dream eaters

Baku (獏) are Japanese dream eating spirits, traditionally depicted with elephant trunks, tusks and the paws of a tiger, like in these amazing carvings on a tiny shrine in Nikko. I first came across them on a moonlit night, when I took a shortcut back from the corner store to the place where I was staying. It was like stepping into a Miyazaki film - the tall pines outlined against the sky, the silvery stone lions guarding the shrine entrance, the bizarre carvings overhead, and a deep silence broken only by the sound of the wind...

Baku also feature prominently in a rather luscious illustrated tale called The Dream Hunters written by Neil Gaiman, and illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano, where they appear alongside one of Gaiman's best-loved characters, the Sandman.

In this case, the baku seem curious about what's going on above their heads.