Mumashika are comical-looking yōkai with the body of a deer and the head of a horse. They have only one eye. A single horn sprouts from the back of their skull while fangs protrude from the sides of their mouth. They wear loose and billowing clothes and wave their hooves in the air with a playful silliness. Mumashika first appeared in Hyakki yagyō emaki and were later copied into numerous other books and scrolls. Although the name is pronounced mumashika, it is written with kanji commonly read as baka—meaning foolish or stupid. Like many other picture scroll yōkai, mumashika was first presented without commentary. The original artist’s intent for it can only be guessed. Perhaps they are spirits which possess people and cause them to behave foolishly or perhaps they are intended to be cartoonish representations of the concept of foolishness. It may also be that the artist was making a pun based on the fact that baka is written with the characters for horse and deer.
Alias Uma-shika (馬鹿)
Real Names/Alt Names “Idiot”, “Fool”, “Horse deer”; Alt: Mumashika
Appearance List Bakemono Zukushi Monster Scroll (Edo Period)
Sample Read Bakemono Zukushi Monster Scroll (Edo Period) [Internet Archive]
Description Mumashika are comical-looking yōkai with the body of a deer and the head of a horse. They have only one eye. A single horn sprouts from the back of their skull while fangs protrude from the sides of their mouth. They wear loose and billowing clothes and wave their hooves in the air with a playful silliness. Mumashika first appeared in Hyakki yagyō emaki and were later copied into numerous other books and scrolls. Although the name is pronounced mumashika, it is written with kanji commonly read as baka—meaning foolish or stupid. Like many other picture scroll yōkai, mumashika was first presented without commentary. The original artist’s intent for it can only be guessed. Perhaps they are spirits which possess people and cause them to behave foolishly or perhaps they are intended to be cartoonish representations of the concept of foolishness. It may also be that the artist was making a pun based on the fact that baka is written with the characters for horse and deer.
