![]() ![]() Terrified by her monstrous form, Anchin sought refuge in a temple, where monks hid him beneath a bell. Realizing he had left her, Kiyohime followed him to a river and transformed into a serpent while swimming after his boat. Kiyohime was a young woman scorned by her lover, a monk named Anchin, who grew cold and lost interest in her. Here are just a few more tales from Japanese folklore of demons, ghosts, and other spirits you don’t want to mess with. Much of this list is comprised of hannya, which in Noh theater are women whose rage and jealousy turned them into oni while still alive. Other Japanese folktales of note are Momotaro the Peach Boy and The Oni Mask.Oni (demons) and yūrei (ghosts) have played a role in Japanese culture for thousands of years, and stories of new spirits continue to be told today. Unfortunately, the plan goes wrong, and the blue oni has to leave the town, so the red oni is even sadder. In this story, the red oni is sad because the villagers don’t like it, and so its good friend – a blue oni – hatches a plan so that the red oni is liked by the villagers in their town. Recently, there have been stories about kind demons, such as The Red Oni Who Cried. Even though it is detached from the body, the head tries to bite the lead warrior, who keeps it away by putting on two other helmets.Īt this point it is said that the demon is defeated and returns to its true form, at 50 feet tall and with fifteen horns! The warriors return the body to the village to show everyone they killed the demon. They knock it unconscious with a special drink and cut off its head. In this myth, the Shuten-douji is responsible for many women from a countryside village going missing.Ī group of warriors decide to go and save the women, meeting the Shuten-douji demon who has been doing all the kidnapping. The most famous is probably Shuten-douji. There are a few famous oni in Japanese demon lore. The performers don masks that seem to contain a demon’s spirit. To see oni give amazing taiko (Japanese drum) performances, visit Akita’s Namahage festival. Looking to enjoy a cup of Japanese tea or snack while reading up on Japanese mythology? Check out Sakuraco! Sakuraco sends authentic Japanese snacks, sweets, teas, and tableware straight from local Japanese makers right to your door! So enjoy a taste of Japan and read up! Consequently, this direction is believed to bring bad luck.Īn oni is also believed to be very strong hence, they can overpower humans. This combination of tiger (for the loin cloth) and ox (the horns) refers to the Japanese word for the northeast. They also have one or more horns on the top of their head, which are said to be those of an ox. Oni are generally depicted wearing a loincloth, a small piece of tiger skin that covers their modesty parts, but nothing else. They often have big, scraggy beards wild, staring eyes sharp claws and long, sharp teeth. It is unknown why the oni are these colors, but it is rare to see another color of oni. ![]() Oni are said to be bigger than a grown man, towering over humans, and scary, coming in red, blue, or green colors. Sometimes female oni are depicted in literature, but they will have always started as a male form, turning female-like when they are jealous. Well, onis generally have the same shape as people, more often than not men, with horns. Their clothing may also change based on how old the text is. Oni tend to look relatively similar with their color only making them unique. ![]() Initially, it is thought that the term ‘oni’ actually referred to any spirit, monster, or ghost, but gradually evolved to mean the oni that we know today. The name ‘oni’ comes from the Japanese reading of the Chinese character for ghost – 鬼. The demon (oni) is said to be the reborn spirit of an evil person who died, or even the spirit of someone wronged in their previous life – much like a ghost in Western mythology. It is assumed that oni did not originate in Japan but were rather brought to the country along with Buddhism, from China. Not much is known about when the Japanese oni first originated, but many theories point towards Buddhism as playing a part in the birth of the ogre in Japanese mythology. Alongside other famous creatures like the Japanese kappa, the Japanese oni is one of the most famous yokai (Japanese ghosts or spirits) demons in Japanese culture. The term oni describes the mythical demon or ogre that often appears in Japanese folklore. ![]()
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