Translated from Mizuki Shigeru’s Mujara and Japanese Wikipedia
When a child in Japan wakes shaking from a nightmare, she knows what to do. Hugging her face in her pillow, she whispers three times “Baku-san, come eat my dream. Baku-san, come eat my dream. Baku-san, come eat my dream.” If her request is granted, the monstrous baku will come into her room and suck the bad dream away. But the baku cannot be summoned without caution. A too-hungry baku might not be satiated with a single dream, and might suck away her hopes and ambitions along with it, leaving her hollow.
What is a Baku?
Baku are classic chimera; the body of a bear, the nose of an elephant, the feet of a tiger, the tail of an ox, and the eyes of a rhinoceros. One legend says that when the gods were finished creating the animals, they took all of the odds and ends lying around and put them together to make the baku.
According to Japanese legend, baku are the eaters of bad dreams. They are a talismanic figure, that people pray to at night to come and suck away nightmares so that they may never be seen again. But there is a darker side to the baku; some say that baku eat all dreams, not only nightmares. This includes dreams of aspiration, dreams of your future, and dreams of hope.
Is the Baku Real?
While they are wildly stylized, baku resemble the Asian tapir. And in fact, in Japanese they share the same name and kanji (獏). The baku is not alone in this; the word kirin is not only Japanese for giraffe but also a mythical Chinese monster.
Which came first—the legend or the animal—is hidden in the past, with no solid agreement on either side. Many say that the two are unconnected, and that the similar appearance is pure coincidence, with the animal being named after the legend. Some say a wayward sailor drifted to Malaysia, and came back with stories of a massive creature that was transformed by legend.
Either way, the legend is old in his book “Ancient Chinese Gods and Beasts,” Kyoto University professor Hayashi Minao points to ancient bronze ware and other artifacts inscribed with images of the mythical baku. He postulated that some creature like the Asian tapir might have existed in China at sometime, but has since gone extinct.
Baku are often confused with another Chinese legendary animal, the hakutaku (called a bai ze in Chinese). In fact, at Gobyakukan-ji temple in Tokyo, there is a statue called the Baku King, which was originally a statue of a hakutaku.
Is the Baku a Yokai?
A complicated question, that depends on how broad your definition of a yokai is. It isn’t a yokai in the sense of fantasy creatures like the nure onago or bakeneko. It is more of a sacred animal, more associated with gods than monsters. Mizuki Shigeru uses the broadest possible definition of yokai, meaning anything mysterious from Bigfoot to rains of frogs, by which the baku definitely qualifies.
The History and Legends of the Baku
Like many folkloric creatures, baku have changed over the centuries. In the oldest Chinese legends, baku were hunted for their pelts. It was said that using a blanket made from a baku was a talisman against illness and the malice of evil spirits. Due to a lack of available baku pelts, this eventually changed to where putting an image of a baku over the bed would afford you equal protection. During the Tang dynasty( 618 – 907), folding screens decorated with baku were a popular item.
Somehow, the legend of the baku was transmitted to Japan, where the beast became associated with the dream eating that it is best known for today. The Tang period book Torokuten (Six Stories of the Tang dynasty) also tells of a sacred animal called a bakuki that eats dreams, and it is likely that the two were merged into a single legend.
The baku legend as a dream-eater has stayed consistent since adopted by Japan. There have been various ways of summoning the baku. In Fukushima it is said that if, after awaking from a bad dream, you say “I give this dream to the baku,” then that dream will never trouble you again. In other prefectures, you repeat “Baku-san, come eat my dream” three times in a row to summon to baku to come and eat your nightmares.
During the Muromachi period (1337 to 1573) in Japan, it became popular for people on their death bed to hold an image of a baku as a talisman against evil spirits. They also became associated with the fantastical Treasure Galley, which often had a baku painted on its sails. During the Edo period (1603 to 1868), pillows were sold in the shape of baku, said to protect the sleeper from bad dreams.
Baku in Modern Japan
While many yokai and legendary creatures have faded until they live only in the memory of academics and comic artists, baku are still a popular figure in modern Japan. The baku appears in many modern animation and comic books, although in appearance they look more and more like authentic tapir, and less and less like the folkloric chimera.
百物語怪談会 Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai 
Oct 20, 2012 @ 01:01:57
There’s a Pokemon that resembles the Baku and actually has an attack called ‘dream eater’ (in the English versions). The Pokemon’s name is Drowzee
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Aug 14, 2016 @ 16:20:26
In the generation 3 game fire red it is said he descends from the Baku
Feb 17, 2017 @ 18:17:10
Haha, I am doing a report for school on the Baku, and the first thing I thought of was Drowzee, especially after seeing the first image on this Web page, and the description of being the dream eater. That is cool that I wasn’t the only one to think that.
Oct 20, 2012 @ 04:56:53
Interesting! Baku also put in an appearance in the beautiful Sandman graphic novel “The Dream Hunters”, written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano. You might enjoy reading it if you haven’t already. 🙂
Oct 20, 2012 @ 09:13:33
I have “The Dream Hunters,” but it has been a long time since I read it. I willl have to give it a look again. I don’t remember the baku from that story, but it is no surprise that Gaimen would be familiar with this sacred beast.
