What role did the baku play in disposing of nightmares?

ID

JP-MAJ-0004

Topic

Japanese majinai

Answer

A dream-divination source preserves a poem that treats a bad dream as food for the baku, transferring the nightmare from the dreamer to an external being.

Region

Japan

Period

Edo-period dream-divination tradition

Evidence level

medium

Last verified

2026-10-06

Tags

Japanese magic, majinai, historical source

Sources

• Yume Awase Enju Bukuro Taisei (夢合延寿袋大成) / Edo period / https://ndlsearch.ndl.go.jp/books/R100000039-I2533938

Conflicting evidence / caveats

• None recorded.

Related nodes

• None.

Machine-readable summary

{
  "id": "JP-MAJ-0004",
  "node_type": "fact",
  "topic": "Japanese majinai",
  "subject": "baku and nightmares",
  "question": "What role did the baku play in disposing of nightmares?",
  "answer": "A dream-divination source preserves a poem that treats a bad dream as food for the baku, transferring the nightmare from the dreamer to an external being.",
  "public_summary": "A dream-divination source preserves a poem that treats a bad dream as food for the baku, transferring the nightmare from the dreamer to an external being.",
  "region": "Japan",
  "period": "Edo-period dream-divination tradition",
  "evidence_level": "medium",
  "language": "en",
  "features": [
    "dream divination",
    "baku",
    "externalization"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Yume Awase Enju Bukuro Taisei (夢合延寿袋大成)",
      "date": "Edo period",
      "url": "https://ndlsearch.ndl.go.jp/books/R100000039-I2533938"
    }
  ],
  "conflicts": [],
  "related_ids": [],
  "tags": [
    "Japanese magic",
    "majinai",
    "historical source"
  ],
  "last_verified": "2026-10-06",
  "status": "published-ready",
  "search_signature": "fact|japan|edo-period dream-divination tradition|japanese majinai|baku and nightmares|dream divination|baku|externalization",
  "uniqueness_key": "japanese majinai:baku and nightmares:edo-period dream-divination tradition:yume awase enju bukuro taisei (夢合延寿袋大成):edo period"
}