No.017

Oni

THE HORNED OGRE

Oni — Pixel artOriginal art by Pixel Yokai

For reference: old artToriyama Sekien（1779）
"Oni" from Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki
Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)

Japanese name: 鬼（ONI）
Type: Demon (ogre)
Found in: Deep mountains, faraway islands, and hell

◆ The legend

Horns on its head, fangs in its mouth, red or blue skin, a tiger-skin loincloth, and an iron club. Of all Japan's yokai, the oni is the one everyone can picture in an instant. In "Momotaro" the oni living on an island are defeated; in "Issun-boshi" the tiny hero fights from inside an oni's belly with his sewing-needle sword; and in "Kobutori Jiisan" a band of oni dances merrily at a night-time feast.

But "oni" covers a wide cast. There are oni chieftains said to have terrorized the capital, like Shuten-doji of Mount Oe, and there are the oni of Buddhist hell who torment the dead. At the same time, some places honor oni as gods, and some even call out "Oni wa uchi!" ("Oni, come in!") at Setsubun. The oni is never simply a villain — and that is what makes it so interesting.

◆ Stories about this yokai

September 25, 2026Ox Horns and a Tiger-Skin Loincloth — The Oni's Look and the "Demon GateHorns on its head and a tiger skin around its waist: one well-known theory says the oni's look comes from "ushitora," the northeast direction known as the Demon Gate. A gentle look at how Kyoto guarded that corner, and at the hidden origins of the word "oni.