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On the Etymology of Mouryou
The word mouryou (魍魎) is often translated as “goblin”. The translation, however, is inaccurate. 魍魎 is composed of two characters: 魍, which means “spirits of mountains and streams” and 魎, which means “spirits of trees and rocks”. Thus, 魍魎 is a term that encompasses all sorts of spirits, not just goblins. According to the Japanese Wikipedia, 魍魎 also includes spirits that dwell in graveyards, the kappa, youkai and even water deities.
Now, imagine you had a 魍魎の匣, a box of mouryou. Wouldn’t that be perfect for Halloween?
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a world inside a word! It’s always difficult to translate words like these, and it’s better off retained in its original Japanese form, as “mouryou”. I also think this is a relatively new word (or a really really rarely used term, considering its technicality), since most Japanese dictionaries don’t have this term.
I can’t also find the kanji for ? and ? in my Kanji dictionary. ?? must be an archaic term.
They used the term in Ga-rei Zero though. The subber translated it as “evil spirits”.