Baku

The horned tapir are known as baku in Japanese folklore. Its closest living relatives are the tapir, and it even shares coloration with the Malaysian tapir. However, they form an entirely separate suborder of which they are the only members.

In legend, descriptions of the baku vary. In some descriptions it has horns and in others it does not; it may also be more or less furry. The constants are the elephant trunk, and the fact that the term baku in modern Japanese has come to refer to the tapir. The variations are probably due to the variations within the species itself; for example, only the males are horned, and they develop a thicker coat of fur for the colder winter months.

Legend also holds the baku as a devourer of dreams and nightmares; this is believed to be due to the animal's curiosity, since it will often approach and inspect the bodies of people who have fallen asleep within its territory.


In one drawing assignment this year, I redesigned four mythological hybrid creatures, attempting to make them plausible as real animals.

I started off with a digital sketch that included basic colors and shades, printed it out lightly and used colored pencils over it.