The Bakemono Zukushi "Monster" Scroll (18th–19th century) A weird or mysterious creature, a monster or fantastic being, a spirit or a sprite ... creatures of the borderlands, living on the edge of town, or in the mountains between villages, or in the eddies of a river running between two rice fields. They often appear at twilight, that gray time when the familiar seems strange and faces become indistinguishable. They haunt bridges and tunnels, entranceways and thresholds. They lurk at crossroads.
