Should "obake" be understood to refer to shapeshifters, or rather to things which have been transformed?


In the [tvtropes article on
Youkai](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Youkai), the following
remark is made on the meaning of "obake":

> _Obake_ is another Japanese word that can indicate some type of monster.
> Derived from the word for "to change", it generally covers the subset of
> youkai that includes shapeshifting animals (hence the terms _bake-gitsune_ ,
> _bake-neko_ , etc.) as well as [Animate Inanimate
> Objects](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AnimateInanimateObject)
> 〔i.e. _tsukumogami_ 〕. Confusingly, however, the word _obake_ can also be
> used to refer to ghosts, also known as _yuurei_.

[The Wikipedia article on Yōkai](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C5%8Dkai)
contains the (unsourced) statement that

> _Yōkai_ that shapeshift are known as _bakemono_ (化け物) or
> [_obake_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obake) (お化け).

The [Wikipedia article on Obake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obake) contains
the (unsourced) statement that

> Literally, the terms mean _a thing that changes_ , referring to a state of
> transformation or
> [shapeshifting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shapeshifting).

The implication that the _bakeru_ root of obake/bakemono is related to the
ability to shapeshift is a strong one at least as far as public opinion on the
internet goes, despite the inconsistencies that can be noted with this
etymology. In my estimation, the less incongruous root of the term would be
that it refers to beings that _have undergone a change_ ; they might also
(coincidentally) have shape-shifting powers. Many (perhaps not all) of the
shape-shifting animals, which are considered _obake_ , are transformations
that happen when an animal has lived for a considerable amount of time
(commonly 100 years); the _tsukumogami_ , being items, commonly attain their
status by considerable age as well, in particular by having been abandoned or
forgotten or not well kept. In the case of _yurei_ , the transition is that
from the living to the dead. While this etymology seems to capture all of the
cases that fall under _obake_ (shapeshifting animals, animated items, ghosts),
it would also exclude some other _yōkai_ that are shapeshifters, but have not
undergone a transformation, such as most prominently the _oni_ , which ought
to fall under _obake_ if we considered it to refer to shapeshifting.

Is my reading of obake as referring to "transformed entity", rather than to
"shapeshifter", a sensible one? Is there any support for it? Any credible
scholarly sources that contravene it?




This may seem confusing and inconsistent if you analyze this based on the
meaning of the English term "shapeshift", but it's not really a difficult
concept.

In English, I think that "shapeshift" typically refers to significant
transformations, such as a cat turning into a human or a human turning into a
wolf (correct me if I'm wrong). However, the meaning of the verb 化ける (
_bakeru_ ) in Japanese is somewhat broader. It can describe not only a cat
transforming into a human, but also an umbrella or a cat transforming into
their _yōkai_ versions ([ _kasa-obake_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasa-
obake) and _bake-neko_ ), as well as a human retaining their original form and
becoming a ghost. For example, in a manga, it is common for a human character
to say "私が死んだら化けて出てやる (If I die, I'll come back as a ghost/yūrei)!" using the
verb _bakeru_.

Naturally, the range of what お化け ( _obake_ ; a [noun
version](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/32311/5010) of 化ける) can refer to
is quite extensive. It encompasses all sorts of creatures that have "an
original form" such as a human, a fox, a cat, an umbrella, a pot, a lantern,
and so on. When people say お化け without context, it typically refers to
traditional Japanese creatures and human ghosts ( _yūrei_ ) like
[these](https://www.irasutoya.com/2013/08/blog-post_9820.html).

On the other hand, inherently unique creatures/species like _kappa_ , _oni_
and _tengu_ are called _yōkai_ , but they tend not to be referred to as
_obake_. Note that an _oni_ is not a shapeshifter just as western goblins and
ogres aren't shapeshifters. That said, the boundaries between _yōkai_ and
_obake_ are not always very strict, and different people may have slightly
different ideas about them.

In the narrow sense of "shapeshift", such as when a human turns into a wolf or
a cat turns into a human, people use 変身 (henshin). 変身 also includes
transformations like a human becoming Spider-Man or Ultraman.

