is the first book of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese artist

Toriyama Sekien 200px, A , specifically a Miage-nyūdō, as portrayed by Toriyama , real name Sano Toyofusa, was a scholar, '' kyōka'' poet, and ''ukiyo-e'' artist of Japanese folklore. Early life Born to a family of high-ranking servants to the Tokugawa sh ...

'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 Bestiary, best ...

'', '' Konjaku Hyakki Shūi'', and '' Gazu Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro''. The book is a supernatural

bestiary A bestiary () 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 and illustration of each beas ...

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

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

, 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 Japanese literature, literature, Japanese fo ...

'' 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 Ryōan, Terajima (), a doctor from Osaka. It describes and illustrates va ...

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

yōkai are a class of supernatural entities and Spirit (supernatural entity) , spirits in Japanese folklore. The kanji representation of the word comprises two characters that both mean "suspicious, doubtful", and while the Japanese name is simply ...

'' 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 ''Nyctereutes'' (Greek: ''nyx, nykt-'' "night" + ''ereutēs'' "wanderer") is a genus of canid which includes only two extant species, both known as raccoon dogs: the common raccoon dog (''Nyctereutes procyonoides'') and the Japanese raccoon do ...

) 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 ( :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 Provinces of Japan, 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 th ...

. File:SekienKasha.jpg,

Kasha In English, kasha usually refers to the pseudocereal buckwheat or its culinary preparations. In Slavic languages, "kasha" means porridge or puree. In some varieties of Eastern European cuisine, ''kasha'' can apply to any kind of cooked grain. I ...

( :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 childbi ...

( :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 ( :ja:黒塚) File:SekienRokurokubi.jpg, Rokurokubi ( :ja:ろくろ首) File:Sakabashira.jpg, Sakabashira ( :ja:逆柱) File:SekienMakuragaeshi.jpg, Makuragaeshi ( :ja:枕返し) File:SekienYukionna.jpg, Yuki-onna ( :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 c ...

( :ja:生霊) File:SekienShiryo.jpg, Shiryō ( :ja:死霊) File:SekienYurei.jpg,

Yūrei are figures in Japanese folklore analogous to the Western concept 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 departed ...

(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