Have you noticed the similarities between the Pokémon Drowzee, Munna, and Musharna? For Brazilians, this may not be obvious, but there is a reason these three Pokémon resemble the tapir (an animal related to the anteater that lives in Asia) and have psychic powers related to sleep and dreams!
Where did the inspiration to create these three Pokémon come from? From a youkai called “Baku” (獏), a monster with the body of a tapir capable of devouring people’s dreams! But how did the tapir gain this fantastic power? The tapir lives in Southeast Asia (in countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and others). The Japanese only learned about the tapir in 834. Information arrived through a poetic anthology by Bai Juyi (772-846), a poet of the Chinese Tang dynasty (618-907).
How did the Youkai Baku come about?
In ancient times, in an era without the internet, photographs, and airplane travel, knowledge about animals and distant places took time to reach other countries and, when it did, it was normal for this knowledge to be wrapped in legends and mysteries. Europeans believed in unicorns for a long time and were astonished when they saw elephants or rhinoceroses, for example, animals very different from those they knew.
This also happened in Japan. Geographically isolated in the Japanese archipelago, the inhabitants of the country received stories about animals and plants from distant places, but as “who tells a tale adds a point,” the Japanese ended up with fantastic legends from overseas countries. The “Kirin” (a Japanese monster that is between a giraffe and a unicorn) and the Baku are examples of this process.
From a simple tapir, the Baku became a fantastic animal that would devour dreams. Today, the Japanese word “Baku” refers to both the legendary animal and the real animal. But what does the Baku of legend do?
According to Lafcadio Hearn, an English-speaking writer who lived in Japan during the Meiji period, the Baku can be called by someone who wakes up in the middle of the night due to a nightmare, as it devours the bad dream. However, invoking the Baku should be done with great caution because the animal is hungry and may devour the dreams and hopes of the one who called it. Due to its power to devour nightmares, talismans and objects, such as pillows, with figures of the Baku were common.
Knowing all this makes it easier to see that the appearance and powers of Drowzee, Munna, and Musharna, all Pokémon that resemble the tapir and have powers over sleep, are inspired by the Youkai Baku!
References in Japanese works
In addition to the Pokémon Drowzee, Munna, and Musharna, the Baku also makes other appearances:
- The Pokémon Hypno;
- The Digimon Tapirmon, from Digimon Frontier;
- In Naruto Shippuden, the character Danzou summons one;
- In Kamen Rider Black, the Gorgom use a monster;
- Doremy Sweet from Touhou is a Baku that can eat and create dreams;
For more Pokémon based on Youkai, we recommend our friend’s video below:
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