Until now, there have been numerous books on the subject of bakemono. However, all of these books merely say that they are strange and fearsome, and do not know the true form of their various transformations. A golden spirit may turn into a person, a Gawatarō^[1] may become a woman, and a Tengu^[2] may take the form of a servant boy, but people see only the transformed form [of the bakemono]. At such times, people are much afeared of the creatures, and greatly respect them as though they were gods.

However, man is the chief among the various things in this world, so is it not people that should transform and swindle beasts? Thus we have here the Hōkasen- the street magician’s traps. Just as the Buddha explained dispelled his temporary expedient means, we shall first examine thoroughly the techniques of juggling, and then we shall explain other conjuring, and the creation of man-made bakemono. 

The sons of the world in time grow into adults and lie to their parents, wasting their money. Thus, if the parents can see the truth of these jugglers they can “transform” themselves first, and hide their wealth so that there is no means for evil to be done to them. One should know that if one thinks deeply on this book, then they shall profit from it. Even seeing the proper logic of the actions of a man who does not understand is a means to wisdom. From this we can understand the essence of the first lesson of The Greater Learning: “It is from studying the way of things [not from scholarship] that one attains knowledge.” When people deeply think on the meaning of this principle, it is an aid in the creation of practical knowledge. Readers should not use the shallow parts of these principles to do trifles.Written with respect by Hirase Hose, Sekishōkaku, Naniwa^[3]

In 2016 I published a translation of the seminal Edo period conjuring text Hōkasen (1784) by the pharmacist and bookseller Hirase Sukeyo. For the most part, the book details how to create the illusion that one can summon monsters. It also, is of great interest to historians of conjuring as it contains the oldest known explanation for the “Chinese Linking Rings.” It also contains a 16-phase cup and ball routine which culminates in the transformation of the balls into a puppy (or possibly a hammer), a method for eating a pot that will without question kill you if you try it, an illusion dependent on wolf dung, and a fairly good description of how a prism works.

I am currently in middle of translating Hirase’s second conjuring book, the Tengūtsu, which includes a description of a primitive projector and a perpetual motion machine.

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^[1] An anthropomorphized turtle like creature with great strength and a love of cucumbers. Also known as a kappa.

^[2] A goblin like creature, usually portrayed with a very long nose.

^[3] An ancient name for Osaka.