Welcome to Tokyosaurus.
Today we have another japanese character origin video which we'll go into depth to see where
their design inspiration comes from as well as a few stories to give you a better background
of what the original character is all about.
So we'll be talking about Nurarihyon today who is the main villain in the second yokai
watch movie.
I'm not gonna go into detail about the second movie as most of you probably haven't watched
it yet.
But you've definitely seen Nurarihyon around if you've watched our yokai watch 3 live action
movie video where we talked about the newly released movie or if you've seen promotional
videos on the second yokai watch movie in the past.
Nurarihyon believes that humans and yo-kai should never be friends which is seen through
his actions as the right hand man of Lord Enma.
He acts noble on the outside, but when he gets angry, his true form is revealed with
tentacles that grow out of his body.
He is the head of the yo-kai council and is pretty much the second in command after Lord
Enma himself.
Nurarihyon would be considered a classic yokai because his name corresponds with a japanese
yokai of the same name.
But the difference here, is that his physical design is not like the real Nurarihyon at
all.
So why would they use the name Nurarihyon without actually making him look like the
yokai?
Normally, Nurarihyon is depicted as an old man with a gourd shaped head while wearing
a buddhist robe.
His appearance makes him look pretty weak and feable in comparison to Nurarihyon in
yokai watch.
The one in yokai watch is definitely not an old man and definitely does not have an oddly
shaped head.
So what part of the original Nurarihyon does he take inspiration from?
Let's get to know Nurarihyon a little better first.
Nurarihyon is actually the leader of the night parade of 100 demons.
He's called the Yokai Sodaisho which is the supreme commander of yokai.
In modern japan, Nurarihyon holds many grand titles but not a lot of people know that he
actually had humble beginnings.
His actual name combines the word Slippery and Gourd in japapanese to mean slippery gourd.
Slippery can also be interpreted as evasive and the gourd is just a reference to his oddly
shaped head.
The oldest accounts of nurarihyon actually had him described as a type of floating mass
that floats around the sea causing trouble for people.
Eventually, he became more of a symbol of deception and was often drawn as a catfish.
What's funny is that in english, being "catfished" also means being deceived into an online relationship
with a made up persona by someone who wants to scam money from you.
Eventually, Nurarihyon's form evolved into an old man that would go into people's houses
and sits down to casually drink a cup of tea acting as if he were the Lord of the manor.
People who see him would automatically assume he's indeed a lord and begin to serve him
without questioning.
Most people don't realize they've been deceived until Nurarihyon is gone.
This version of Nurarihyon is the same one that is used today in all depictions of him.
He's the type of person that would make grand unsupported claims about his own importance
and never actually get questioned for it.
He's known as the supreme commander of the Night Parade of 100 demons (which came from
Heian period) but actually, there were no accounts of him in actual texts from back
then.
In fact, there is never a reported leader of the parade.
The idea of Nurarihyon being elevated to a status of a leader of any sort was from Gegege
no Kitaro which had him announce himself as a Yokai Sodaisho to just make himself sound
important while he was an unwanted houseguest.
Eventually in the manga, they changed him into an actual yokai leader because it worked
well with the story.
After that, everyone in Japan, pretty much accepted that as fact, and most people today
believe he's the leader.
When in fact, he's really not.
Many of you might also know that another depiction of Nurarihyon is in the manga nurarihyon no
mago which also had him in leadership position.
But do realize that, you're all deceived by Nurarihyon because he's pretty much supposed
to be a nobody.
Now, when we look back at yokai watch's nurarihyon.
It makes a lot more sense.
Nurarihyon is in a position of power but does so with the intent to deceive those around
him to get what he wants.
The only difference probably is, this nurarihyon is actually dangerous.
Tentacles start to form on him when he's angry which is actually much closer to the original
depictions of Nurarihyon as a sea monster.
This design choice by yokai watch makes a lot of sense because the modern depiction
of Nurarihyon as an old man is not true form either.
So seeing Nurarihyon in yokai watch revert back to his original folklore form as a sea
creature when he reveals his true nature as he gets angry, is the perfect transformation
for him.
Being able to deceive even Lord Enma himself (who has his origins considered to be justice
itself), Nurarihyon might have proved himself to be the most powerful yokai in the yokai
world.
But what do you think of Nurarihyon?
And who do you want to see next on Tokyosaurus?
Let us know in the comments below.
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Thanks for watching, have a merry christmas, and see you guys in the next one.