Anyone who has been to a Japanese festival will tell you that they are one of the coolest events in the world; the perfect mixture of ancient tradition and modern fun. That is even more true in the countryside, where the festivals are not tourist attractions or economic events, but just a way for the local people to get together and celebrate life together. If you haven’t ever been to one, you need to try to imagine an ordinarily plain and sleepy country town, with 100-year old wooden-facaded shops lining the cobblestone streets, ancient wooden temples and shrines straddling the border between the village and the sheer, forested mountain ranges. Then imagine the sleepy village suddenly springing to life at night, like out of some fantasy story. The empty streets are now lined with bright and colorful food stalls reminiscent of some kind of electric renaissance fair, the smell of various foods, the shouts of food vendors and game stands beckoning you to come, and more people than you could have imagined actually live in this tiny little hamlet. And then, at the end of the street, the big vermilion archway at the entrance to the shrine is lit up with spotlights so it commands the whole neighborhood.

Tonight was the autumn festival in Imadate, and it’s hard to describe the experience in words, but I will try my best.

Coming from the shrine grounds came the thundering sound of taiko drums. But this wasn’t some concert with professional musicians. This was just a pair of drums and a couple of townsfolk going crazy on the drum, dancing wildly and still wearing their work clothes. We stayed and watched for a while, and after few minutes of watching people jump in and out of the drum circle, some carrying their own sticks, others swapping off, it became clear to me that this was a free-for-all. At first there was a young construction worker in his coveralls playing with an 80 year old grandfather wearing a Karate Kid-style headband. When one got tired, he switched out with a 20-something girl with dyed hair, wearing trendy street clothes and plastic platform sneakers and a miniskirt — and she was so good I was blown away. The people kept rotating: a local flower shop owner, parents, kids, and eventually an office lady still wearing her stockings and suit (though she had taken off her shoes and was walking around in the dirt barefoot) took charge and began drumming like nobody had ever drummed before. At some point, being a shrine, the noisy droning reed instruments you can always hear at Shinto ceremonies began playing too, and then some other people began playing a samba beat on their own latin drums that they had brought to the festival. It was bizarre, but it all blended together in a really cool way.

Eventually, being one of if not the the only foreigner there, I was asked to drum too. I said no at first, but then they grabbed me and literally dragged me to the drum and put the sticks in my hands. Craziness!

Unfortunately my phone isn’t so great at taking night photos, so these don’t really capture the full spirit of the event, but it was one of those times where you can really feel the soul of Japan. The modern mixed with the old, a sense of community and unwinding after a hard days work, outdoors and being one with nature, completely unashamed to play drums like an idiot in front of complete strangers. There’s something spiritual about that.

And my telling you about souls and spirits is my roundabout way of introducing today’s yokai:

Kodama

This is a very famous and popular yokai, both in and out of Japan. They’re most well known for the role they played in the Studio Ghibli animation “Princess Mononoke,” which hopefully you’ve seen if you have any interest in Japan at all. Ghibli’s kodama are cute little fairy-like spirits who cockle their heads sideways and make funny rattling sounds.

The name kodama means tree spirit, and they are said to be both the guardians of trees, and the soul of the actual tree itself. They are sort of a parallel to ancient Greece’s dryads, although if I recall correctly, dryads can do some nasty things to humans, while kodama are quite peaceful.

Kodama are formed (born?) when a tree reaches an advanced age. In fact, there are many myths about objects turning into yokai (tsukomogami) after their 100th birthday, or animals developing magical abilities after a certain number of years; this is the tree equivalent of that. This makes a lot of sense when you consider the important role that one’s elders and the ancestors play in Japanese society.

