Uma-shika -馬鹿 – [Yokai]

Description

Uma-shika – [yokai] – 馬鹿 

• about this yokai: A mysterious horse/deer yokai from various “Hyakki Yagyo Emaki” picture scrolls. – said to have something to do with the kanji for “Baka” – “idiot” or “stupid”  being the same as horse and deer. – If you find yourself in the presence of friends who are suddenly behaving like morons: of course those idjits could just be “horsing around” but– oh deer! — Perhaps they’ve actually become possessed by this yokai: it could be a type of Tsukimono similar to Isogashii which causes people to misbehave dangerously like fools!

In all of the edo period scrolls I’ve seen: its never actually illustrated below the legs. (many yokai are lacking a lower half, leaving much to the creative imagination.) – I decided to be a bit un-creative for once and take the middle ground by not giving him a lower half/cover him with his cloak. —Sometimes It’s just a fools errand to over think these sorts of designs…

–but in all seriousness, the yokai at its roots comes from an old Chinese saying “to call a deer(馬) a horse (鹿)” in otherwords, to mislead someone. – In time, In Japan it became understood as “too stupid to tell a deer from a horse” – the rest is history. – [thanks to Rachel for helping to explain this one!]  – in short; this yokai seems to be a bit of a visual pun.

Sticker Art by @Samkalensky (yo thats me!) – Part of my Night parade of 100 Demons – Yokai & Japanese folklore sticker collection, weather-resistant 4″ Glossy sticker. Check my shop & follow @samkalensky for many more!