Made by hand in our partner workshop in China  ·  Shipped worldwide  ·  Every symbol comes with its sources
Atlas  /  For calm & sleep  /  Baku, the dream-eaterNo. 42
Plate IEast Asia · China and JapanBaku, the dream-eater, drawn by Wishlore
Pl. IBaku, the dream-eater. The baku, a tapir-like beast of legend. Drawing: Wishlore.
No. 42  ·  For calm & sleep  ·  East Asia

The baku

A creature of legend said to eat dreams and nightmares. In Tang China, the poet Bai Juyi wrote of a screen painted with its likeness, made to ward off evil.

Earliest record
Bai Juyi’s preface on the tapir screen
Source
Zdic dictionary, entry for “mo” (tapir), quoting Bai Juyi
Region
East Asia · China and Japan
Wish
For calm & sleep
Layers
Record Folk Modern
Keep this symbol · from £2.99Read the sources
The story · three layers

The story, in three layers.

Record, Folk and Modern are kept apart, and each one carries its source.

I
Record
Tang dynasty

The tapir screen

Bai Juyi wrote a preface to his verse in praise of a tapir screen. It says the creature’s likeness was drawn “to ward off evil”.

To verify: Check our translation against the original preface

II
Folk
China and Japan

Eater of dreams

The Metropolitan Museum of Art records the legend that the baku swallows dreams and nightmares.

To verify: What the Met object is, with its date and place

III
Modern
Wishlore, today

How we tell it

We tell the baku as a creature of legend that eats bad dreams, and make no claim about sleep.

Baku, the dream-eater
Bai Juyi’s preface on the tapir screen
Story and sources on the reverse
Pl. IIThe story card. Every printed piece carries the story and a code that opens the full source list.
Keep it close

How would you like to keep it?

Add to bag · £8
  • No jewellery for this symbol yet; story card and download only
  • Printed cards are made in our partner workshop in China and shipped worldwide
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Watch the story

The story, in a minute.

It opens with the pencil construction, then follows the record, how people used it, and the piece we make today. Every fact in it comes from the sources on this page.

Length
0:55
Narration
English, with subtitles on screen
Images
Pencil construction and the atlas drawing on this page, animated; no AI images; jewellery shown as a line drawing
Sources
Listed at the end of the film
Story film · 0:55 · Drawn from the atlas plate · no AI images
In one breath
A beast of legend that eats bad dreams. Who would you keep it for?
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