And yeah, angrygaijin, that baku is definitely a baku. They show up quite a bit in animation–Naruto has a baku in it as well.
Oct 20, 2012 @ 13:31:28
Wow, I love your site! This is a very nice place to learn more about Japanese monsters! I actually just did a college animation featuring the Baku, so this article is very relevant to me! I hope to see more entries of your fine research.
Oct 20, 2012 @ 14:03:11
I think it Japanese explorers may have encountered the Malayan tapir in ancient times and it’s image has been distorted into a mythic beast. I think several yokai started out like this as well as legendary creatures from other cultures.
Oct 21, 2012 @ 02:52:14
Very interesting, like always. I love this yokai, and i completely love your blog.
Your blog will be very useful for my posts, because i can translate this to Spanish so other people can enjoy it. Obviously giving all the credit to you and a link to your blog. And provided that you agree with this. We can collaborate , i have various Shinto books, with tales, legends, Yokais…. Tell me if you agree.
Oct 21, 2012 @ 04:54:27
I have finished my megapost of the Kasha. I have put several info from your Kasha post, obviusly with the credits to you and the link. I want you to see it and give me your opinion: http://yokaiscorner.blogspot.com.es/2012/10/el-rincon-del-yokai-vol-4-kasha-parte-3.html
Its in Spanish, though :p
Oct 21, 2012 @ 12:03:57
That looks cool! Although I can’t read a word of it … but the pictures look great! I didn’t know you were going to do it in Spanish. There actually is a Spanish version of my site. http://hyakumonogatarispanish.wordpress.com/ You can go compare how well your translations match!
Oct 21, 2012 @ 12:21:26
Thanks ^_^ Unforntunately, there isn´t a post of the Kasha in the Spanish versión of your blog… I´ll compare when the tranlation is done 🙂 In my blog i do a megapost of one yokai every month, doing as complete as i can 🙂
What do you think about the collaboration? If you´re interested we can talk by mail.
Oct 21, 2012 @ 12:48:22
That’s cool. My friend Maria does the Spanish version of the site. I am not really sure what all she has put up there. I know she does some of her own articles as well, but I can”t read them! I am happy to work on collaborations. For me my only problem is time. I wish I had more time for my hobby!
Oct 21, 2012 @ 13:28:19
Yeah, time is a great problem… Whenever you want to work on the collaboration, mail me. My mail is in the right part of my blog.
But I tell you your blog is very valuable to me. We could give each other info for our posts. Your posts are all very complete and full of rare data found only in Japanese texts, and this is great 🙂
Jan 07, 2013 @ 16:46:40
How strange, I have a kirin (qilin) tattoo forming a triad with a fu dog and a pi yao. (I think it’s called three killings in English and in Chinese “san sha”.) I didn’t know kirin made it all the way to Japan, too.
Aug 25, 2013 @ 21:20:23
Is there a Tibetan or Nepalese form of baku? Do you know? Thanks for this site-it is really fascinating.
Sep 10, 2013 @ 14:59:23
Tibet and Nepal go outside of my expertise, unfortunately, I did ask around, but nothing conclusive.
Apparently the book “The Three Boys, and Other Buddhist Folktales from Tibet” has a story called “The Dream Eater.” But it’s about a little boy called the dream eater, because he always remembers his dreams with uncanny detail, not anything resembling a baku.
I was told about a Chinese mythical creature called the boqi that is very similar to the baku, but I haven’t been able to confirm this.
Apr 29, 2014 @ 19:52:52
Wow
Jun 08, 2014 @ 02:05:50
Baku is a interesting creature
Nov 13, 2014 @ 07:14:16
Everybody in Nepal now know that campus just because of that game.
Feb 17, 2015 @ 14:43:58
Last night I said Baku cudia that means Baku eat it so yeah this is great keep up the good work
Jan 12, 2016 @ 14:26:02
I wan’t to be a cryptozooligist and one thing I’ve noticed about the Baku when ever I do research I find that all the pictures look creepy how can a creature that eats nightmares be a nightmare it self?
Jan 17, 2016 @ 09:10:11
Reading this reminds me of the manga Yumekui Kenbun (Nightmare Inspector, as it’s been translated) who’s main character is a Baku. It’s an older series, but it’s still rather intriguing.
People go to the Baku for help with their nightmares (in reverse of the usual), so the Baku walks people through their nightmares and helps them understand them or get over them, though there are some dark twists, and it doesn’t always end as expected (or happily) for the customers.
For me, it was a hidden gem I accidentally stumbled upon, and now I want to go read it again!
Mar 24, 2016 @ 23:08:09
Supernatural had an episode about this, pretty neat
Mar 02, 2019 @ 08:25:38
Supernatural brought me here as well
Jan 03, 2017 @ 19:51:18
This is great information! Can you offer any sources (history/academic) where I can find out more about the original myth of the Baku?
Apr 12, 2017 @ 16:40:25
I just want to try it but i had no nightmare
Feb 13, 2018 @ 21:09:36
I would like to think that Mister Snuffleupagus is a variety of baku.