Bakemonozakaばけものざか

The old man with the enlarged head appears in Edo-period yokai art chiefly through his name and appearance. Hyakkai Zukan of 1737 and Gazu Hyakki Yagyō, first published in 1776, portray him in silence, leaving room for generations of later imagination. From the “ringleader of monsters” of 1929, to an old man who enters a busy home in 1972, to an adversary who leads a faction in television animation: Nurarihyon accumulated roles in print and on screen, acquiring the modern, representative image of the yokai commander-in-chief. He rewards readers who appreciate both the open spaces of classical art and the bold storytelling of modern works.