SekienNuppeppo.jpg, File:SekienUshioni.jpg, File:SekienUwan.jpg,

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gazu Hyakki Yako Edo-period works Yōkai Bestiaries 1776 books

First Volume "Yin" – 陰

Second Volume "Yang" – 陽

Third Volume "Wind" – 風

See also

References

Bibliography