百鬼夜行

ひゃっ　き　や　こう
hya kki ya kou

The Kanji that make up today's special Halloween 四字熟語 are, in order: hundred, demon, night, and go.

Definition: たくさんの妖怪が夜俳諧すること。

Translations:
1. There are a shit-ton of unseen monsters prowling in the dark.
2. A situation where extreme caution is prudent; unseen risks lurk everywhere.
3. Evil characters and sinister plots abound.
4. Something wicked this way comes?

I found a website that says:
「...妖怪の百鬼夜行ではありません。先物の世界を百鬼夜行に例えています。」
(My terrible translation: It's not about ghosts and goblins roaming the night. It's a metaphor about the future of the world.)
(Nirav's contextual [better] translation: It's not a literal procession of demons in the night; it's a metaphor for the unknown dangers the future certainly holds.)
But then one of my Japanese friends says that it's extremely rare to hear it used, and that maybe the only time she can think of to use it would be Obon, when the spirits of the dead are given their own parade.

Today's pictures come hand-stolen from my all time favorite ghost and demon website, The Obakemono Project, which you can now also find in my links section. It's a great site.

例文：もしも八ロウェーンのことをぜんぜん知らない日本人が十月三十一日の夜にアメリカに行ったら、「百鬼夜行だ！」と思うかな？
If a Japanese person who knew nothing about Halloween happened to go to America on Halloween night, would they think it was the real deal?


Happy Halloween!