Oni (鬼?) are creatures from Japanese folklore, variously translated as demons, devils, ogres or trolls. Japanese folklore is the Folklore of Japan. It is heavily influenced by both Shinto and Buddhism, the two primary religions in the country The Devil is the An ogre (feminine ogress) is a large cruel and hideous Humanoid Monster, featured in mythology folklore and fiction A troll is a fearsome member of a race of creatures from Norse mythology. They are popular characters in Japanese art, literature and theatre. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. 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 Japanese literature spans a period of almost two millennia Early works were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written 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. A claw is a curved pointed appendage found at the end of a toe or finger in most Mammals, Birds, and some Reptiles. A horn is a pointed projection of the Skin on the head of various Mammals consisting of a covering of horn ( Keratin and other Proteins 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. The term " humanoid " refers to any being whose body structure resembles that of a Human. Their skin may be any number of colors, but red and blue are particularly common. They are often depicted wearing tiger-skin loincloths and carrying iron clubs, called kanabō (金棒?). The tiger ( Panthera tigris) is a member of the Felidae family the largest and the most powerful of the four " Big cats quot in the Genus A loincloth is a one-piece male garment sometimes kept in place by a belt, which covers the The ( metallic staff) is an Iron or Steel staff used in feudal Japan as a Weapon. The ( metallic staff) is an Iron or Steel staff used in feudal Japan as a Weapon. 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.
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. are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with Hiragana (ひらがな 平仮名 Katakana The English word " spirit " comes from the Latin " spiritus " (breath 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. A ghost is said to be the apparition of a Deceased person frequently similar in appearance to that person and usually encountered in places she or he frequented
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). Anthropomorphism is the attribution of uniquely Human characteristics to non-human creatures and beings natural and supernatural phenomena material states and objects Syncretism consists of the attempt to reconcile disparate or contradictory beliefs often while melding practices of various schools of thought Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices A rakshasa ( Sanskrit: राक्षसः rākṣasaḥ; alternately rakshas, Malay: raksasa, Bengali: rakshosh Yaksha ( Sanskrit यक्ष yakṣa, yakkha in Pāli) is the name of a broad class of nature-spirits usually benevolent who are In East Asian religion a hungry ghost is a kind of Ghost associated with Hunger common to many religions Preta ( Sanskrit) or Peta ( Pāli) Tibetan yidvags, is the name for a type of Supernatural being described in Buddhist | Llama, the animal Yama ( Sanskrit: यम also known as Yamarāja (यमराज in India Yanluowang (閻羅王 or simply Yan Diyu ( literally "earth prison" is the realm of the dead or " Hell " in Chinese mythology.
The Demon Gate
Another source for the oni's image is a concept from China and Onmyōdō. is a traditional Japanese Esoteric cosmology, a mixture of Natural science and Occultism. 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. The Chinese Zodiac is a 12 year cycle Each year of the 12 year cycle is named after one of the original 12 animals
Temples are often built facing that direction, and Japanese buildings sometimes have L-shaped indentions at the northeast to ward oni away. A temple (from the Latin word Templum) is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities such as prayer and sacrifice or analogous rites Enryakuji, on Mount Hiei northeast of the center of Kyoto, and Kaneiji, in that direction from Edo Castle, are examples. Not to be confused with Engaku-ji in Kamakura., a Monastery on Mount Hiei overlooking Kyoto, was founded is a mountain to the northeast of Kyoto city lying on the border between the Kyoto and Shiga prefectures Japan. (IPA /kʲoːto / is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. also known as, is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan. The Japanese capital itself moved northeast from Nagaoka to Kyoto in the 8th century. (IPA /kʲoːto / is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. The 8th century is the period from 701 to 800 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era.
Traditional culture
Some villages hold yearly ceremonies to drive away oni, particularly at the beginning of Spring. Spring is one of the four Temperate Seasons Spring marks the transition from Winter into Summer. During the Setsubun festival, people throw soybeans outside their homes and shout "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" ("鬼は外！福は内！"? "Demons out! Luck in!"). In Japan, Setsubun (ja 節分 is the day before the beginning of each Season. Monkey statues are also thought to guard against oni, since the Japanese word for monkey, saru, is a homophone for the word for "leaving". A monkey is any member of either the New World monkeys or Old World monkeys two of the three groupings of Simian Primates the third group being is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning In Japanese versions of the game tag, the player who is "it" is instead called the "oni". Tag (also known as it, had, he, tips, tig, touch, tiggy, tick, dobby, chasing
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. A parade (also called march or marchpast) is a procession of people usually organized along a street often in Costume, and often accompanied by Fire Luck (also called fortunity) is a chance happening, or that which happens beyond a person's control. Japanese buildings sometimes include oni-faced roof tiles called onigawara (鬼瓦?), which are thought to ward away bad luck, much as gargoyles in Western tradition. Chinese imperial roof decoration or roof charms or roof-figures (檐獸 / 檐兽 Pinyin Chinese imperial roof decoration or roof charms or roof-figures (檐獸 / 檐兽 Pinyin In Architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone Grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building
Oni are prominently featured in the Japanese children's story Momotaro (Peach Boy), and the book The Funny Little Woman. is a popular Hero from Japanese folklore. His name literally means Peach Tarō; as Tarō is a common Japanese boy's name it is often translated as The Funny Little Woman is a book by Arlene Mosel ("retold by" and illustrated by Blair Lent.
Many Japanese idioms and proverbs also make reference to oni. For example, the expression oya-ni ninu ko-wa oni-no ko (親に似ぬ子は鬼の子?) 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 oya-ni ninu ko-wa onigo (親に似ぬ子は鬼子?) and oya-ni ninu ko-wa onikko (親に似ぬ子は鬼っ子?).
Popular culture
The tokusatsu production Kamen Rider Hibiki built up on the image of the Oni as protectors of humans from other malevolent creatures and demons in Japanese folklore; in this case, however, they are not purely supernatural beings but empowered humans who are said to have "shed their humanity. is a Japanese word that literally means " Special effects " It is primarily used to refer to Live-action Japanese Film and is a Japanese Tokusatsu superhero television series It is the fifteenth installment in the popular Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu programs Takeshi (猛士 is a fictional secret organization in the Japanese Tokusatsu production Kamen Rider Hibiki (仮面ライダー響鬼 "
References
- Mizuki, Shigeru (2003). born March 8, 1922 in Sakaiminato Tottori, is a Japanese manga author, most known for his Shōnen Japanese horror manga Mujara 3: Kinki-hen. Japan: Soft Garage, p. 29. ASIN 4861330068.
- Shiryōshitsu Oni Kan
- Japanese Wikipedia: Oni
- The Japanese Oni
External links
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