Oni

Part of a series on
Japanese mythology and folklore
Mythic texts
Kojiki Nihon Shoki Fudoki Kujiki Kogo Shūi Konjaku Monogatarishū Nihon Ryōiki
Divinities
Amaterasu Ame-no-Uzume Inari Izanagi Izanami Kami Myōjin Seven Lucky Gods Susanoo
Legendary creatures and urban legends
Kitsune Oni Onryō Tengu Yōkai Yūrei
Mythical and sacred locations
Mount Hiei Mount Fuji Izumo Ryūgū-jō Takamagahara Yomi Jigoku
Sacred objects
Amenonuhoko Kusanagi Tonbogiri Three Sacred Treasures
Shintō and Buddhism
Bon Festival Setsubun Ema Torii Shinto shrines Buddhist temples
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An oni (鬼（おに）) (/oʊni/ OH-nee) is a kind of yōkai, demon, orc, ogre, or troll in Japanese folklore. They are believed to live in caves or deep in the mountains.^[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 for murder and cannibalism. 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.^[3][4] They are typically depicted with red, blue, black, or yellow colored skin, wearing loincloths of tiger pelt, and carrying iron kanabō clubs.^[4] They also have three to six digits on each hand and foot tipped with claw-like nails.^[5] 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.^[6] Female oni are sometimes referred to by the name Yamauba. When in disguise, oni are capable of appearing as a man or woman, regardless of their gender.^[7] As monstrous as oni are, they have been linked to bringing good fortune and wealth.^[8]

During the Heian period (794–1185), oni were often depicted in Japanese literature, such as setsuwa, as terrifying monsters that ate people. A prominent depiction of oni is that they eat people in one mouthful, which is called "onihitokuchi". In Nihon Ryōiki, The Tales of Ise and Konjaku Monogatarishū, for example, a woman is shown being eaten in one mouthful by a oni.^[9] There is the theory that the reason why stories of onihitokuchi were common is that wars, disasters, and famines where people lose their lives or go missing were interpreted as oni from another world appearing in the present world who take away humans.^[10]

It was not until the legend of Shuten-dōji was created that the oni began to be depicted in paintings,^[11] and the 14th century Ōeyama ekotoba (大江山絵詞) is the oldest surviving emakimono (picture scroll) depicting Shuten-dōji. Shuten-dōji has been regarded as the most famous and strongest oni in Japan. The legend of Shuten-dōji has been described since the 14th century in various arts, traditional performing arts and literature such as emakimono, jōruri, noh, kabuki, bunraku, and ukiyo-e. The tachi (Japanese long sword) "Dōjigiri" with which Minamoto no Yorimitsu decapitated Shuten-dōji' in the legend is now designated as a National Treasure and one of the Tenka-Goken (Five Greatest Swords Under Heaven).^[12][13]

They are popular characters in Japanese art, literature, and theater^[14] and appear as stock villains in the well-known fairytales of Momotarō (Peach Boy), Issun-bōshi, and Kobutori Jīsan. Although oni have been described as frightening creatures, they have become tamer in modern culture as people tell less frightening stories about them like Oni Mask and Red Oni Who Cried.