Deciding how to paint these was a bit of a challenge. I didn’t want to copy the Ghibli kodamas — although they are absolutely adorable, 1) there isn’t really any “folkloric basis” for them looking like that, and 2) I didn’t want to steal that particular image of kodama. Finally, I was able to find Toriyama Sekien’s painting of kodama from his yokai bestiaries, and he presented them as eldery human-like spirits. I really liked that concept, as it goes well with the idea of protector spirits and aged trees, so I based my kodama after an eldery couple. I really wanted to capture the spirit I felt at tonight’s festival. I also happened to come across some acrylic gradation medium the other day, which made painting ghost-like figures an absolute joy!

And now I’ve said enough and it’s time to sleep. Here are kodama:

Just one more reminder: the first batch of this year’s yokai are posted and available on my Etsy page! I’ll be posting a 2nd batch soon, but in the meantime you can pick up those first prints now.

Thanks for watching!

「今日の妖怪シリーズ」今日は木霊です。木霊は有名でよく知られている妖怪で、宮崎駿監督の「もののけ姫」にも登場しています。この作品に登場する木霊はカタカタという不思議は音を立ててながら木の下でたたずずんでいるかわいらしい妖精のような姿をしています。

木霊の名前の意味は、木の精で、木を守護しているものでもあるか、もしくは生きている木の魂そのものでもあります。ギリシャにも木の精（dryads）のお話がありますが、日本の木霊は平和的なのに対してこのdryadsは人間に対して悪いこともします。

木霊は高齢になった時に生まれます。これは、100年経過した物に神や霊魂が宿るという付喪神（つくもがみ）や、同じような伝承にある動物などと同様なもので、木に宿るものと考えられます。日本の社会で高齢・長寿である事は、敬われるべきであるという事が背景にあるのでしょう。

今回、木霊を描くという事は一つのチャレンジでした。「もののけ姫」の木霊はとてもかわいく、伝承をもとにしたものではなく映画のために創造されたものでした。私はこのイメージを盗んでコピーすることはしたくありませんでしたので、木霊について沢山のリサーチを行いました。そして終に鳥山石燕（とりやませきいん）の描いた、年老いた人間の精霊の姿の木霊を見つけたのです。
年老いた木の精として年老いた人間の姿がうまく合っていて私はこれだと思いました。そして、今日訪れた粟田部祭りで感じた精神をこの絵に写したいと感じました。それでは、今日の妖怪「木霊」を楽しんでください！

Boo!

Did I scare you? I hope not, otherwise you will never make it through this week, where I will show you some yokai which are a tad bit spooker than last week’s (though not all of them are horrific).

Otoroshi

Today’s yokai is a bit of a mystery. There are no real records of this yokai, and its oldest roots seem to trace it back to an illustration by Toriyama Sekien, in which he drew a hairy beast, clinging to a bird, perched atop a torii — the gateways leading into Shinto shrines.

It goes by other names too — odoro-odoro and odoro-gami (which describes it desheveled, hairy appearance) — though its name seems most likely to have been derived from a Kansai-dialect word related to the “standard” Japanese word for “scary:”  osoroshii.

Despite its uncertain origin, otoroshi is a fairly popular yokai. Many famous yokai painters have done their own versions of otoroshi, but unlike ushi-oni, they all tend to stick to the same script: long hair, tusks, a funny smile. The mythology that has evolved around this guy seems to place him as a kind of shrine guardian. Anyone who is impious or evil who tries to enter the shrine will be pounced upon and devoured by the beast. So make sure you always look up before you enter a Japanese shrine!

| 「今日の妖怪シリーズ」今日は「おとろし」です。この妖怪に関しては実在する記録などがなく、ミステリアスな妖怪です。
「おとろし」についての最も古い記載は、鳥山石燕（とりやませきいん）によるイラストだと思われます。そこでは、「おとろし」はぼうぼうとした長髪のおどろおどろしい妖怪であり、鳥を手にして鳥居の上にいるとされています。

「おとろし」の姿のオリジナルは定かではありませんが、画家達の間では「おとろし」はよく描かれており、それぞれにオリジナルな「おとろし」を創造しているようです。しかし、「牛鬼」とは違い基本となる部分は全て共通しているようで、長髪に牙、不気味な笑みに神社の守り神であるかのように伝えられている言い伝えがあります。

