A HORDE OF MONSTERS ROAMS THE STREETS OF EDO:HOW MONSTERS IS MADE

　It's unique Japanese monsters such as Ittan-momen or Nurikabe.

　When Japanese the word Ittan-momen, they imagine a something in a white loincloth with slanted eyes flying through the sky. Most Japanese probably recall the same characters with some differences.

　Originally, these monsters appeared in Old tales that were passed down in certain regions.

　Of course, monsters don't "exist". The Monsters are convenient personifications of inexplicable natural phenomena and emotions such as joy, anger, sadness and happiness with a focus on fear.

　Just like being asked to give a concrete form or explain "The happy feeling you get when you eat your favorite food", it is impossible to concrete an abstract concept in a way that is universal. Therefore, it is difficult to draw the monsters that is common to everyone.

　When people hear stories about some monsters, they tend to imagine what the monster looks like. In reality, the appearance of the monsters are supposed to be as varied as the people, but the image of major monsters are the same. Why are those?

　This is largely due to the artistic influence of Shigeru Mizuki, who was a master of monsters manga.

　Mizuki's monsters have been seen on television and in manga for many years, and as a result, they have become a common image for all Japanese people.

　So, did Mizuki come up with all of the images of the monsters he drew himself?

　Of course, there are original parts, but there is one person who had a big influence on his work: Toriyama Sekien, who was an artist active in the mid-Edo period.

　Sekien's monster paintings such as Gazu Hyakki Yagyo had a huge impact on the city of Edo at the time, when an unprecedented Monsters Boom will occur.

　There were novels and plays based on the monsters and even merchandise for sale, when monsters-related works and goods were overflowing all over the Edo city.

　Sekien drew the monsters after another that he imagined, it based on the characteristics of the monsters conveyed in books of the time, that is in written information.

　In other words, Sekien created the Character Designs of the monsters after another.

　The picture spread throughout the Edo city, and people came to see the many monsters that Sekien had drawn. The monsters that Sekien designed naturally became a common understanding among the people of Edo city.

　Artists of later generations also imitated Sekien's designs for the monsters paintings.

　The designs of the monsters which do not actually exist and cannot be depicted, became fixed and by seeing them repeatedly, they became a common understanding among Japanese people. The appearance of the monsters we see today can be said to be a legacy of the Edo culture.

　The Edo's monsters boom left another legacy.

　They are Real Monsters. During the Edo period, craftsmen were in a frenzy over monsters boom and they made monsters by combining animals, birds, fish and other materials.

　More realistic and terrifying, the monsters created by the craftsmen of the Edo period these were known as the world's most skillful have become realistic works of art. They are so to speak elaborate figures.

　Naturally, these monsters are quite expensive, but they are so popular with enthusiasts, that they have given rise to the professional of monsters maker.

　The boom will die down one day. The old monsters novels, plays and merchandise sales will gradually disappear.

　Among them are the masterpieces of artisanal craftsmanship as the monsters figures.

　However, they were quite valuable. These owners hesitated to throw them away just because the trend had passed. Once these owners put them away in the storehouse the monsters figures disappeared into the darkness.

　Time passed, the owners too passed away, and the very existence of the monsters figures in the storehouse was forgotten. The monsters became completely dwellers of the darkness.

　As times change, the descendants of the enthusiasts are clearing out the shelves in an effort to the storehouse.

　Then they noticed a box in the corner of the shelf. They looked it written for Tengu's Child.

　Feeling suspicious, they opened the box and found a dried mummy that looked like a Tengu's child.

　There is no time to organize the storehouse anymore.

　"What is this?"

　"I don't know anything about this."

　"It seems that my ancestors often collected unusual things……"

　Then they did starting a family meeting.

　If the enthusiast's grandfather had been alive, it would have been a laughing matter, but he was already dead, so the truth remains a mystery. While the family is making a fuss then a creepy Tengu's child is lying nearby.

　They discussed what to do if the monster was cursed, and then decided to take it to a nearby temple for a memorial service. This is the end of the matter.

　The Tengu's child, which is still enshrined at the temple occasionally makes an appearance on occult TV shows under the headline "Finally, a real monster has been discovered!"

　The Works of Edo period craftsmen that modern people see are carefully preserved by the temple and continue to be enshrined there even today.

　It has been said since ancient times that "After 100 years an object acquires a soul."

　Since more than 200 years have passed since the Edo period's monsters boom, "The Works" of Edo period craftsmen in the corner of the temple may have already become real "Monsters."