Gazu Hyakki Yagyō

Record summary

Toriyama Sekien’s 1776 illustrated book depicts a large catalogue of Japanese yōkai, including forms later discussed alongside reports of unusual animals or humanoid beings. Its importance is comparative: it shows how Edo-period artists classified, visualized, and transformed older creature traditions. The work is an illustrated encyclopedic or artistic compilation, not field evidence for unknown species. Some figures derive from Chinese texts, Buddhist lore, or earlier Japanese picture scrolls, and their meanings are uncertain. Researchers can compare its imagery with later kappa, tengu, and river-monster narratives.