不信な者、非道な者などが神社の鳥居をくぐろうとすると、鳥居の上から物凄い勢いで落ちてくるといわれています。
日本の神社を訪れたときは、鳥居の上を見上げてから中に入りましょう！

Today is the final painting involving the four gods of Chinese astrology: Byakko, Seiryuu, Genbu, and Suzaku. It’s also the end of the first “chunk” of this yokai project, involving the more animal-like yokai; as well as the end of the “questionable” yokai — creatures whose status as yokai isn’t 100% determined. Tomorrow I will continue with the next batch of 100% pure yokai, and in the 2nd batch we’ll be looking some more monstrous creatures.

Suzaku

Also known as the Vermilion Bird, Suzaku is the guardian god of the south, the representative of the element of fire, and a symbol of the summer. Don’t confuse it with the hou-ou/fenghuang/Chinese phoenix though — although they look similar, they are very different legendary beasts!

Suzaku is a being or elegance and nobility. He is extremely picky about where he will perch and what he will eat. Like many other legendary beasts we’ve seen, Suzaku is a common theme in pop culture today, including video games and animation. If you’ve played Final Fantasy or Pokemon, or watch Japanese anime, you will probably recognize this beautiful magical bird with bright red feathers.

| これまで描いてきた西の白虎、東の青竜、北の玄武に今回の「南の朱雀」を加えると四神（しじん）が全て揃うことになります。今年の「今日の妖怪シリーズ」で今回までは、動物や伝説の生物などそれほど怖いものは描いていませんでした。しかし今回の「朱雀」の後は１００％妖怪を描く予定でいますので、楽しみにしていてくださいね。

「今日の妖怪シリーズ」今日は朱雀です。
朱雀は南を守護する神で、炎と夏の象徴でもあります。鳳凰やフェニックスと姿が似ていますが、全く違う種類ですので間違わないようにして下さいね。

朱雀は高貴さと優雅さを併せ持ち、これまでに登場した伝説の生物達と同様現代の文化でも大変有名です。テレビゲームやアニメーションの中でも良く見られており、ファイナルファンタジーやポケモンにも登場していますよ。

Today we’ll take a look at another of the Chinese astrological gods.

Genbu

We’ve already seen Byakko and Seiryuu, the White Tiger of the West and the Azure Dragon of the East. Genbu here is the Black Tortoise of the North. Although technically he is both a tortoise and a snake (or sometimes he is a tortoise with a snake for a tail)…

In ancient China, the snake and the tortoise both symbolized long life. The four constellations were brought over to Japan a long, long time ago and so they have retained a lot of their original meaning, while also developing a unique Japanese identity. Because of that influence, the tortoise is often used as a symbol of honor and long life here in Japan, and paintings of elderly couples often include a tortoise in the picture.

Mostly I like Genbu because he reminds me of Morla from the NeverEnding Story.

By the way, if you’d like to help spread the word about my yokai project, please click here to visit Digg and digg up this project!

And don’t forget to visit my Etsy store to get your very own prints from A-Yokai-A-Day! | 「今日の妖怪シリーズ」今日は玄武です。
これまでに、四神のうち西の白虎と東の青竜を描きましたが、今回の「玄武」はそのうちの一つです。

古代中国では、蛇と亀は長寿の象徴でした。玄武は青竜などと同様に中国からの言い伝えが日本に伝わったもので、その後日本特有の話も付け足されましたが、中国のオリジナルな言い伝えは今も色濃く残っているようです。

日本では亀は名誉・長寿の象徴であり、年老いた夫婦の絵や掛け軸などにはよく亀と蛇が登場しています。

さて、私はこの「今日の妖怪シリーズ」のプロジェクトをたくさんの人に知ってもらいたいと思いDiggに紹介しています。是非ここをクリックしてDiggに参加してみて下さい。そして私にDiggして下さい！

そしてもう一つ、私のmy Etsy storeを訪れることも忘れないで下さいね！

Most of the yokai I’ve painted so far have been kinds of yokai rather than unique creatures. Today’s, however, is not a kind but rather a one-of-a-kind, named yokai.

