Oni (鬼, Oni^?) are creatures from Japanese folklore, similar to Western demons such as ogres and trolls.^{[citation needed]} They are popular characters in Japanese art, literature and theatre. Japanese folklore is the folklore of Japan. ... Oni may refer to: Oni, Georgia, a town in the Republic of Georgia Oni (folklore) (鬼), the demons and ogres of Japanese folklore Oni (computer game), a third-person shooter video game made by Bungie Studios Oni (Dance Dance Revolution) (鬼), used to describe a special mode in the game Dance Dance... oni This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... A statue of an oni armed with a kanabō. The kanabō ) (metallic staff) is an iron or steel staff used in feudal Japan as a weapon. ... Japanese folklore is the folklore of Japan. ... “Fiend” redirects here. ... This article is about the mythological creature. ... Trolls with an abducted princess (John Bauer, 1915). ... Bronze statue of Amida Buddha at Kotokuin in Kamakura (1252 CE) Japanese art covers a wide range of art styles and media, including ancient pottery, sculpture in wood and bronze, ink painting on silk and paper, and a myriad of other types of works of art. ... Japanese literature spans a period of almost two millennia. ... Traditional Japanese theatre includes kabuki, noh and bunraku. ...

Appearance

Depictions of oni vary widely but usually portray them as hideous, gigantic creatures with sharp claws, wild hair, and two long horns growing from their heads. They are humanoid for the most part, but occasionally, they are shown with unnatural features such as odd numbers of eyes or extra fingers and toes. Their skin may be any number of colors, but blue, black, purple, pink, brown, green, white, and especially red, are particularly common (and indeed, constitute almost all known colors). Their fierce appearance is only enhanced by the tiger-skin loincloths they tend to wear and the iron clubs they favor, called kanabō (金棒, kanabō^?). This image leads to the expression "oni with an iron club" (鬼に金棒, oni-ni-kanabō^?), that is, to be invincible or undefeatable. It can also be used in the sense of "strong beyond strong", or having one's natural quality enhanced or supplemented by the use of some tool. Cat claw A claw is a curved pointed appendage, found at the end of a toe or finger or, in arthropods, of the tarsus. ... Highland cow, a very old long-horned breed from Scotland. ... The term humanoid refers to any being whose body structure resembles that of a human. ... For other uses, see Tiger (disambiguation). ... A loincloth is a one-piece male garment, sometimes kept in place by a belt, which covers the genitals and, at least partially, the buttocks. ...

Origins

The word "oni" is sometimes speculated to be derived from on, the on'yomi reading of a character (隠) meaning to hide or conceal, as oni were originally invisible spirits or gods which caused disasters, disease, and other unpleasant things. These nebulous beings could also take on a variety of forms to deceive (and often devour) humans. Thus a Chinese character (鬼) meaning "ghost" came to be used for these formless creatures. Japanese writing Kanji Kana Hiragana Katakana Hentaigana Manyōgana Uses Furigana Okurigana Rōmaji   ) are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with hiragana (平仮名), katakana (片仮名), and the Arabic numerals. ...

The invisible oni eventually became anthropomorphized and took on its modern, ogre-like form, partly via syncretism with creatures imported by Buddhism, such as the Indian rakshasa and yaksha, the hungry ghosts called gaki, and the devilish underlings of Enma-Ō who punish sinners in Jigoku (Hell). This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A silhouette of Buddha at Ayutthaya, Thailand. ... A rakshasa (Sanskrit: रा॑क्षसः, ; alternately, raksasa or rakshas) is a demon or unrighteous spirit in Hinduism. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... A hungry ghost is a kind of ghost associated with hunger common to many religions. ... In Japanese Buddhism, Gaki (餓鬼, hungry ghosts) are the spirits of jealous or greedy people who, as punishment for their mortal vices, have been cursed with an insatiable hunger for a particular substance or object. ... A modern depiction of Yamarajas Court, by Dominique Amendola Tibetan Dharmapala at the Field Museum in Chicago 19th century kagamibuta netsuke depicting Enma This article is about the deity Yama. ... Diyu (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ti-yü; Japanese: 地獄, jigoku, literally earth prison) is the realm of the dead or hell in Chinese mythology. ...

Some also say that the oni were guardians that protected humans, and that demons who were envious of their powers took their name. This theory is shown in "The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask", as well as other legends and stories.

