Why did Sekien introduce many new yōkai to Japanese culture?

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The question asks about Sekien's motivation for introducing many new yōkai into Japanese culture.
Option 1: 'He met an old woman who told him many new stories that he then used.' While folklore anecdotes and oral traditions can influence a researcher, this option asserts a specific personal encounter as the source of many new yokai, which is not the standard account of Sekien's motivation and is not supported by common scholarly summaries.
Option 2: 'People would send him accounts of their own encounters with yōkai.' This suggests a crowdsourced or participatory input model. Although later folklorists sometimes gathered local stories from communities, Sekien’s project is typically described as his own editorial and artistic undertaking, not primarily driven by unsolicited reports from the public.
Option 3: 'He needed to make money on new editions of his work.' This is the commonly cited practical motive: Sekien produced illustrated compendia of yokai that were popular and commercially viable, with multiple editions and expansions aimed at earning income. This explains both the proliferation of new entries and the commercial motivation behind the revisions.
Option 4: 'He went insane and saw many of the new demons in his madness.' This is a speculative and sensational claim with no basis in historical scholarship. It attributes supernatural causes to a professional publishing project and is not supported by credible sources.
In summary, the most persuasive and historically grounded explanation centers on the economic or commercial incentive behind publishing and expanding his yokai compendium, while the other options misattribute the source of inspiration or rely on unlikely narratives.

AMES 3265W (001) Quiz 5: Yōkai and The Great Yōkai War

Why did Sekien introduce many new yōkai to Japanese culture?

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