Seiryuu

Seiryuu, also known as The Azure Dragon of the East, is one of the four great gods of Chinese mythology. Like the kirin and the hou-ou, he was brought over from China to Japan more than 1000 years ago, and has since developed his own unique Japanese-ness.

Seiryuu, along with his 3 buddies Byakko, Gembu, and Suzaku, is one of the great symbols of the constellations. He represents the eastern sky as well as seven positions of the moon. The other 3 also have similar designations. (You may remember that I painted Byakko back in January, and I styled this one to match that painting.)

Another interesting fact about Seiryuu’s symbolism is that, in addition to the sky, he also guards and represents a section of Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan. Seiryuu is the guardian of the eastern quarter, and his chief temple is the very famed Kiyomizu temple. In fact, when you visit Kiyomizu temple you will probably wash your hands before entering the temple at a fountain adorned with a statue of Seiryuu.

And by the way,the first week’s worth of yokai is now up on my Etsy store! The prints look absolutely wonderful and come matted and ready to frame or even hang as-is. Visit http://osarusan.etsy.com and check out the available yokai! | 「今日の妖怪シリーズ」今日は青竜です。天の四方を司っている四神（しじん）の一つで、東が青竜になります。前に描いた麒麟や鳳凰と同様、1000年以上前に中国から日本に伝わったものですが、日本に伝わってからは日本特有の伝わり方をしています。

青竜の他に四神には白虎、玄武、朱雀がおり、それらは偉大な星座の象徴でもあります。昨年の1月に白虎を描きましたので、今回はその白虎に続いて四神をそれぞれ白虎に合わせたスタイルで描いていこうと思っています。

青竜に関しては一つ興味深い話があります。青竜は京都（当時の都）の東を守っており、主となる寺は有名な清水寺であったとされています。清水寺を訪れる機会がありましたら是非見ていただきたいのですが、本堂に入る前にある手水場（ちょうずば）で青竜が水を提供していますよ。

「青竜」の絵は私のＥｔｓｙストアで購入が可能になっています。オリジナルの「青竜」の購入がご希望でしたら、こちらのお問い合わせフォームからご依頼をおねがいします。世界に1枚のオリジナルですので、売れてしまう場合もございます・・・。ご注文はお早めに。

I want to start off today’s post with a special thank you to my wife. Normally, I try my best to translate my major posts, like artwork updates, into bilingual posts for my Japanese readers. However, due to the long hours required by this project in addition to my normal work hours, I don’t have nearly enough time to do that. I’m a slow translator, and after 11 pm (which is usually around when I finish the day’s yokai) I get even slower. So my wonderful wife has been giving up her lunch breaks to do the translations for http://matthewmeyer.net/ja and doing a much more beautiful job at it than when I try to do it myself. Anyway, thank you!

On to today’s yokai!

Kirin

Even people who know nothing about yokai probably know this very famous legendary beast — if for nothing else than for the popular beer which takes its name from the creature. The kirin is one of the most majestic, beautiful, and magical beasts in Japanese folklore. Indeed, in the ranks of supernatural beings, the kirin is regarded as the most powerful (unlike in China where it follows the dragon and the phoenix) and is often even referred to as a kami, or a god in its own right. Kirin can be found everywhere — not just on beer cans — from temple carvings (like the Baku earlier) to paintings, and even in popular culture you can still find kirin everywhere (if you do a Google image search you can even find some kirin pornography — you have been warned). My favorite anime, Princess Mononoke, also features a very kirin-like god.

