{"id":1035,"date":"2010-01-13T14:18:26","date_gmt":"2010-01-13T08:18:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cryptopia.us\/site\/?p=1035"},"modified":"2012-11-25T07:52:57","modified_gmt":"2012-11-25T01:52:57","slug":"baku-china-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cryptopia.us\/site\/2010\/01\/baku-china-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"BAKU: (CHINA &#8211; JAPAN)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/cryptopia.us\/site\/category\/monsters\/hybrid-beasts\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-113\" title=\"final-hybrid-beasts\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cryptopia.us\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/final-hybrid-beasts1.gif?resize=100%2C99\" alt=\"\" width=\"100\" height=\"99\" \/><\/a>Known as the &#8220;Eater of Dreams&#8221; the Japanese Baku is reputed to combine features found on such disparate animals as felines, equines, bovines and pachyderms.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>First appearing in Chinese folklore\u00a0 and\u00a0 eventually chronicled in Japanese Shinto mythology, the Baku is considered to be a generally benevolent creature, which stalks the dream-scape, devouring the evil demons that cause nightmares.<\/p>\n<p>This creature is described as having the visage of a lion, the flank and torso of a horse, the paws and razor sharp claws of a tiger and the tail of an ox &#8211; a depiction that is not entirely unlike that of the Japanese SIN-YOU or the Chinese BO. Other descriptions also include the trunk of an elephant and (bizarrely enough) the eyes of a rhinoceros.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cryptopia.us\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/baku11.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-1046\" title=\"baku1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cryptopia.us\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/baku11-186x300.jpg?resize=186%2C300\" alt=\"\" width=\"186\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a>There are two known ways to invoke the assistance of a Baku. The first is considered a sort of preemptive strike, in which the individual asks for protection prior to slumber. The second, and more powerful invocation, can be made directly following a bad dream. All one has to do is say aloud: &#8220;Baku, eat my dreams.&#8221; According to Shinto legend, the Baku will promptly consume the evil entity responsible for these nocturnal terrors and bestow good fortune upon whoever has called out to him.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cryptopia.us\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/baku.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-1049\" title=\"baku\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cryptopia.us\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/baku-191x300.jpg?resize=191%2C300\" alt=\"\" width=\"191\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a>While this animal is obviously steeped in Japanese folkloric traditions, a few fringe academics have suggested that the Baku may be an ancestral memory of a large feline predator which might once have prowled the rural regions of China.<\/p>\n<p>They further indicate that after these creatures had become extinct, their lingering memory may have taken on the more extraordinary aspects of the Baku and &#8211; in much the same way the eastern dragon is revered rather than feared &#8211; what once may have been a ruthless predator has been transformed into a valiant protector of the night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Known as the &#8220;Eater of Dreams&#8221; the Japanese Baku is reputed to combine features found on such disparate animals as felines, equines, bovines and pachyderms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2504,"featured_media":12305,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,3],"tags":[1111,1108],"class_list":{"0":"post-1035","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hybrid-beasts","8":"category-monsters","9":"tag-hybrid-beasts","10":"tag-monsters"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cryptopia.us\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/baku311.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptopia.us\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptopia.us\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptopia.us\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptopia.us\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2504"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptopia.us\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1035"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptopia.us\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1035\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10401,"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptopia.us\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1035\/revisions\/10401"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptopia.us\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptopia.us\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptopia.us\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptopia.us\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}