The Oni

In the many travels of Usagi Yojimbo, many are the creatures he has encountered, but none more brutish than the Oni. In the Usagi stories they are big strapping brutes who tower over our intrepid hero, wielding great clubs of whatever they can lay their hands on. Being from another plane, they are quite capable of amazing feats of strength and are resistant to being hurt. The closest creature that one would associate with an Oni from Usagi, is that of an Ogre. But the difference is in the face. The Oni of Usagi are terrible creatures to behold, with great devil or demon-like faces that hold the promise of a lingering death. Bu how much is based in actual myth?

Quite a bit, actually. Oni of Japanese myth were thought to have been Demons who looked like large humans except that they had three eyes, big mouths, horns and sharp nails. They were also thought to stay around the souls of wicked people to claim their souls. Oni were careful not to reveal their presence to the people at large, but instead worked at causing unnatural events such as enemy invasions, earthquakes, and eclipses. Once Oni were discovered, a cleansing ritual had to be performed. A sage would come to where the Oni was thought to be, and the Oni-Yarabi ceremony would be held. This would remove the Oni.

One rumour states that Oni would be called to this world by evil magic users to do their bidding, (the old 'summon the Demon to kill Usagi" theme!) but in order to control the Demon, the magic user would have to name it, to seal the pact. Usually this was done with the magic user giving his first name to the Oni, for example Oni No Hiro. This would bid the Demon to this world. There was one person the Oni did fear, though. Shoki, the God of the afterlife and exorcism. He is the chief enemy of the Oni. He would be called on to help get the rid of Demons like the Oni.

The Oni are regarded more often as phantoms rather than physical Demons, although they could take a physical form. The Oni phenomenon has been described and observed in many cultures, under various names, such as "demon", "spirit", "apparition", and "angel", and is the subject of traditional stories of many cultures.

So in closing, don't mess with the Oni! (Unless you're Shoki!ed.)

[Main] [Mystics] [Space Usagi] [Usagi Yojimbo] [Young Usagi]