Baku: The Dream-Eater
'
Known by a few names, legends of Baku originated in China and spread into Japan. It has a lot of lore around it, and I will only touch on a very small portion here.
'
While there are a variety of descriptions, Baku is often described as a Chimera, having the nose of an elephant, the body of a lion or bear, the tail of an ox, the paws of a tiger, and the eyes of a rhinoceros.
'
However, sometimes Baku is described as having a much more humble appearance-- namely in the form of a tapir (see bottom-most picture).*
'
Believed to be largely benevolent spirits in nature, it was said that if you had a nightmare, Baku could be summoned to come and devour the bad dreams. Other tales said sleeping on the pelt of a Baku, or hanging a likeness of the creature above the bed could ward away sickness as well as nightmares.
For those who did choose to summon the spirit, however, they were advised to proceed with caution. Not all believed Baku too be entirely beneficial-- rumour had it that if you summoned Baku, and your nightmare did not satisfy the creature's hunger, it would devour your dreams as well-- dooming it's victim to an empty life, devoid of hope.
'
'
'
'
'
'
*Not entirely untrue to the other descriptions, Tapir's DO possess prehensile noses. They are small mammals that live in south/central America as well as southern Asia. It is this animal (combined with the mythology) that helped lead to the creation of the Pokemon "Drowzee," along with it's infamous move "Dream Eater"
I used to wonder about this move as a kid and I'm happy to have the answer! Also, I thought the tapir was a joke at first, I hope I didn't offend Baku^^ Thanks for the post and the comment, that's really nice. I should save your mythsubstance and then draw them and copy the info in a notebook to remember it and feel like a mystical zookeeper.
Haha I actually think I learned about the Tapir but didn't discover until years later it's connection to the mythology or that it was the inspiration for Drowzee. Don't worry though-- they get enough notoriety in folklore, I doubt they'll be too offended
'
If you draw them (and feel comfortable) you should post some of them so we can see! :)
Will do! Not until april 7th at least but if I manage to draw them acceptably you'll see them!
(and I meant I knew about tapirs but I thought you put it there as a joke to make fun of Baku)
You're welcome :) if you (or anyone) are interested, there's actually a lot more folklore and such surrounding them-- they are (or were) really pervasive in Japanese culture from the little I know.
3
deleted
· 5 years ago
Japanese legends and mythos are of some of the wonkiest lore(s) that exists.
I'm not sure what more to add to this particular post at the moment, but I'd certainly be willing to post more of the Japanese spirits and such in the future. I'd been thinking about doing kitsune already since they're so prevalent in popculture, and people enjoy when there's something they can discover about things they already love (like the little drowzee factoid).
'
Did you have a particular one in mind or just really enjoy the yokai folklore in general?
'
I do find most mythology and stuff interesting so I'm not opposed to doing any of the more obscure or even dark-natured/morbid ones as well. So far I've just been doing creatures as they pop into my head
Hmm honestly if theres any one yokai stuck in my mind right now it's the weird ones that disguise themselves as literally anything like the little umbrella dudes or the ones that literally disguise themselves as your clothes
I've actually been trying to make a story series in my head (and hopefully onto paper) about a man who works at a facility to keep cryptids and other myths and legends at peace with humanity by keeping them hidden and unknown to the public (not the men in black, these guys are actually rivals to them).
When I first started it was more so just like random little tales all strung together with the area he was currently hunting in, however recently I've been trying to make it a full on narrative with more than just 1 character and actual plot, not just moving from one mission to another. I cant think of anything for it though; aside from his trip to Japan, which so far I actually have a lot of ideas for. So that's why I'm on a big yokai high rn
So kind of like somewhere between Fantastic Beasts meets "Fables," meets Men In Black, with maybe a little Okami for good measure. Which actually sounds like a decently awesome combination
'
also the first thing that came up when I googled umbrella yokai were something called "Kasa-obake" not sure if those are the ones you're talking about
'
Perhaps once you align some of the major creatures you'd like to include it will be easier to turn them into characters and then it might be a bit easier to sketch out a guideline for how they connect to one another (or how he goes from one mission to another).
'
There's a book series I read once where a group of werewolves keep track of any instances of rogue werewolf appearances. Anytime it seemed likely it would be dangerous or expose them, they would go and hunt the rogue down and deal with it. While doing this they eventually also encounter witches and vampires and other things, including some of the similar organizations tasked with keeping
Their own kind in check.
'
This isn't super relevant just came to mind so I thought I'd mention it since you never know where inspiration might come from
'
Known by a few names, legends of Baku originated in China and spread into Japan. It has a lot of lore around it, and I will only touch on a very small portion here.
'
While there are a variety of descriptions, Baku is often described as a Chimera, having the nose of an elephant, the body of a lion or bear, the tail of an ox, the paws of a tiger, and the eyes of a rhinoceros.
'
However, sometimes Baku is described as having a much more humble appearance-- namely in the form of a tapir (see bottom-most picture).*
'
Believed to be largely benevolent spirits in nature, it was said that if you had a nightmare, Baku could be summoned to come and devour the bad dreams. Other tales said sleeping on the pelt of a Baku, or hanging a likeness of the creature above the bed could ward away sickness as well as nightmares.
'
'
'
'
'
'
*Not entirely untrue to the other descriptions, Tapir's DO possess prehensile noses. They are small mammals that live in south/central America as well as southern Asia. It is this animal (combined with the mythology) that helped lead to the creation of the Pokemon "Drowzee," along with it's infamous move "Dream Eater"
'
If you draw them (and feel comfortable) you should post some of them so we can see! :)
(and I meant I knew about tapirs but I thought you put it there as a joke to make fun of Baku)
Po-wen art
-Mythika
'
Did you have a particular one in mind or just really enjoy the yokai folklore in general?
'
I do find most mythology and stuff interesting so I'm not opposed to doing any of the more obscure or even dark-natured/morbid ones as well. So far I've just been doing creatures as they pop into my head
When I first started it was more so just like random little tales all strung together with the area he was currently hunting in, however recently I've been trying to make it a full on narrative with more than just 1 character and actual plot, not just moving from one mission to another. I cant think of anything for it though; aside from his trip to Japan, which so far I actually have a lot of ideas for. So that's why I'm on a big yokai high rn
'
also the first thing that came up when I googled umbrella yokai were something called "Kasa-obake" not sure if those are the ones you're talking about
'
Perhaps once you align some of the major creatures you'd like to include it will be easier to turn them into characters and then it might be a bit easier to sketch out a guideline for how they connect to one another (or how he goes from one mission to another).
'
There's a book series I read once where a group of werewolves keep track of any instances of rogue werewolf appearances. Anytime it seemed likely it would be dangerous or expose them, they would go and hunt the rogue down and deal with it. While doing this they eventually also encounter witches and vampires and other things, including some of the similar organizations tasked with keeping
'
This isn't super relevant just came to mind so I thought I'd mention it since you never know where inspiration might come from