It was created by the authors of shonen magazines published from 1960–1970 and illustrated yōkai encyclopedias. Shigeaki Yamauchi's World's Bizarre Thriller Complete Works 2: Monsters of the World (Akita Shoten, 1968) compiled articles about yōkai by Saitō Ryokuu. At the same time, it was also picked up by Shigeru Mizuki and Satō Aribumi, and from their introduction, the Gashadokuro became more widely known from 1980 on.