You are looking at a sixteenth-century Japanese scroll showing pictures of “tsukumogami:” discarded household items that become angry at their lack of use and turn into animated demons. My favorite story from this genre of folk tales comes from another sixteenth-century work known as the Sufuku-ji scrolls. It begins with a haunting warning about how people celebrating New Year’s traditions cause these ghastly beings to come about: “At year’s end families discard old furniture and utensils and pile them up at the side of the road. Then at New Year’s — when it is time to renew the hearth fire and draw new water — the clothing, household utensils, and other objects transform in shape. They become angry at the extravagance of wealthy families . . . . ” Angry, indeed. The scroll goes on to relate a horrific tale of tsukumogami who in their rage at being tossed away decide to exact revenge by killing their former human owners. They even have a macabre banquet with tea cups filled with human blood and fancy lacquered trays carrying plates of human flesh . . . The tale ends happily, you may be pleased to note. The tsukumogami realize their violent ways are wrong, convert to a specific sect of Buddhism, and all get enlightened. Feel reassured enough? Happy New Year’s, everyone!
Source(s): The quote from the Sufuku-ji scrolls and information from this post comes from Elizabeth Lillehoj, “Man-made Objects as Demons in Japanese Scrolls, _Asian Folklore Studies_, Vol. 54, No. 1 (1995), p.o.. 7-34. The image from the Shinju-an scroll (showing Hyakki yako emaki, or processions of demons) is from Wikimedia commons.
