A dream-eating spirit, a chimera with an elephant's trunk, a rhinoceros's eyes, and a tiger's paws. Call it after a bad dream — and, the belief goes, the nightmare will vanish, eaten by baku.

What does baku look like?

It's assembled from parts of several animals: elephant trunk, tiger paws, ox tail, rhinoceros eyes. The same name and sign in Japanese also denote the real tapir.

How do you write "baku" in Japanese?

獏, read ばく (baku). The same kanji historically came from China, where it denoted an animal resembling the modern tapir.

Is baku evil or good?

Good — a rare yokai with no evil intent, helping you get rid of nightmares. The only caveat in folk beliefs is not to overuse the summoning, so that a hungry baku doesn't eat your good dreams as well.

In which series does baku appear?

It often appears as a secondary spirit in series about yokai and dream magic — usually in episodes connected with characters' nightmares and dreams.

How does baku the spirit differ from baku the tapir?

The baku spirit eats dreams and exists only in folk beliefs; the tapir is a real herbivorous animal of Southeast Asia and South America. They share only the common word 獏 in Japanese.

Baku — who it is in Japanese mythology

Baku is a dream-eating spirit: Japanese mythology describes it as a chimera with an elephant's trunk, a rhinoceros's eyes, an ox's tail, and a tiger's paws. After waking from a bad dream, the belief goes, you call out: "Baku-san, eat my dream" — and it takes the nightmare for itself. The same word 獏 in modern Japanese also names a very real animal — the tapir.

Baku is a rare yokai with a job description strictly for the good: it doesn't scare, it nibbles away someone else's terror. The only thing left is not to confuse it with an ordinary tapir, which also answers to this name.

Who baku is and what it's made of

Baku is a chimera assembled from parts of several animals: the trunk and head of an elephant, the eyes of a rhinoceros, the tail of an ox, the paws of a tiger. Its only known "function" is to devour the nightmares of sleeping people: if you call baku right after waking from a bad dream, the belief goes, the bad vision will vanish without a trace, eaten by the spirit.

Appearance: elephant trunk, rhinoceros eyes, tiger paws, ox tail.
Ability: devours nightmares when summoned by a sleeper.
Summoning ritual: say "Baku-san, eat my dream" three times right after waking.
Charm: an image or the kanji 獏 under your pillow — protection from bad dreams for the future.

Can baku cause harm?

Completely harmless — a rarest case of a yokai with no evil intent whatsoever. The only old caveat: it's not recommended to call baku too often, since without fresh nightmares it risks going hungry and, by some versions, eating your good dreams as well.

獏 — the sign shared by the spirit and the tapir

Japanese	Reading	Translation
獏	baku · baku	Dream-eater; also — tapir
夢	yume · yume	Dream
悪夢	akumu · akumu	Nightmare
獏さん、夢を食べてください	Baku-san, yume o tabete kudasai · Baku-san, yume o tabete kudasai	"Baku-san, eat my dream" — the summoning formula
食べる	taberu · taberu	To eat

How 獏 is read and where the sign came from

獏 is read ばく (baku). The kanji came from China, where it originally denoted a real animal that looked similar — the ancestor of the modern tapir. The mythological "dream-eater" function is a Japanese, local addition to the borrowed image.

獏 — значение: tapir, dream-eater — онъёми: バク、ミャク — 13 штрих(ов). 獏 — "baku": on the left the radical "beast" 犭, on the right a phonetic element. The same sign names both the mythical chimera and the real tapir.

Write 獏 along the guides and work through the stroke order.

What gets confused: baku the spirit and baku the tapir

Feature	Baku the spirit	Baku the tapir
What it is	a mythical chimera made of parts of different beasts	a real mammal with a short trunk
Where it lives	in folk beliefs, comes when a sleeper calls	Southeast Asia and South America
Abilities	devours nightmares	eats leaves and aquatic plants
Kanji	獏	獏 (the same word)

A one-second check: eats dreams — spirit, eats leaves — tapir. The shared word is no accident: the original Chinese image of the mythical beast apparently did draw on vague descriptions of the real animal.

FAQ

Who is baku?: A dream-eating spirit, a chimera with an elephant's trunk, a rhinoceros's eyes, and a tiger's paws. Call it after a bad dream — and, the belief goes, the nightmare will vanish, eaten by baku.
What does baku look like?: It's assembled from parts of several animals: elephant trunk, tiger paws, ox tail, rhinoceros eyes. The same name and sign in Japanese also denote the real tapir.
How do you write "baku" in Japanese?: 獏, read ばく (baku). The same kanji historically came from China, where it denoted an animal resembling the modern tapir.
Is baku evil or good?: Good — a rare yokai with no evil intent, helping you get rid of nightmares. The only caveat in folk beliefs is not to overuse the summoning, so that a hungry baku doesn't eat your good dreams as well.
In which series does baku appear?: It often appears as a secondary spirit in series about yokai and dream magic — usually in episodes connected with characters' nightmares and dreams.
How does baku the spirit differ from baku the tapir?: The baku spirit eats dreams and exists only in folk beliefs; the tapir is a real herbivorous animal of Southeast Asia and South America. They share only the common word 獏 in Japanese.

Sources

Updated: 2026-08-29