Demons: Oni

Mythological Demons

An oni is a kind of yōkai, demon, orc, ogre, or troll in Japanese folklore. Oni are mostly known for their fierce and evil nature manifested in their propensity for murder and cannibalism.

Not withstanding their evil reputation, oni possess intriguingly complex aspects that cannot be brushed away simply as evil.

They are typically portrayed as hulking figures with one or more horns growing out of their heads. Stereotypically, they are conceived of as red, blue, black, yellow, or whitecolored, wearing loincloths of tiger pelt, and carrying iron kanabō clubs.

A creature instills fear and danger from their grotesque outward appearance to their wild and strange behaviors and dangerous powers.

They are popular characters in Japanese art, literature, and theater and appear as stock villains in the well-known fairytales of Momotarō (Peach Boy), Issun-bōshi, and Kobutori Jīsan.

Although Oni have been described as frightening creatures, they have become tamer in modern culture as people tell less frightening stories about them like Oni Mask and Red Oni Who Cried.

Shuten-dōji has been regarded as the most famous and strongest oni in Japan. The legend of Shuten-dōji has been described since the 14th century in various arts, traditional performing arts and literature such as emakimono, jōruri, noh and kabuki. The tachi (Japanese long sword) “Dōjigiri” with which Minamoto no Yorimitsu decapitated Shutendōji’ in the legend is now designated as a National Treasure and one of the Tenka-Goken (Five Greatest Swords Under Heaven).

Depictions of yokai oni vary widely but usually portray them as hideous, gigantic ogre-like creatures with a single horn or multiple horns emerging from their heads, with sharp claws, wild hair, and fang-like tusks.

They are often depicted wearing tiger-skin loincloths and carrying iron clubs called kanabō. This image leads to the expression “oni with an iron

Oni

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Mythological Demons

club” (oni-nikanab), that is, to be invincible or undefeatable.

Their skin may be any number of colors, but red, blue, and green are particularly common. They may sometimes also be depicted as black-skinned, or yellow-skinned.

They may occasionally be depicted with a third eye on their forehead, or extra fingers and toes.

They are predominantly male but they can be female because of being overcome with grief or jealousy.

Oni can come in many different sizes ranging in both weight and height

Origins An old etymology for “oni” is that the word derives from on, the on’yomi reading of a character meaning “to hide or conceal”, due to oni having the tendency of “hiding behind things, not wishing to appear”.

This explanation is found in the 10th century dictionary Wamyōshō, which reveals that the oni at the time had a different meaning, defined as “a soul/spirit of the dead”.

The character for oni, (pinyin: gu; Jyutping: gwai2) in Chinese also means a dead or ancestral spirit, and not necessarily an evil specter.

Accordingly, Chinese (Taoist) origins for the concept of oni have been proposed. Particularly powerful oni may be described as kishin or kijin (literally “oni god”; the “ki” is an alternate character reading of “oni”), a term used in Japanese Buddhism to refer to Wrathful Deities.

The oni was syncretized with Hindu-Buddhist creatures such as the man-devouring yaksha and the rakshasa, and became the oni who tormented sinners as wardens of Hell (Jigoku), administering sentences passed down by Hell’s magistrate, King Yama (Enma Dai).

The hungry ghosts called gaki have also been sometimes considered a type of oni (the Kanji for “ki” is also read “oni”).Accordingly, a wicked soul beyond rehabilitation transforms into an oni after death.

Only the very worst people turn into oni while alive, and these are the oni

Oni

Mythological Demons

causing troubles among humans as presented in folk tales.

Some scholars have even argued that the oni was entirely a concept of Buddhist mythology.

Oni bring calamities to the land, bringing about war, plague/ illness, earthquakes, and eclipses. They have the destructive power of lightning and thunder, which terrifies people through their auditory and visual effects.

Oni have a massive appetite for human flesh and can eat a person in a single gulp. They are said to suck in a human’s vital energy and devour her or his flesh.

Oni are capable of transforming into both male and female forms at will, and can change from their grotesque form to a handsome man so that they can gain the trust of their victim.

Demon gate According to Chinese Taoism and esoteric Onmyōdō, the ways of yin and yang, the northeasterly direction is termed the kimon (“demon gate”) and considered an unlucky direction through which evil spirits passed.

Based on the assignment of the twelve zodiac animals to the cardinal directions, the kimon was also known as the ushitora, or “Ox Tiger” direction. One hypothesis is that the oni’s bovine horns and tiger-skin loincloth developed as a visual depiction of this term.

Temples are often built facing that direction, for example, Enryakuji was deliberately built on Mount Hiei which was in the kimon (northeasterly) direction from Kyoto in order to guard the capital, and similarly Kan’ei-ji was built towards that direction from Edo Castle.

However, skeptics doubt this could have been the initial design of Enryakuji temple, since the temple was founded in 788, six years before Kyoto even existed as a capital, and if the ruling class were so feng shui-minded, the subsequent northeasterly move of the capital from Nagaoka-kyō to Kyoto would have certainly been taboo.

Japanese buildings may sometimes have L-shaped indentations at the northeast to ward against oni. For example, the walls surrounding the Kyoto Imperial

Oni

Mythological Demons

Palace have notched corners in that direction.

Traditional culture The traditional beanthrowing custom to drive out oni is practiced during Setsubun festival in February.

It involves people casting roasted soybeans indoors or out of their homes and shouting

“Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!” (“Oni go out! Blessings come in!”),

preferably by a strong wrestler.

This custom has grown from the medieval ritual of tsuina (Chinese: nuo) or oni-yarai, a year-end rite to drive away oni (ghosts).

Regionally around Tottori Prefecture during this season, a charm made of holly leaves and dried sardine heads are used as a guard against oni.

There is also a game in Japan called oni gokko, which is the same as the game of tag that children in the Western world play. The player who is “it” is instead called the “oni”.

Oni are featured in Japanese children’s stories such as Momotarō (Peach Boy), Issun-bōshi, and Kobutori Jīsan.

Modern times In more recent times, oni have lost some of their original wickedness and sometimes take on a more protective function. Men in oni costumes often lead Japanese parades to dispel any bad luck, for example.

Japanese buildings sometimes include onifaced roof tiles called onigawara, which are thought to ward away bad luck, much like gargoyles in Western tradition.

Many Japanese idioms and proverbs also make reference to oni. For example, the expression “Oya ni ninu ko wa oni no ko” (Translation: “A child that does not resemble its parents is the child of an oni.”) may be used by a parent to chastise a misbehaving child.

They can be used in stories to frighten children into obeying because of their grotesque appearance, savage demeanor, as well as how they can eat people in a single gulp.

Oni

https://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Oni