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Anoni (鬼) (/ˈoʊniː/OH-nee) is a kind ofyōkai,demon,orc,ogre, ortroll inJapanese folklore. They are believed to live in caves or deep in the mountains or in hell.[2] Oni are known for their superhuman strength and have been associated with powers like thunder and lightning,[2] along with their evil nature manifesting in their propensity formurder andcannibalism. They are typically portrayed as hulking figures with one or more horns growing out of their heads, massive teeth, and occasionally a third eye in the center of the forehead.[2][3] They are typically depicted with red, blue, black, or yellow colored skin, wearingloincloths oftigerpelt, and carrying ironkanabō clubs.[3] They also have three to six digits on each hand and foot tipped with claw-like nails.[4] Oni are able to change their looks to fool their victims into trusting them. Oni can be male or female, but have been predominantly male throughout history.[5] Female oni are sometimes referred to by the nameYamauba. When in disguise, oni are capable of appearing as a man or woman, regardless of their gender.[6] As monstrous as oni are, they have been linked to bringing good fortune and wealth.[7]
During theHeian period (794–1185),oni were often depicted inJapanese literature, such assetsuwa, as terrifying monsters that ate people. A prominent depiction ofoni is that they eat people in one mouthful, which is called "onihitokuchi". InNihon Ryōiki,The Tales of Ise andKonjaku Monogatarishū, for example, a woman is shown being eaten in one mouthful by anoni.[8] There is the theory that the reason why stories ofonihitokuchi were common is that wars, disasters, and famines where people lose their lives or go missing were interpreted asoni from another world appearing in the present world who take away humans.[9]
It was not until the legend ofShuten-dōji was created that theoni began to be depicted in paintings,[10] and the 14th centuryŌeyama ekotoba (大江山絵詞) is the oldest survivingemakimono (picture scroll) depictingShuten-dōji.Shuten-dōji has been regarded as the most famous and strongestoni in Japan. The legend ofShuten-dōji has been described since the 14th century in various arts, traditional performing arts and literature such asemakimono,jōruri,noh,kabuki,bunraku, andukiyo-e. Thetachi (Japanese long sword) "Dōjigiri" with whichMinamoto no Yorimitsu decapitatedShuten-dōji' in the legend is now designated as aNational Treasure and one of theTenka-Goken (Five Greatest Swords Under Heaven).[11][12]
They are popular characters inJapanese art,literature, andtheater[13] and appear asstock villains in the well-known fairytales ofMomotarō (Peach Boy),Issun-bōshi, andKobutori Jīsan. Although oni have been described as frightening creatures, they have become tamer in modern culture as people tell less frightening stories about them likeOni Mask andRed Oni Who Cried.
Oni, written inkanji as 鬼, is read in China asguǐ(pinyin), meaning something invisible, formless, or unworldly, in other words, a 'ghost' or the 'soul of the dead'. On the other hand, the Japanese dictionaryWamyō Ruijushō (和名類聚抄) written in Japan in the 10th century explained the origin of the wordoni as a corruption ofon/onu (隠), meaning 'to hide'. The dictionary explained thatoni is hidden and does not want to reveal itself. When the character for 鬼 was first introduced to Japan, it was pronounced aski (キ) in theon'yomi reading.[10][14][15]
The character 鬼 has changed over time in Japan to become its own entity, and there are significant differences between the Japaneseoni (鬼) and the Chineseguǐ (鬼). The Chineseguǐ generally refers to the disembodied spirits of the dead and are not necessarily evil. They usually reside in the underworld, but those with a grudge sometimes appear in the human world to haunt, andTaoist priests and others have used their supernatural powers to exterminate them. Japaneseoni (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 withkanabō (metal clubs), and can be physically killed by cutting withJapanese swords.[16][10][14]
TheIzumo no Kuni Fudoki (出雲国風土記) andNihon Shoki (日本書紀) are the earliest written examples ofoni as entities rather than soul of the dead. TheIzumo no Kuni Fudoki, whose compilation began in 713, tells the story of a one-eyedoni who ate a man.Nihon Shoki, completed in 720, tells of a hat (kasa)-wearingoni watching the funeral ofEmperor Saimei from the top of Mount Asakura. The character for 鬼 is believed to have been read asoni when theNihon Shoki was completed,[14] and was also read askami,mono, andshiko in the Heian period. InKonjaku Monogatarishū (今昔物語集), the character for 鬼 is read asmono. It was not until the end of the Heian period that the reading ofoni for the character 鬼 became almost universal.[15]
Particularly powerful oni may be described askishin orkijin (literally "oni god"; the "ki" is an alternate character reading of "oni"), a term used inJapanese Buddhism to refer toWrathful Deities.
Theoni wassyncretized withHindu-Buddhist creatures such as the man-devouringyaksha and therakshasa, and became theoni who tormented sinners as wardens of Hell (Jigoku), administering sentences passed down by Hell's magistrate, KingYama (Enma Daiō). Thehungry ghosts calledgaki (餓鬼) have also been sometimes considered a type ofoni (the Kanji for "ki" 鬼 is also read "oni"). Accordingly, a wicked soul beyond rehabilitation transforms into anoni after death. Only the very worst people turn intooni while alive, and these are theoni causing troubles among humans as presented in folk tales.
Some scholars have even argued that theoni was entirely a concept of Buddhist mythology.
