Changes

*Japanese: 化け物 ''(bakemono)''

[[Image:Bakemono.gif|thumb|200px|"Shitakiri Suzume" (舌切り雀) by Utagawa Kuniyoshi.]]*Japanese: 化け物 ''(bakemono)''

'''Bakemono''' (化け物,) are the traditional monsters of Japanese culture. The word itself means "changing things", and many bakemono are thus the results of bizarre transformations, from things that are common and normal to things that are mysterious and abnormal. These transformations are not thought of as supernatural, but merely natural though strange and mysterious (Chambers 16).  The term is sometimes given as ''obake'' or ''obakemono'', though the latter is somewhat uncommon.   

'''Bakemono''' are the traditional monsters of Japanese culture. The word itself means "changing things", and many bakemono are thus the results of bizarre transformations, from things that are common and normal to things that are mysterious and abnormal. These transformations are not thought of as supernatural, but merely natural though strange and mysterious (Chambers 16).  The term is sometimes given as ''obake'' or ''obakemono'', though the latter is somewhat uncommon.   

A bakemono is usually a living thing (Mayer 89), though it can sometimes be used to signify [[yurei|yûrei]], a ghost of a human being, or as a blanket term for all mysterious phenomena synonymous with [[yokai|yôkai]], of which it is normally a subset.  However, the term ''bakemono'' in standard usage means a transformation of another living thing, usually a fox or tanuki or even a tengu.  Many animals were traditionally believed to have shape shifting powers, and these included snakes, boars, turtles (Tyler xlvii), snails, birds, frogs, clams and even some plants (Mayer 88).  The strange shapes that these creatures took were either normal human forms, or some sort of monstrous aberration such as hitotsume-kozô, ônyûdô, or  noppera-bô.  When a human form is taken, it is usually with intent to either seduce a man or to show gratitude for some previously performed good deed.  The term ''bakemono'' can apply to either the transformation or to the creature’s original form.   

A bakemono is usually a living thing (Mayer 89), though it can sometimes be used to signify [[yurei|yûrei]], a ghost of a human being, or as a blanket term for all mysterious phenomena synonymous with [[yokai|yôkai]], of which it is normally a subset.  However, the term ''bakemono'' in standard usage means a transformation of another living thing, usually a fox or tanuki or even a tengu.  Many animals were traditionally believed to have shape shifting powers, and these included snakes, boars, turtles (Tyler xlvii), snails, birds, frogs, clams and even some plants (Mayer 88).  The strange shapes that these creatures took were either normal human forms, or some sort of monstrous aberration such as hitotsume-kozô, ônyûdô, or  noppera-bô.  When a human form is taken, it is usually with intent to either seduce a man or to show gratitude for some previously performed good deed.  The term ''bakemono'' can apply to either the transformation or to the creature’s original form.