Oni yokai

Interest in Japanese yokai culture has exploded in recent years.

Oni are a type of yokai that can be in the form of demons, devils, ogres, or trolls. Oni are generally thought of as evil beings. All oni possess extreme strength and constitution, and many of them are also accomplished sorcerers. They are ferocious demons, bringers of disaster, spreaders of disease, and publishers of the damned in Hell. They are usually depicted with red, blue, brown or black skin with red and blue being the most common , two horns on its head, a wide mouth filled with fangs, and wearing nothing but a tiger skin loincloth. 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.

Oni yokai

Born in Specializes in Japanese religious history. Completed her doctorate in history and anthropology at Tsukuba University in While many researchers in Japan have studied ancient and medieval materials to write about the oni from the viewpoint of literature or folklore studies, scholar Koyama Satoko is the first to trace the image of the oni and its social background from a historical perspective. Tracing the oni lineage means peering into the psyche of the Japanese people. Gui were talked about as part of the world of folk religions, Confucianism, and Daoism, and also took influence from Buddhism, after it spread to China. Gui were also thought to spread disease. The concept spread to Japan no later than the seventh century, transforming to become more easily accepted. In the Heian period [—], mononoke [the spirits of unknown people] were sometimes called oni , but the Chinese idea of using the word for all the spirits of the dead was only partially adopted. In China, gui could be good or evil, but the word oni came to be used only for evil beings in Japan. There was also a strong influence from esoteric Buddhism , which had incorporated the concept of godlike oni. Ancient national histories, compiled under imperial orders, include descriptions of oni activities.

In China, gui could be good or evil, oni yokai, but the word oni came to be used only for evil beings in Japan. The boundary between kappa ad other kinds of creatures is blurred. Today there is remarkable progress oni yokai the realm of yokai scholarship in Japan, so there has never been a better time to explore the oni yokai of the inexplicable and find out for yourself what really is a yokai!

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Ushi-oni generally appear on beaches and attack people who walk there. Ushi-oni have brutal, savage personalites. Their appearance varies, mainly based on geographical location. They usually have an ox 's head with sharp upward-curving horns, wicked fangs and a slender tongue. They spit poison and enjoy killing and eating humans. Their body is most commonly depicted as spider-like with six legs and long singular claws at the end of each appendage. In other descriptions, they have the head of an ox and an oni 's torso. Certain legends claim that they appear in front of temple gates in the mountains wearing human clothing, or flying with the wings of an insect. Other ushi-oni have a reverse appearance, with an oni's head and an ox's body. They are said to appears in beaches, in mountains, in forests, in rivers, in swamps, and in lakes.

Oni yokai

Interest in Japanese yokai culture has exploded in recent years. Painting and prints of shape-shifting animals, water-spirits and city ghouls are emerging at exhibitions all around Japan, and across the world. The eerie and strange has long influenced Japanese art. But what is a yokai, where are they from, and what do they do?

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Yuki Onna. As time has gone on there have been more and more variety in the depiction of oni. Fuku-chan, at right, defeats an oni, while another child slashes an oni disguised as an enemy solder at left. And the fear toward disabled children and foreigners meant that they were also viewed as oni. However, these trendsetters proudly reclaimed the word as a means to celebrate their devotion to dark, tanned skin, bleached blonde locks, and frosted eyeshadow. The eerie and strange has long influenced Japanese art. Log in now. Painting and prints of shape-shifting animals, water-spirits and city ghouls are emerging at exhibitions all around Japan, and across the world. ART October 6, A yurei is depicted in a white kimono , a burial gown used in Edo period funeral rituals. But as is the case with most Japanese yokai, its name is suggestive. It is a twisting and morphing of something once familiar to the reader, until it no longer was. They crush and destroy humans solely for enjoyment.

Yokai — shapeshifting spirits and fantastical demons of Japanese folklore. But which of these mystical creatures could be considered the most powerful and iconic?

View fullsize. The Izumo fudoki , a collection of local reports compiled in in what is now Shimane Prefecture , reports that a one-eyed oni devoured a farmer who was plowing a rice field. It is no coincidence that their rise to the forefront of artistic culture began at a time when the printing press and publishing technology became widespread. There was also a strong influence from esoteric Buddhism , which had incorporated the concept of godlike oni. Japanese racoon dogs, or Tanuki, are mischievous tricksters often depicted with a bottle of sake, rather comically large testicles and wearing a straw hat. Kappa Netsuke, 18th Century, the Met Museum. Interestingly enough, the Japanese word for giraffe is also kirin , perhaps because the African animal shares similarities with the Kirin: horns, scale-like patterned skin, and long legs. The Tanuki is rivalved only by the Kitsune in terms of popularity and magical ability in modern Japanese folklore. Specializes in Japanese religious history. Yuki Onna.