Oni bring calamities to the land, bringing about war, plague/illness, earthquakes, and eclipses. They have the destructive power of lightning and thunder, which terrifies people through their auditory and visual effects.
Most Japanese folklore come from theKojiki (古事記, "Records of Ancient Matters" or "An Account of Ancient Matters") andNihongi (日本紀, "Japanese Chronicles"). These stories are the history and development of Japan inancient times. At the beginning of time and space,Takamagahara (高天原, "Plane of High Heaven" or "High Plane of Heaven") came into being, along with the three divine beingsAmenominakanushi (天之御中主, The Central Master or "Lord of the August Center of Heaven"),Takamimusubi (高御産巣日神, "High Creator"), andKamimusubi (神産巣日, The Divine Creator).[17] These three divine beings were known asKami,[18] and the three together are sometimes referred to asKotoamatsukami (別天神, literally "distinguishing heavenly kami"). They manifested the entire universe.[18] They were later joined by two more Kami,Umashiashikabihikoji (宇摩志阿斯訶備比古遅神, Energy) andAmenotokotachi (天之常立神, Heaven).
Finally, two lesser Kami were made to establish earth,Izanagi (イザナギ/伊邪那岐/伊弉諾, meaning "He-who-invites" or the "Male-who-invites") andIzanami (イザナミ, meaning "She-who-invites" or the "Female-who-invites").[19] These two were brother and sister. They also are married and had many children, one of them beingKagutsuchi (カグツチ, Fire).[20] Upon birth, Kagutsuchi mortally wounded Izanami, who went toYomi (黄泉, 黄泉の国, World of Darkness) on her death[21] and was transformed into a Kami of death.[22] Izanami, who gave life in the physical world, continued to do so in the underworld, ultimately creating the very first oni.
According to Chinese Taoism and esotericOnmyōdō, the ways ofyin and yang, thenortheasterly direction is termed thekimon (鬼門, "demon gate") and considered an unlucky direction through which evil spirits passed. Based on the assignment of thetwelve zodiac animals to the cardinal directions, thekimon was also known as theushitora (丑寅), or "OxTiger" direction. One hypothesis is that theoni's bovine horns and tiger-skin loincloth developed as a visual depiction of this term.[23][24][25]
Temples are often built facing that direction, for example,Enryaku-ji was deliberately built onMount Hiei which was in thekimon (northeasterly) direction fromKyoto in order to guard the capital, and similarlyKan'ei-ji was built towards that direction fromEdo Castle.[26][27]
However, skeptics doubt this could have been the initial design of Enryaku-ji temple, since the temple was founded in 788, six years before Kyoto even existed as a capital, and if the ruling class were sofeng shui-minded, the subsequent northeasterly move of the capital fromNagaoka-kyō to Kyoto would have certainly been taboo.[28]
Japanese buildings may sometimes have L-shaped indentations at the northeast to ward against oni. For example, the walls surrounding theKyoto Imperial Palace have notched corners in that direction.[29]
The traditional bean-throwing custom to drive outoni is practiced duringSetsubun festival in February. It involves people casting roastedsoybeans indoors or out of their homes and shouting "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" ("鬼は外！福は内！", "Oni go out! Blessings come in!"), preferably by a strong wrestler.[30][31]
This custom began with the aristocratic andsamurai classes in theMuromachi period (1336–1573). According to theAinōshō (壒嚢鈔),[32] a dictionary compiled in the Muromachi period, the origin of this custom is a legend from the 10th century during the reign ofEmperor Uda. According to the legend, a monk onMount Kurama threw roasted beans into the eyes ofoni to make them flinch and flee. Another theory is that the origin of this custom lies in the word 豆 (mame), which means bean. The explanation is that in Japanese, まめ, マメ (mame) can also be written as 魔目 (mame), meaning the devil's eye, or 魔滅 (mametsu), meaning to destroy the devil. During theEdo period (1603–1867), the custom spread toShinto shrines,Buddhist temples and the general public.[33][34][35]
Regionally aroundTottori Prefecture during this season, a charm made ofholly leaves and dried sardine heads is used as a guard against oni.[36][37]
There is also a well-known game in Japan calledoni gokko (鬼ごっこ), which is the same as the game oftag that children in the Western world play. The player who is "it" is instead called the "oni".[38][39]
Oni are featured in Japanese children's stories such asMomotarō (Peach Boy),Issun-bōshi, andKobutori Jīsan.
In more recent times,oni have lost some of their original wickedness[citation needed] and sometimes take on a more protective function. Men in oni costumes often lead Japaneseparades to dispel any bad luck, for example.
Japanese buildings sometimes include oni-faced roof tiles calledonigawara (鬼瓦), which are thought to ward away bad luck, much likegargoyles in Western tradition.[40]
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) (Translation: "A child that does not resemble its parents is the child of an oni.") may be used by a parent to chastise a misbehaving child.[41]
They can be used in stories to frighten children into obeying because of their grotesque appearance, savage demeanor, as well as how they can eat people in a single gulp.[42]
The oni remains a very popular motif in Japanese popular culture. Their varied modern depiction sometimes relies on just one or two distinctive features which mark a character as an oni, such as horns or a distinctive skin colour, although the character may otherwise appear human, lacking the oni's traditionally fearsome or grotesque features. The context of oni in popular culture is similarly varied, with instances such as appearances in animated cartoons, video games and use as commercial mascots.[citation needed]
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