Oni & Demons
The oni — horned, fanged, impossibly strong — is Japan's archetypal demon, but the old tales are full of monstrous foes: demon kings on their mountains, giant spiders in the dark, and chimeras that warriors were sent to hunt.
Yamata-no-Orochi
八岐大蛇An eight-headed serpent that took a daughter a year from one family until a god got it drunk on eight vats of sake.
menacing
Namahage
生剥Ogre-masked visiting deities who storm into homes at New Year roaring 'Any crybabies here?'
fierce
Gagoze
元興寺One of the oldest recorded oni, a temple demon subdued by a superhuman young acolyte.
menacing
Gashadokuro
がしゃどくろA colossal skeleton assembled from the bones of the unburied dead that roams to crush the living.
menacing
Kudan
件A human-faced calf that is born, speaks a true prophecy of coming disaster, then dies.
ominous
Baku
獏A chimeric, tapir-like beast that devours nightmares when called upon after a bad dream.
benevolent
Amanojaku
天邪鬼A small contrarian demon that provokes people into doing the opposite of their intent.
contrarian
Tsuchigumo
土蜘蛛A giant earth spider that ensnares heroes in monstrous webs.
fierce
Shuten-doji
酒呑童子The sake-loving oni king of Mt. Oe, slain by Minamoto no Yorimitsu.
fierce
Nue
鵺A chimeric night beast: monkey's face, tiger's limbs, snake for a tail.
ominous
Oni
鬼Horned, fanged ogres of immense strength, often red or blue.
fierce