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Jul 24, 2023 · Although oni are often likened to their counterparts in Western culture — demons and ogres, namely — their complexity doesn’t really allow for a direct, 1-to-1 comparison. Primarily, oni are shown as evil and fierce creatures, with a well-known appetite for murder and cannibalism.
- Alex Orlando
Japanese oni (鬼), on the other hand, are evil beings that have substance, live in certain places in the human world, such as mountains, have red or blue bodies with horns and fangs, are armed with kanabō (metal clubs), and can be physically killed by cutting with Japanese swords.
According to Japan’s techno-wizards, the northeast direction from which evil arrives is called “the demon’s gate” or the “Ox-Tiger” direction, based on the Chinese Zodiac. The latter supposedly explains why oni have long been portrayed with ox horns and wearing tiger-skin loincloths.
Jun 7, 2022 · Oni describes the mythical demon or ogre often appearing in Japanese folklore. Alongside other famous creatures like the Japanese kappa, the Japanese oni is one of Japanese culture’s most famous yokai (Japanese ghosts or spirits) demons.
Oni, in Japanese folklore, a type of demonic creature often of giant size, great strength, and fearful appearance. They are generally considered to be foreign in origin, perhaps introduced into Japan from China along with Buddhism. Cruel and malicious, they can, nevertheless, be converted to.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
In the old days of Japan, before the spirits were well-cataloged, oni could refer to almost any supernatural creature—ghosts, obscure gods, large or scary yōkai, even particularly vicious and brutal humans. As the centuries shaped the Japanese language, the definitions we know for the various kinds of monsters gradually came into being.
Oni were the cause behind epi-demics that killed people by the tens of thousands; conversely, these demons were also the harbingers of wealth and good fortune. Importantly, during the time period in question, oni pragmatically influenced the everyday spa-tial and temporal lives of people.