So what exactly is this most powerful and regal of beasties? Well, like yesterday’s hou-ou, it comes originally from Chinese mythology, where it is known as the qilin. It is said to have antlers like a deer, scales like a dragon, hooves like an ox, and a tail like a lion. Its body is often covered in fire. It can move in utter silence and walks on grass without disturbing it at all. It can also walk on water. When it walks it takes great care not to tread on any living thing, and it spreads serenity wherever it goes. It looks fearsome and wields great power, but it only punishes the wicked. It is completely vegetarian (vegan even??) and it only appears in areas ruled by a wise and benevolent leader.

In depictions, the Japanese kirin differs quite a bit from the Chinese qilin. Japanese versions tend to look more deer-like, or even closer to a mix of the Western dragon and unicorn; while Chinese versions resemble tigers. Its face is always serene-looking, and it is often seen with flames trailing from its body.

Interestingly, the Japanese word for “giraffe” is also kirin. Like the tapir, the aligator, and other creatures, the giraffe took its name from a mythological beast.

And now, as promised… these first 8 yokai are now available on my Etsy store! Please go check it out!

All the prints are signed and matted in a beautiful protective black mat which looks amazing and really makes the bright colors pop! They are printed using a state-of-the-art 7-color printer with archival inks on heavy-duty, acid-free, archival fine art paper. They are ready-to-frame and look absolutely gorgeous! They make great Halloween gifts for others (or for yourself) and it’s a great way to support your favorite 😉 artist!

The link is osarusan.etsy.com! | 今日は妻に感謝の気持ちを持って今日の妖怪の紹介を始めたいと思います。通常私は、自分なりにできる限り頑張って日本語のヴァージョンを作ってここにアップしているのですが、10月の「今日の妖怪シリーズ」においては絵を描く時間に大半を使い、翻訳にまで手が回らない状況にあります。11時ころに絵を描きおわって（「今日の妖怪」を描き終えるのはたいていそのくらいの時間になります）翻訳を始めるとなると私の翻訳スピードでは遅すぎるので妻に翻訳を頼んでいます。時に彼女は仕事の休憩時間を使ってこの http://matthewmeyer.net/ja のために翻訳をしてくれています。ありがとう！

さて、今日の妖怪にいってみましょう！

「今日の妖怪シリーズ」今日は麒麟です。
あまり妖怪について知らない方も、この有名な伝説の獣については多分ご存知なのではないでしょうか。有名なビールの会社の名前もここからきているのですよ。

日本の伝承によると、麒麟は最も荘厳で美しく神秘的な生物です。実際に、神秘的な存在のランクの中では最も強いとされています（中国では、ドラゴンとフェニックスの下に位置づけられていますが）。時に麒麟は神様のようであり、神様そのもののようにもみなされています。

麒麟はどこででも見つけることができます（ビールの缶だけではないですよ）。前に描いた獏（ばく）と同様に神社の境内で見られますし、絵画の中にもよく登場しています。また、大衆文化の中でも麒麟をいたる所で見つけることができます（しかしgoogleイメージサーチで探すと、いくつかの麒麟のポルノ写真も見えてしまうかもしれませんので注意してくださいね）。また、私の好きな映画「もののけ姫」の中に出てくる神様には麒麟と似た特徴がありますよ。

この最もパワフルな伝説の獣、「麒麟」とはいったい何なのでしょうか？

麒麟は、昨日の鳳凰と同様に中国の神話から伝わってきたものです。鹿のような枝角に、ドラゴンのようなスケール、ライオンのような尻尾をもち、身体はしばしば炎で覆われているそうです。
全く音を立てずに動くことができ、水の上を歩くこともできます。生物の殺生を嫌うため、草の上を歩くときには草花を傷つけづに歩き、生きるもの全て殺さないようにしています。

一見恐ろしく見えますし大きな力も持っていますが、それは悪を罰するためだけにあります。そして麒麟は、賢明で慈悲深いリーダーに統治された領域にしか現れることはありません。

姿形についてですが、日本のキリン（kirin）と中国のチーリン（qilin）とでは違いがあります。日本のヴァージョンはより鹿に近く、西洋のドラゴンやユニコーンとも似ているところがあります。中国のヴァージョンでは虎に似ています。日本の麒麟の表情は常に穏やかです。そしてよく炎をまとって見られるそうです。

