is a type of

monster A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes Anxiety, terror ...

Japanese folklore Japanese folklore encompasses the informally learned folk traditions of Japan and the Japanese people as expressed in its oral traditions, Tradition, customs, and material culture. In Japanese, the term is used to describe folklore. The Folklor ...

, composed of

Gigaku , also known as ,, p.357-8, on ''gigaku men'' (mask) refers to an extinct genre of masked drama-dance performance, imported into Japan during the Asuka period. History Records state that was introduced during the 20th year of the reign of Empre ...

masks. It is listed within the 1781 compendium of Japanese supernatural entities, entitled ''

Gazu Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro is the fourth book in Japanese artist Toriyama Sekien's famous ''Gazu Hyakki Yagyō'' tetralogy. A version of the tetralogy translated and annotated in English was published in 2016. The title is a pun; "hyakki", normally written with the charact ...

''. It is mentioned in folklore that during the time of

Prince Shotoku A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The fem ...

, the prince created various Gigaku masks which were used by

Hata no Kawakatsu Hata no Kawakatsu (秦河勝, alternatively read as ''Hada no Kōkatsu''), or Hata no Miyatsuko no Kawakatsu (秦造河勝), was a semi-legendary statesman active during the Asuka period in Japan. He is recorded as serving under Empress Suiko and E ...

, and that the Menreiki is based on those masks.多田克己『幻想世界の住人たち IV 日本編』新紀元社〈Truth in fantasy〉、1990年、303頁。。

References

Tsukumogami Mythological creatures {{Japan-culture-stub