Baku
Protection against evil, nightmare devourer. The baku eats bad dreams and wards off pestilence.
A chimeric creature with an elephant's trunk, rhinoceros eyes, tiger paws, and an ox tail. In Japanese folklore, calling out 'Baku, come eat my dream' after a nightmare summons the creature. However, summoning it carelessly risks it eating good dreams and hopes too.
The baku's chimeric anatomy — elephant trunk, tiger paws, ox tail — gives artists distinct texture zones: wrinkled trunk skin, striped haunches, smooth hide, usually unified with a muted earth-and-grey palette so the creature doesn't read as a patchwork. Full-colour versions often reserve one saturated accent (a red tongue or gold eyes) against an otherwise restrained body. In blackwork the baku excels: its strange silhouette is instantly readable in bold flat black with negative-space detailing.
Baku traditionally sit near the sleeper's guard positions — upper arm, shoulder, or chest panel — from where they devour nightmares. A baku on the outer upper arm curls naturally around the deltoid with the trunk sweeping toward the chest. They are usually mid-size supporting pieces rather than full-back subjects, and pair well with cloud backgrounds and night-sky suggestion (moons, mist). Keep the trunk's curve flowing with the limb rather than fighting it.
Generate AI tattoo designs featuring Baku in seconds — irezumi, blackout, or blackwork. Plan your full bodysuit with stage-by-stage AI guidance.
Design your Baku tattoo →