Gazu Hyakki Yagyō

Gazu Hyakki Yagyō (画図百鬼夜行, "The Illustrated Night Parade of a Hundred Demons") is the first book of Japanese artist Toriyama Sekien's famous Gazu Hyakki Yagyō e-hon series, published 1776. These books are supernatural bestiaries, collections of ghosts, spirits, spooks and monsters, many of which Toriyama based on literature, folklore, other artwork. These works have had a profound influence on subsequent yōkai imagery in Japan. (Also see: Hyakki Yagyō). The various creatures are described, below, using images to illustrate many of them.

First Volume - 陰

The first volume of Gazu Hyakki Yagyō includes the following demonic creatures.

• 
  Kodama (木魅) : Sekien's comments: A spirit (kami) said to appear in one hundred year-old trees. (百年の樹には神ありてかたちをあらはすといふ。)
• 
  Tengu (天狗) is a popular bird-like demon in Japanese folklore.
• 
  Yamabiko (幽谷響) means "echo", so Sekien likely meant to imply that this creature is a spirit that mimics sounds in the mountains.
• 
  Yamawarawa (山童), usually called yamawaro, is a mountain-dwelling creature from Kyūshū, sometimes considered to be the form taken on by the kappa in winter.
• 
  Yamauba (山姥) the mountain hag is a staple of Japanese folktales.
• 
  Inugami (犬神) is a dog-spirit said to do the bidding of certain families on Shikoku. Sekien depicted it in anthropomorphic form, wearing an eboshi hat. It is accompanied by a smaller creature called Shirachigo (白児) which may be an invention of Sekien's.
• 
  Nekomata (猫股) is a cat whose forked tail is a clue that it has become a dangerous supernatural creature.
• 
  Kappa (河童) is a famous water imp. Sekien's comments: It is also called kawatarō. (川太郎ともいふ。)
• 
  Kawauso (獺) is a river otter, seen here attempting to appear as a human.
• 
  Akaname (垢嘗) is a creature which Sekien illustrated lurking in an old-fashioned bathroom. Its name means "filth-licker", so the function of its protruding tongue isn't hard to imagine.
• 
  Tanuki (狸) is a raccoon dog which appears frequently in Japanese folkore.
• 
  Kamaitachi (鎌鼬) is a slicing wind spirit. Sekien was the first to imagine it as a weasel-like creature, as an illustration of a pun.
• 
  Amikiri (網剪) is illustrated by Sekien as a small snake-like creature with a bird-like head and lobster-like claws. Its name means "net cutter".
• 
  Kitsunebi (狐火) is ghostly fire created by foxes.

Second Volume - 陽

The second volume of Gazu Hyakki Yagyō includes the following creatures.

• 
  Jorōgumo (絡新) means "prostitute spider", but the name is written with characters that mean "entwining bride".
• 
  , martens which form a column which emits a mysterious flame.
• 
  Sekien's comments: It can be found in the west of Saiin outside the capital, near Mibudera temple. As slang it is called Sōgenbi of Suzaku. (、。。) This is based on a real legend from Kyoto, concerning the ghost of a monk who stole lamp oil. [1] [2]
• 
  is a fireball dropping out of a tree. It may be related to the tsurube-otoshi.
• 
  means "aimless flame".
• 
  . Sekien's comments: It is said to appear in Kawachi Province. (。) This image shares its name with a real legend from Kyoto. [3]
• 
  is a cat-like monster which steals corpses during a funeral.
• 
  means the rattling sounds of an old house, which these small demons presumably make.
• 
  is the ghost of a pregnant woman who appears holding her child near bodies of water.
• 
  is a blind man walking on the surface of the sea.
• 
  is a strange creature standing near a temple bell.
• 
  Takaonna ([, tall woman] Error: {{nihongo}}: text has italic markup (help)) is a female monster stretching itself to peer into the second story of a house.
• 
  is a creature with its eyes on its hands.
• 
  . Sekien's comments: Raigō became a spirit-rat, and went into the world. (、也。) Raigō Anjari was a priest of Mii-dera, who was snubbed by the emperor in favor of Enryaku-ji, and according to legend became a swarm of rats which laid waste to the rival temple.
• 
  Kurozuka (ja:黒塚) is the infamous, cannibalistic hag of Adachigahara. [4] [5] [6]
• 
  Rokurokubi (飛頭蛮) is a woman who suffers from a supernatural illness, causing her head to float away from her body at night while her neck stretches indefinitely. [7] [8]
• 
  Sakabashira (ja:逆柱) is a pillar that has been installed upside down, which causes the house to become haunted. [9] [10]
• 
  Makuragaeshi (反枕) is a spirit that takes your pillow out from under your head while you sleep and places it by your feet instead. [11] [12]
• 
  is a pale female spirit who appears in the snow, who sometimes causes people to freeze to death. [13] [14]
• 
  is a "living ghost", a spirit which appears outside of its body while its owner is still alive. It often belongs to a woman motivated by jealousy. [15] [16]
• 
  Shiryō (ja:死霊) is the spirit of a dead person. [17]
• 
  is a ghost. [18]

Third Volume - 風

The third volume of Gazu Hyakki Yagyō includes the following creatures.

• 
  Mikoshi, or Mikoshi-nyūdō (見越, ja:見越し入道) is a long-necked creature whose height increases as fast as you can look up at it. [19] [20]
• 
  Shōkera (ja:しょうけら) is a creature which peeks in through the skylight of an old house. [21] [22]
• 
  Hyōsube (ja:ひょうすべ) is a monkey-like creature which is kin to the kappa. [23] [24]
• 
  Waira (ja:わいら) is a large beast that lurks in the mountains, about which little is known. [25] [26]
• 
  Otoroshi (ja:おとろし) is a hairy creature sitting on top of a torii gate, thought to be a guardian of the shrine. [27] [28]
• 
  Nuribotoke (ja:塗仏)
• 
  Nureonna (ja:濡れ女)
• 
  Nurarihyon (ぬらりひょん)
• 
  Gagoze (元興寺)
• 
  Ōni (ja:苧うに)
• 
  Aobōzu (青坊主)
• 
  Akashita (赤舌)
• 
  Nuppeppō (ぬっぺっぽう, ぬっぺふほふ)
• 
  Ushioni (牛鬼)
• 
  Uwan (うわん)

References

• Toriyama, Sekien (2005). Toriyama Sekien Gazu Hyakki Yagyō Zen Gashū (in Japanese). Tokyo: Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., Ltd. pp. 10–65. ISBN 4-0440-5101-1. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• "Hyakki Zufu Obake Iroha Sakuin" (HTML). CSK Pavilion: Hyakki Yagyō. Retrieved 2007-04-22.

See also

• Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki
• Konjaku Hyakki Shūi
• Gazu Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro