Yanagita Kunio, the founder of Japanese folklore, believes that the biggest feature of Japanese monsters is that they have two sides, and good and evil can be transformed into each other. For example, hating the soul, if properly enshrined, can also become a patron saint. The monsters in the west have a clear distinction between good and evil. So in the eyes of westerners, Japanese monsters are always full of mystery. In recent years, Japan's monster image has either created a horrible effect with the help of modern high technology, or it is pleasing with a cute elf image, which can be said to have gone to two extremes. Because Japanese culture is widely influenced by China culture, 70% monsters come from China, 20% from India, and 65,438+00% are local monsters in Japan. Tiangou, for example, was originally the dog monster in China's Shan Hai Jing. After spreading to Japan, it gradually combined with the heavenly demons in Buddhism and the mountain gods in Taoism to become a modern image. The custom of "scattering beans to drive away ghosts" at the vernal equinox originated from the Nuo-chasing ceremony in ancient China. There are many proverbs related to monsters in Japanese, which affect the daily life of Japanese people. For example, the legendary river boy loves to eat cucumbers, so the dish of purple vegetable roll cucumber is called "river boy roll"; A particularly fierce evil wife is called "ghost marriage"; To say that life has a dog's nose is to criticize people's complacency; If "ghosts give birth to cholera", it means that heroes are also afraid of illness. The Japanese, who have always been famous for their seriousness and rigidity, study monsters as a special subject. Known as "Dr. Monster", Professor Kazuhiko Komatsu led the staff of the International Japanese Cultural Research Center to collect10.6 million rumors about monsters, which lasted for 6 years and made a huge database for research. Now, as a branch of Japanese cultural anthropology, "Monster Science" has been formally established and opened in many universities. Not only Japanese students but also foreign students are interested in this.