面白いことに、日本語の“giraffe：ジラフ”は”kirin”と呼ばれており、獏（ばく）やワニなどと同様に神話が名前の由来になっています。

「麒麟」の絵は私のＥｔｓｙストアで購入が可能になりました！これまでの8つの「妖怪シリーズ」の絵は全てＥｔｓｙストアにあります美しいマットとサインの入ったプリントの購入ができます。

これらの妖怪シリーズはハロウィーンのプレゼントに最適ですし、あなたの favorite 😉 artistのサポートのために、これらの絵を手に入れることは最適な方法ですよ！

オリジナルの「麒麟」の購入がご希望でしたら、こちらのお問い合わせフォームからご依頼をおねがいします。世界に1枚のオリジナルですので、売れてしまう場合もございますので、ご注文はお早めに。

私のお店のリンクは・・・osarusan.etsy.com

There’s a little debate as to what specifically constitutes a “yokai.” A lot of times I will propose an idea, and my wife will yell at me, “That’s not a yokai!” And I’ll come back with, “Well Wikipedia says it is!” or some other lame retort. Wikipedia’s reliability aside, there are so many different kinds of supernatural creatures in Japanese folklore — yokai, obake, yurei, kami, demons, urban legends, and other supernatural/legendary creatures that don’t fit into specific categories — coming from so many different sources — Chinese folklore, Japanese folklore, Buddhism, Shintoism, made up by authors or artists — that it would probably be impossible to accurately catalog them all. And the fact is, while a lot of Japanese people today would say that such-and-such is technically not a yokai, many of the famous centuries-old yokai bestiaries have specifically referred to non-yokai as yokai, adding to the confusion.

So I just want to make a disclaimer now that some of these creatures may technically not be yokai; some may be ghosts, some may be kami, and other may just be legendary beasts. Today’s is a perfect example of such a “yokai.”

Hou-ou

This bird goes by a number of different names. It is often translated as a kind of phoenix, however that’s not exactly accurate because there are two other birds which go by that name over here (the fushicho, and the Middle-Eastern phoenix which we are familiar with). Wikipedia refers to it in English with an Anglification of its Chinese name, fenghuang, or as the Chinese phoenix. Technically probably not a yokai, this legendary bird comes to Japan through Chinese mythology.

The hou-ou is a very rare and regal bird. It represents virtue, grace, and the imperial line. Physically, it is a kind of chimera. It is said to have a bird’s beak, a swallow’s jaw, and a snake’s neck. The front half of its body is said to resemble a giraffe, the back half a deer. Its back resembles a tortoise’s shell, and its tail is like that of a fish. Its body symbolizes the six celestial bodies: the head is the sky, the eyes are the sun, the back is the moon, the wings are the wind, the feet are the earth, and the tail is the planets. Its feathers contain the five fundamental colors: black, white, red, blue and yellow. It is also sometimes depicted as having three legs! It’s quite a popular motif in older Japanese art, and you can see perhaps Japan’s most famous hou-ou on the roof of Byodo-in temple, also known as Phoenix Hall, in Kyoto. That same hou-ou is also printed on the back of the 10,000 yen note, so you know it’s a famous symbol.

Its name is also quite interesting. Originally hou-ou was two different birds: the hou and the ou (or in Chinese, the feng and the huang). The hou was the male bird and the ou was the female bird. Together they represented the union of yin and yang, masculinity and femininity, good and evil; cosmic balance. At some point, they merged into one single bird. At least in China, each part of the hou-ou’s body symbolizes a specific concept: the head represents virtue, the wing represents duty, the back represents propriety, the abdomen represents belief, and the chest represents mercy. I’m not sure exactly how much of this symbology continues today in Japan, but I would imagine that when the hou-ou was initially imported it carried as much importance in Japan as it did (and still does) in China.

