Hello lovelies!
A little retour to Japan with one little creature I doubt is very well-known, but very much worth mentioning. The Baku is considered a benevolent creature which comes to eat bad dreams and other night terrors. A pretty nice little fellow right? Even children were encouraged to call upon it, which, considering most creatures exist to scare children, I think is telling.
So, let's look at this little guy and give a bit of attention to a relatively unknown, but benevolent creature.
Material:
The Baku has a very specific, chimeric design, composed of elements which were all believed to keep evil away. These were an elephant's head, horns, tiger paws, rhinoceros eyes, and an ox' tail. Despite this rather imposing figure, he is actually described as having a very shy personality, which is a nice contrast.
Protector and Bringer of Rest:
As the eater of bad dreams, the Baku protects a good sleep, which is music to my ears at least, but also protects from fear in general. Nightmares can be absolutely terrifying and knowing there is a creature you can call upon to get them away from you isn't far from knowing you have a guardian of some kind.
This interpretation can lead to a lot of sweet, comforting moments between children and the friendly neighbourhood monster who comes to take away the bad dreams. This can either be part of a more domestic type of fantasy story, a children's story, or a story with general calm, soft moments.
Considering the Baku isn't a big, magnificent beast, but a shy, good-natured creature means he is a protector of people's general well-being, rather than a physical one. This is very compatible with more personal, small-scale stories about humans interacting with spirits, since dreams and nightmares are a very intimate, private occurence. Having a little guardian creature may not lead to epic battles, but it can bring happiness and peace to a person's mind. Sounds pretty good to me.
Spirit Creature:
If the Baku doesn't feature directly in your story, that doesn't mean it can't still serve a function, even if it's just mentioned. After all, spirit creatures make up a large part of a culture's folklore and stories. So, having it be one of the many things to add in your worldbuilding can certainly create a more detailed understanding of the characters' environment.
This can take the form of a number of things. For example, having the characters tell each other stories on creatures in a casual or campfire-like setting could both reinforce the relationships between the characters, and tell the reader something about the type of worldbuilding in the story.
Another example is to have the Baku be used to illustrate the constrast between a folklore-centric believe and a non-folklore-centric believe, the most classic being rural vs. city. Of course, it doesn't have to be the only tool to use in this contrast, but having these sort of intimate stories live on in certain communities can provide a nice backdrop for a character's growth and understanding. Especially if the story centres on someone changing perspectives or having to adept to a new environment.
I hope you find the Baky as adorable as I do, and are also relieved there aren't just terrifying monsters you can use from Japanese folklore.
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Goodblye, lovelies!
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