Japanese Demon Lore: Oni from Ancient Times to the Present

by Noriko T. Reider

Oni, ubiquitous supernatural figures in Japanese literature, lore, art, and religion, usually appear as demons or ogres. Characteristically threatening, monstrous creatures with ugly features and fearful habits, including cannibalism, they also can be harbingers of prosperity, beautiful and sexual, and especially in modern contexts, even cute and lovable. There has been much ambiguity in their character and identity over their long history. Usually male, their female manifestations convey distinctivly gendered social and cultural meanings. Oni appear frequently in various arts and media, from Noh theater and picture scrolls to modern fiction and political propaganda, They remain common figures in popular Japanese anime, manga, and film and are becoming embedded in American and international popular culture through such media. Noriko Reiderýs book is the first in English devoted to oni. Reider fully examines their cultural history, multifaceted roles, and complex significance as "others" to the Japanese.

Genres: Nonfiction, Mythology, Japan, Folklore

208 pages, Hardcover

First published September 30, 2010

Reviews

[Andre · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book because the title and summary sounded like a good introduction to the topic of Oni in Japanese folklore, legend, religion and fiction/pop culture.
Well, I am not sure whether it was, since it doesn't just target specific legends and summarizes them for the readers but it does the same with certain examples of anime as well and I am not sure whether it was necessary. However it does sound like the author knew what she was writing about for the most part and what she wrote about the general characteristics of Oni, especially the further we come to the present, does seem to fit the representations of Oni in Japanese culture that I have seen so far. With the "adaptations" in the West that I have seen it's slightly different, but there weren't so many and the cases where they didn't fit at all, it seems the name was chosen to have a sort of "aha" effect but otherwise they have nothing specific in common with actual Japanese oni. A good example would be the "Oni" from the TV show Teen Wolf who for all intense and purposes act and look rather like fantasy ninjas (not only in looks but also powers and weaponry) and are created (seriously) in a manner that is more reminiscent of shikigami than anything else (except that the medium is not paper). But I would not be surprised if in such cases the creators rather wanted to sound cool and learned than anything else, in fact I am expecting it. In fact that show's many mistakes in terms of mythology made me pick up this book here and I do not regret the decision since it was pretty interesting and informative, it is just that my knowledge on Oni is not very deep so I could be wrong in asserting that the books was good in that regard.
But nonetheless it was interesting to see how the term "Oni" might have originated in China with a certain character (sadly not shown here) that is the origin for the word "oni" and how ethnic groups that did not assimilate the precepts of hegemonic authority are described as such by the Han before the period of Six Dynasties (220-589) in China. In fact back then the character meant "invisible soul/spirit of the dead, both ancestral and evil." Other sources trace the origin of Oni to abandoned shikigami, or associate them with foreigners, social outcasts and generally people outside of the emperor's reign. However when the book listed the general characteristics (outsiders, lightning, transformation etc) of Oni I did not agree with it, since it stated cannibalism to be a general feature, however in all presented cases the Oni ate humans but not each other and since for the most part Oni are not and never were human I think the term "cannibalism" is not appropriate here, I would say "anthropophagy" fits better.
I was also confused about the author's use of the word "demon" since I could not figure out what pattern the translation was following. In some cases it seemed to be the translation of "Oni," in others it was definitely the translation and in others again it was the translation for a different word ("yagyo"). So where was the logic/consistency? When you really go by European folklore, then "oni" are more similar to ogres, giants and trolls rather than demons. That was just weird. Furthermore, I would not say the hero Raiko has a connection to Oni just because he is related to the thunder god and Oni are usually associated with thunder and lightning. It just seems a tad farfetched to me.
It was good however to read that Japan is not the homogeneous society that many think it is and that indeed a number of minority groups exist that have historically faced discrimination by Mainstream Japanese (something reminiscent of my own country). The information on the fiction of postwar Japan was interesting but I really wonder whether it is necessary for this book to go so much in detail with it especially since it did not do it with other topics that might have warranted more coverage like the chapter titled "Sex, Violence, and Victimization: Modern Oni and Lonely Japanese" where I had expected a bit more. I also wondered why for instance the author's reasoned that the main character in Devilman is an oni. In my mind this association was pretty vague, since not having a clear line between good and evil or being the marginalized "other" is not exclusive to Oni (neither in nor outside of Japan), in fact Devilman lacks pretty much all the other significant characteristics of Oni that the author herself had listed. Also I would not agree with equating that character Yubaba from the anime "Spirited away" with an Oni; since it is also a tad farfetched in my eyes, she could just as well be associated with a Western witch or maybe even a Japanese one, albeit I am not as familiar with sorcerers in Japanese culture. In fact in terms of pop culture I really had one of the more obvious cases where the assignment of Oni status by the author to certain characters was really odd. Based on her own words her translation of the name Inuyasha as "dog-demon" is wrong, as she described a yasha as an oni and she uses that word as a separate word from demon, well sometimes. This book is confusing in this regard. Not to mention that the connection the author drew between Inuyasha and oni was already odd but the one between Naraku and earth spiders (in her mind therefore oni) is even weirder because she ignores that among the yokai that attached themselves to Onigumo's body and so formed Naraku the leader was a spider yokai and the show featured several oni over its course. Not to mention she says the anime had 3 movies and not 4, which is odd since Nr. 4 came out 6 years before this book. Furthermore the third movie was the only time as far as I know where Inuyasha was ever referred to as an Oni and at that moment he was possessed by an evil sword. She also drew a connection between the yamauba and those Japanese girls that dye their hair silver and blond and tan in very specific ways. I forgot how they are called but that connection also seems not well supported by the author, like most of the ones that seemed odd to me were.
So all in all I would recommend this book as an interesting read and introduction into the topic, but I would not believe everything 100% what this book tells you.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great literary and media analysis of the oni phenomenon from its birth as mythology to its insertion into popular culture. Charting the warp and weft of what kind of identity oni were assigned, the author also ends up charting Japan's evolving relationship with its own mythology.

[Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Довольно интересная и познавательная монография о японском фольклоре, по крайней мере, той его части, что касается так называемых oni.

Узнал много нового для себя!

[Raymond · Rating 4 out of 5]

A scholarly overview of the oni phenomenon from the earliest records to its presence in modern entertainment media. It's both comprehensive and concise, so that it leaves you with the feeling you've gained a thorough understanding of oni despite being a short book with less than 200 pages. One star must be withheld however since the writing is extremely dry and at times it feels more like reading a master thesis than a book intended for the general public. Particularly the segments where the author recapitulates previous parts of the book in order to demonstrate a point make for some terse reading.

[Pat MacEwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oni is the general term for supernatural figures in Japanese folklore who might be called monsters, demons, or devils in Western terms. They are characterized by their evil habits, which include deception, destruction, and cannibalism but they can also bring about turns of luck and unexpected prosperity. Their talents include invisibility and transformation into a normal human appearance, or even the opposite gender. Thus they can by turns be ugly and beautiful, sexually degenerate and extremely attractive, frightful and charming. They can sometimes even be turned into kami, ghostly spirits given to aiding rather than devouring normal humans. This work describes how oni and the folklore about them have changed down through the centuries, developing from evil, unseen forces into horned bogeymen, and then into carnivalesque combinations of ogre and underdog. They have always involved the concept of 'otherness' and the term oni has often been applied to foreigners, the physically deformed, and various social misfits along with the enemy in wartime. In the modern era, they are often portrayed as heroic, even lovable characters. In this, they have achieved renewed popularity in manga and in anime as well as video games, reflecting a common need among highly urbanized fans hungry for a direct connection to the past and earlier forms of Japanese culture. The evolution of some of the better known oni, such as Shuten Doji, are carefully detailed as they have been portrayed in popular media from different eras, including puppet shows, noh, kabuki theater and TV. Academic in tone and offered as a textbook in some settings, the book is rather a slow read, but chockful of interesting minutiae and various cross-connections useful to the historical novelist.

[Jack Vander Valk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now, you may be thinking to yourself, "Jack, what in the world were you doing reading about Japanese Demon Lore?"

I be in situations.

Moving on.

Originally, I approached this book via JSTOR, as a way to supplement some research - I only really wanted to read one specific chapter. However, aforementioned chapter was so interesting I decided to just go and read the whole thing. I'm happy to report that it was well worth my time, and I am now strangely educated on the differences between different types of Oni and how exactly they will attempt to gruesomely kill you.

I have a few gripes, but gripes that need to be understood in the context of what exactly I was reading. This is not, like my other reads for January, a 'General Public' book. This is, first and foremost, a scholarly work, and as such, it tends to be drier. It also tends to avoid actually committing to any one line of reasoning, often to the detriment of the structure, or the argument. If I can't tell which demon we're talking about because we're bouncing between seven interpretations of the story simultaneously, it becomes a very confusing read. I think some more well thought-out structuring could have made several chapters far more understandable on the first go-around, as I had to reread a few sections several times to really nail the subject matter down.

3.4/5 Stars. Do I recommend it? I mean, if you're into esoteric religiosity, Japanese history, or want to disturb your friends with "Fun Facts," then yeah, sure. If you're not into any of those things, this is very much not for you. I have seen horrors beyond my comprehension, and you can too.

[duck · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-researched look into the role of the 'oni' in Japanese history, from medieval to modern times.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Noriko Reider's study of the oni in Japanese folklore and art is a history of the marginalized 'other' in Japanese society and consciousness. Woven from the disparate threads of Chinese, Buddhist, and indigenous Japanese cosmologies, Reider's illustrative discussions demonstrate how the mythical oni's multiple origins and conceptions have been repeatedly juxtaposed and recombined throughout Japanese history in cultural productions ranging from pseudo-historical Imperial annals to kabuki theater, medieval folktales to modern anime and manga.

Indeed, in many respects, oni embody transformation: their literary manifestations are frequently shapechanging trickster-figures, often they come into being through the metamorphosis of a human overcome by passions like lust or jealousy, and their representation easily shifts over time to accommodate and reflect its socio-historical circumstances.

In all their guises, however, Reider argues that the oni serve as a projection of the social 'other'. Always mysterious by virtue of their exilic or exogenous status, often feared and despised while occasionally harbinging good fortune or wealth, the oni have acted as stand-ins for foreigners, political renegades, women, and the elderly; the disenfranchised and the different. In imagining the other, moreover, the oni's artistic creators - consciously or otherwise - often seem to directly parody the norms and hegemonic institutions against which the other is contrasted.

Reider's sociological and psychological readings of the oni's representations in popular media, while sometimes seeming rather forced, as though the author feels compelled to discover every attribute of the classic oni within each and every one of their depictions, it must be conceded that this somewhat reflects the complex polysemy of the designation 'oni' itself.

[Miranda Ro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Great author. Very informative and engaging.