There are「鬼（Oni）」in Japan.
If it were in a foreign country, the closest impression would be ‘Ogre’.
Statue of Oni standing by the roadside in Noboribetsu hot spring resort, Hokkaido.
What? Are there such dangerous things roaming around town in Japan?
No, no, they do not exist in the real world! They exist in fairy tales.
However, the rate of appearance of the Oni in Japanese folklore is quite high, and at the same time they have had a significant impact on ancient Japanese religious and moral beliefs.
As I wrote in 『Three-stage miracle by Amitabha Buddha part.1』, the Japanese view of religion is not superficially clear, but quietly breathes deep in the heart.
At first glance, Oni seems to be the opposite of a good religion…
Today I would like to write about Oni…
Do you know the style of Japanese demons?
They are large and muscular. The hair on their heads is strongly curled and they have two or one horn.The mouth has fangs protruding from the lower jaw. Their skin is often red or blue and they wear only loincloth made of tiger skin.
They have a large club with spikes on it, with which they are said to strike people and objects. It is said to sometimes eat people.
Often they appear in folk tales as villains who bring misfortune to the people. Interestingly, however, they are also given other roles.
It is the ‘jailer of hell’.
In Japanese Buddhism, hell has the role of punishment for sinners, but also has the aspect of rehabilitating and reincarnating sinners.
Oni are officials who strike people down but at the same time rehabilitate sinners. But, well… the prison term are very long (in the order of 1000 years)(^_^;)
The Satan in Christianity and other religions is said to have originally been a ‘fallen angel’, so there may be a similar feeling even if the countries and cultures are different…
In case you are wondering, the fifth (and overall) judge of Hell, who heads the Oni’s, is ‘King Enma’.
Tokyo Hojoin Fukagawa Enma-do
Now, I don’t want to get too involved with Oni, whether for their misdeeds on earth or for their torment in hell…
Unfortunately, neither Onis nor Satans have their dwelling place in an old castle, nor in hell, but in the human mind itself. It has both a benevolent ‘good’ side and an egotistical ‘bad’ side. This is what the human heart is all about.
That is why Oni continue to live in people’s hearts as “something that corrects people’s way of life”.
A Oni that inflicts suffering on people and also helps them in a way.
Is that why? The following folk tales are born, albeit extremely rarely.
『Oni encountered on Setsubun』 Aomori prefecture (Tohoku area)
［Setsubun / 節分：last day of winter in the traditional Japanese calendar (usually February 3 or 4) / There is a custom of scattering beans on this day to drive away Oni（calamity）.］
One year. Dusk on a Setsubun day when there is still deep snow.
After finishing the day’s business, Grandma was hurrying home, trudging through the snow.
As you finish crossing the bridge over the village, you hear a child crying from behind you.
I wondered which family’s child it was at this time of the day. When I turned around, I saw that it was a father and son the Oni walking towards me from the other side.
A small child Oni is clinging to the waist of a large Oni who appears to be the father, crying shakily.
（I see, it’s Setsubun Day and you’ve been evicted from your home somewhere…）
When Grandma saw the father and son Oni walking so wretchedly, she forgot that they were scary Oni and called out to them.
「I am from the village of Namioka, but I live alone and don’t do bean-throwing, so if you want, why don’t you stay at my house tonight?」
When approached to do so, the parent Oni seemed surprised.
「What a thoughtful gesture… But tonight we’re going to get together at the Onizawa shrine…」
「Thank you. Thank you so much.」
The parent Oni leaves with the child Oni while saying so. And Grandma watches it go with a sense of pain.
How many days have passed since then? When the spring warmth had finally spread to every corner of the village…
Grandma woke up early in the morning and put her hands together in front of Mt Iwaki. She suddenly remembered the Oni father and son from the other day.
（I wonder how that Oni father and son are doing now…）
Grandma wanted to meet Oni’s father and son again, so she prepared some rice balls and went to the Onizawa shrine.
When grandma arrived at the “Oni-shrine” in Onizawa, she told the priest about the Oni’s she had met on Setsubun.
The priest then replied.
「Ah, that Oni father and son are currently away on `village guarding’ duty in a village over the mountains.」
「I’ll send a messenger to fetch him, and you can wait here for a while with a cup of tea until he comes back.」
So sat back and waited, and when the sun was starting to set a little…
Oni came back, calling out, 「Oh, grandma!!」
Grandma was happy, Oni was happy to see her again, and the child Oni looks well.
Oni told us that he is now working as a village guardian near the seaside after being told to do so by the priest of this shrine.
He was told that if he worked with a good heart and did not cause trouble for people, his horns would shorten, and when he did this, they really did shorten.
Both GRANDMA and Oni’s parents and children enjoyed talking with each other, forgetting about the passage of time…
The torii of the Onisawa “Oni-shrine” still has a carving of a demon with short horns…
ーーー
There really is still a place called Onisawa in Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture.
Legend has it that once upon a time in this area, Oni’s created an agricultural river from the mountains overnight for the villagers who were suffering from a lack of water.
On Setsubun day, it is customary throughout the country to scatter beans while saying「Oni wa Soto, Fuku wa Uchi!（Oni out, fortune in!）」
However, in Onizawa they say「Oni wa in, Fuku mo Uchi!（Oni in, fortune in!）」
The “Oni-shrine” in Onizawa Shobuzawa is said to use the character ‘Oni（鬼）’ without a dot at the top of the character, to represent Oni without horns…