Alright, week 1 is finished! The first 7 yokai of the month! Tomorrow I will bring you number 8, and I will put the first week’s worth of yokai up on my Etsy store as signed, matted prints. | 描く妖怪について妻に質問をしてみることがありますが、時折彼女は”それは妖怪じゃない”と言います。そこで私は、”ウィキペディアでは妖怪と書いてあった”と言います。まぁ、ウィキペディアの信憑性についてはさておきまして、今日の妖怪についてご説明する前に、ここで少し”妖怪”について考えてみたいと思います。

妖怪について色々と調べてみる内に分かった事がありましたのでご紹介しましょう。
日本の言い伝えの中には多くの異なった種類の超自然的な生物が存在します。妖怪，お化け，幽霊，神，鬼，都市伝説，その他の超自然的な／伝説の生物などの既存のカテゴリーの中に分類できないもの達です。そしてそれらの生物にはそれぞれ多くの異なった背景があり、中国や日本の言い伝えから来ているものや、仏教，神道，作家や画家によって創造されたものなどあります。また、今日の多くの日本人が”厳密には妖怪ではない”としている生物は、多くの古い妖怪に関する本では”妖怪”として表記されている事もあり、それらの事がどうやら混乱を生んでいるようです。

そこで、ここに出てくる生物が厳密には妖怪ではないかもしれませんのでただ注意書きをしたいと思います。それらは幽霊かもしれませんし、神かもしれません。もしかしたら伝説の獣かもしれません。今回は、それについて絶好の”妖怪”だと思いますよ。

「今日の妖怪シリーズ」今日は鳳凰です。

この鳥は多くの異なった名前があります。よくみられるのはフェニックスという名前ですね。しかし、フェニックスと鳳凰は似ていますが完全に同じではありません。ウィキペディアによると、英語では鳳凰は中国での呼び名がそのまま使われており、fenghuang:フェンフォァンと呼ばれています。鳳凰は中国の伝説が日本に伝わったものであり、厳密には妖怪ではないかもしれませんね。

鳳凰はとても希少で荘厳な鳥であり、美徳・気品・皇統を表し、容姿はキメラに似ています。
日本ではその容姿は、鳥の嘴に燕の顎、蛇の首を持つと言われ、体の前半分は麒麟、後ろ半分は鹿から成り、背中は亀で尾は魚であるとされています。体は６つの天体を象徴（頭は空、目は太陽、背中は月、翼は風、足は地球、尾は惑星）しており、羽は五つの原色（黒・白・赤・青・黄）があります。鳳凰は時に足が3本で描かれている事もあります！

鳳凰は古い日本の芸術作品の中で特に人気があったモチーフです。日本で最も有名な鳳凰は、鳳凰堂があることで知られている京都の平等院の屋根の上に見ることができます。それと同じ鳳凰を1万円札の後ろに見つけられますよ。

鳳凰の名前にはおもしろい言い伝えがあります。かつて鳳と凰（中国ではfengとhuang）は別々の鳥であり、鳳は雄、凰は雌であったといわれています。そして彼らは陰と陽、男らしさと女らしさ、善と悪の調和を保つ存在でありました。
何かの時点で彼らは一つの鳥になりました。中国の言い伝えでは、鳳凰の身体には特別なコンセプト（頭は美徳、翼は義務、背中は礼節、腹部は信念、胸部は慈悲）があるといわれています。中国の言い伝えによる鳳凰や、象徴されるものの重要性がどのくらい日本に伝わったかは定かではありませんが、中国で伝えられているものと現在の日本における鳳凰とでは違いがみられ、伝わった時から徐々にそのあり方が変わってきているようにも思われます。

「鳳凰」の絵は私のＥｔｓｙストアで購入が可能になっています。オリジナルの「鳳凰」の購入がご希望でしたら、こちらのお問い合わせフォームからご依頼をおねがいします。世界に1枚のオリジナルですので、売れてしまう場合もございます・・・。ご注文はお早めに。