Shokuin (Zhu Yin)Book-Borne, Picture Scroll Edition

In Japan it is understood as a foreign divinity-spiritoriginating in the Classic of Mountains and Seas and related encyclopedic interests. Imagery follows the key points of a human face upon an immense red serpent body, whose opening and closing eyes divide day from night and whose breathing brings seasonal winds and heat or cold. Confusion with the Torch Dragon appears in early modern commentaries, yet most introductions cautiously note textual loci and descriptive differences, and signs of domestic worship are scarce. Consequently, local rites, taboos, and oral lore are meager, with reception centered on reading, sketching, and use as an art motif. It is often cited as an example of incorporating a foreign divinity into yokai catalogues and is positioned as a personification of time and the seasons.

This yokai is included in the following collections:

Konjaku Hyakki Shūi (Later Gleanings of a Hundred Ghosts)

A 1781 yokai picture book by Toriyama Sekien in the Hyakki series, pairing each yokai with brief notes.

カスタム

今昔百鬼拾遺鳥山石燕

Yokai with similar personality and characteristics to Book-Borne, Picture Scroll Edition

Golden Crow

Golden Crow

90%

Compatibility

Itsumade

The Death-Bringer that Cries "Itsumade": Itsumade

90%

Compatibility

Ōmagatoki

The Hundred Specters Arise at Twilight: Ōmagatoki

89%

Compatibility

Yokai with opposite personality and characteristics to Book-Borne, Picture Scroll Edition

Hotei

Incarnation of Maitreya, the Laughing Monk, Hotei

59%

Compatibility

Sakata no Kintoki

The Herculean Boy of Mt. Ashigara: Sakata no Kintoki

61%

Compatibility

Ame-no-uzume

The Laughing Dancer Who Opens the Rock Cave

61%

Compatibility