Waira
Image associated with the exact linked encyclopedia article; consult credited file description for its interpretation.
Overview
Waira is a hulking, clawed being found in illustrated monster scrolls and in Sekien's first encyclopedia. The surviving compositions emphasize its forequarters and conspicuous claws rather than showing a fully explained body. A viewer can describe those visible features, but the missing or concealed lower part should remain unknown. The image does not authorize a confident reconstruction of a complete animal with a particular stance and locomotion.
Early witnesses generally provide a name with little narrative explanation. Later books add mountain habitats, feeding on small animals or attacks on humans, but these accounts are not all established by the original pictures. Waira is valuable precisely as an enigmatic historical design. This entry records its illustrated identity and the limits of interpretation without filling the gap with invented diet, breeding habits or a fabricated local origin story.
Origins & earliest records
Selected historical witness: Gazu Hyakki Yagyō (1776) by Toriyama Sekien. The linked library record identifies a surviving printed edition; it does not establish when the belief first arose.
Records & interpretation
The historical illustration and individual contextual reference support this profile. Named motifs, local narratives and later explanations are distinguished; image-to-plate matching still needs review.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Gazu Hyakki Yagyō
Selected historical witness; individual illustration now checked in the separately linked primary scan. This edition is not a claim of the earliest oral attestation.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Primary records and illustrations
Gazu Hyakki Yagyō
Volume 3, Wind (風); digitized Smithsonian Libraries copy, 1805 edition. IIIF canvas index 9 (zero-based); GazuHyakkiyagyo3Tori_0010.jp2
Named わいら; the visible forequarters and hooked claw emerge from a wooded hillside. The plate does not reveal a complete body. Visual inspection of the digitized plate and its printed label; image URL is copied from the actual IIIF manifest, not a guessed leaf reference.
Encyclopedia background
An additional attributed reference, separate from the editorial profile above.
Read the open encyclopedia overview
The waira (わいら) is a Japanese yōkai from Japanese emaki (handscrolls) such as the Hyakkai Zukan by Sawaki Suushi and books such as Gazu Hyakki Yagyō (1776) by Sekien Toriyama.
Text from Wikipedia contributors, “Waira”. CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted introduction; formatting changed. Retrieved 5 October 2026. The source article may have changed since retrieval.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary illustration / library recordGazu Hyakki Yagyō — historical library editionResearch access: 2026-10-05
- Secondary referenceWaira — contextual overview and bibliographyResearch access: 2026-10-05
- Primary illustrated plate / institutional digitizationGazu Hyakki Yagyō — directly inspected IIIF canvas index 9 (zero-based); GazuHyakkiyagyo3Tori_0010.jp2Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
Reference illustrationWaira
Image associated with the exact linked encyclopedia article; consult credited file description for its interpretation.
