Dream Eating Monsters of Japan – BAKU
Japanese children are not afraid of nightmares after they are told about Baku. They are taught when waking up from a scary dream to whisper three times, “Baku-san, come eat my bad dream. ” Faithfully the dream eating monster will come to their bedroom and suck the bad dream away. Baku are not always so benevolent and if they happen to be too hungry a single dream may not be enough and they may take away the child’s hopes and ambitions as well.
Children are taught to revere as well as fear the creature. According to Japanese legends, Baku by the eaters of bad dreams.
They are talismanic figures, that people prayed to at night to common subway nightmares so they may never be seen again. But there is a darker side to Baku; some say that they eat all the dreams, not only nightmares. This includes dreams of aspiration, dreams of your future and dreams of hope. Baku are classic ; the body of the bear, the feet of a tiger, the tale of an ox, the eyes of a rhinoceros and the nose of an elephant.
One legend says that when the gods were finished creating animals, they took all the odds and ends lying around and put together to make the Baku. Although they may seem a fantastic collection of different animal parts they do have a remarkable resemblance to the Asian tapir and in fact in Japanese share the same name and kanji.
The question which came first, the legend for the animal is a philosophic one hidden in the past, with no solid agreement on either side.
Whether or not the two are unconnected and their similarity in appearance may be purely coincidence or even the animal may have been named after the legend that preceded it. Another possible etymology is it a wayward sailor drifted to Malaysia came back with stories about this mythical creature.
Others say that the legend was originally Chinese as the statue of the Baku King at the Gobyakukan-ji temple in Tokyo. This was originally a statue of a hakutaku, called a in Chinese. In either case it is more of a sacred animal associated with God’s more than monsters can place in the category of a yokai by the Japanese. Like many folk were creatures, baku has changed over the centuries. They were hunted for their pelts in ancient China.
A blanket made of them would ward off illness and the malice of evil spirits. As the number of available pelts became scarce simply putting a picture of a baku on your blanket would afford you equal protection. There are many examples of the image of baku during the Tang Dynasty(618 to 907. ) The Torokuten, or six stories of the Tang Dynasty mentions a sacred animal called a bakuki that eats dreams and this may be how the legend made its way to Japan. Legend remain consistent Japan although there may have been various ways to summon this demon.
In Fukushima it is said that if, after waking a bad dream, say, “I give the stream to the Baku,” then the dream will never trouble you again. Other places Japan you must repeat three times in a row the same prayer to summon the Baku to eat your nightmare. During the Muromachi period (1337 to 1573) people would hold an image of Baku on their deathbed to protect them from evil spirits. During the Edo period (1603 to1868) sleep is protected at night from bad dreams by pillows with the image of Baku on them.
Even in modern Japan beaucoup remain a popular figure in comic art Rather than have your dream eaten by a Baku you can have it interpreted by a clinical psychologist if you fill out the form on this website and include your dream in as much detail as possible. A confidential interpretation will be sent to you via email. Nightmare eating Japanese monster comforts little children and adults alike. HTTP://MEANINGSOFDREAMS.
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