Daily mythical creature 323: the Baku [Japanese folklore; yokai]

(image source: Eater of Dreams on bandcamp, I couldn’t find the original artist, sorry)

I can’t believe I wrote over 200 entries in this bestiary project on mythological creatures, before I suddenly realized that I forgot the baku, one of the most well-known spooks on this list.

In any case, the baku is a type of mythical beast from Japanese folklore, though it originated from a different creature from China. It is said that after the gods made all animals in this world, they used the leftover parts to build the baku: the eater of dreams. As such, it has a trunk and tusks like an elephant, paws and claws like a tiger’s, and sometimes also horns.

(image: a statue of a baku in the Konnoh Hachimangu shrine. Image source: Wikipedia user Momotarou2012)

If you have a nightmare, you can say ‘Baku, please come eat my dream’ three times and if you then go back to sleep, you’ll no longer have nightmares since the creature ate them. There is a downside, though: if your nightmare wasn’t satisfying, the baku is still hungry and will devour your hopes and dreams, leaving you without motivation and desire.

The Pokémon Drowzee, Munna and Musharna are based on the baku.