The Demon Gate

Another source for the oni's image is a concept from China and Onmyōdō. The northeast direction was once termed the kimon (鬼門, "demon gate"), and was 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 (丑寅), or "ox tiger" direction, and the oni's bovine horns and cat-like fangs, claws, and tiger-skin loincloth developed as a visual depiction of this term. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Chinese astrology (占星術 pinyin: zhan4 xing1 shu4; 星學 pinyin: xing1 xue2; 七政四餘 pinyin: qi1 zheng4 si4 yu2; and 果老星宗 pinyin: guo3 lao3 xing1 zong1) is related to the Chinese calendar, particularly its 12-year cycle of animals (aka Chinese Zodiac), and...

Temples are often built facing that direction, and Japanese buildings sometimes have L-shaped indentions at the northeast to ward oni away. Enryakuji, on Mount Hiei northeast of the center of Kyoto, and Kaneiji, in that direction from Edo Castle, are examples. The Japanese capital itself moved northeast from Nagaoka to Kyoto in the 8th century.^{[citation needed]} Temple of Hephaestus, an Doric Greek temple in Athens with the original entrance facing east, 449 BC (western face depicted) For other uses, see Temple (disambiguation). ... Enryakuji (延暦寺), a monastery on Mount Hiei (比叡山) overlooking Kyoto, was founded during the late eighth and early ninth centuries by Saicho (最澄: 767-822 AD), also known as Dengyo Daishi (傳教大師), who introduced the Tendai (天台; Chinese tian1 tai2) sect... Mount Hiei (Jp. ... Kyoto )   is a city in the central part of the island of HonshÅ«, Japan. ... Edo Castle (江戸城 -jō) was built in 1457 by ÅŒta Dōkan in what is now the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo, but was then known as Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Kyoto )   is a city in the central part of the island of HonshÅ«, Japan. ... (7th century — 8th century — 9th century — other centuries) Events The Iberian peninsula is taken by Arab and Berber Muslims, thus ending the Visigothic rule, and starting almost 8 centuries of Muslim presence there. ...

Traditional culture

Some villages hold yearly ceremonies to drive away oni, particularly at the beginning of Spring. During the Setsubun festival, people throw soybeans outside their homes and shout "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" ("Demons out! Luck in!" "鬼は外！福は内！"). Monkey statues are also thought to guard against oni, since the Japanese word for monkey, saru, is a homophone for the word for "leaving". In Japanese versions of the game tag, the player who is "it" is instead called the "oni". This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Setsubun, Tokuan shrine In Japan, Setsubun (節分) is the day before the beginning of each season. ... Binomial name (L.) Merr. ... Approximate worldwide distribution of monkeys. ... Look up Homophone in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Tag (also known as it, had, he, tips, tig, touch, tiggy, tick, dobby, chasing, chasemaster, chasey and other names) is an informal playground game that usually involves two or more players attempting to tag other players by touching them with an object, usually their hands. ...

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 ward off any bad luck, for example. Japanese buildings sometimes include oni-faced roof tiles called onigawara (鬼瓦, onigawara^?), which are thought to ward away bad luck, much as gargoyles in Western tradition. United States Marines on parade. ... This article is about good and bad fortune. ... A gargoyle adorning the Dornoch Cathedral in Dornoch, Scotland. ...

Oni are prominently featured in the Japanese children's story Momotaro (Peach Boy). Bisque doll of Momotaro Momotaro (peach boy) is a hero from Japanese folklore. ...

Many Japanese idioms and proverbs also make reference to oni. For example, the expression 親に似ぬ子は鬼の子 oya-ni ninu ko-wa oni-no ko means literally "a child that does not resemble its parents is the child of an oni," but it is used idiomatically to refer to the fact that all children naturally take after their parents, and in the odd case that a child appears not to do so, it might be because the child's true biological parents are not the ones who are raising the child. Depending on the context in which it is used, it can have connotations of "children who do not act like their parents are not true human beings (because real human children always take after their parents)," and may be used by a parent to chastise a misbehaving child. Variants of this expression include 親に似ぬ子は鬼子 oya-ni ninu ko-wa onigo and 親に似ぬ子は鬼っ子 oya-ni ninu ko-wa onikko.

References

• Mizuki, Shigeru (2003). Mujara 3: Kinki-hen. Japan: Soft Garage, p. 29. ASIN 4861330068. 
• Shiryōshitsu Oni Kan
• Japanese Wikipedia: Oni
• The Japanese Oni

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Shigeru Mizuki (水木しげる b. ...

External links

• Article on Oni at The Obakemono Project