Oni

thumb|330px|An oni menaces the monk Kūkai, who wards it off by chanting the [[Buddhist tantras. Painting by Hokusai (1760–1849).]]

is a popular hero of Japanese folklore. His name is often translated as Peach Boy, but is directly translated as Peach + Tarō, a common Japanese given name. Momotarō is also the title of various books, films and other works that portray the tale of this hero.

Tengu ( ; , , ) are a type of legendary creature found in Shinto belief. They are considered a type of yōkai (supernatural beings) or Shinto kami (gods or spirits). The Tengu were originally thought to take the forms of birds of prey and a monkey deity, and they were traditionally depicted with human, monkey, and avian characteristics. Sarutahiko Ōkami is considered to be the original model of Konoha-Tengu (a supernatural creature with a red face and long nose), which today is widely considered the Tengus defining characteristic in the popular imagination. He is the Shinto monkey deity who is

thumb|right|Celebrities throw roasted beans in Ikuta Shrine, Kobe thumb|Mamemaki in Samukawa Shrine, Kanagawa thumb|Kimpusen-ji

The were a group of people who lived in parts of northern Honshū in present-day Japan, especially in the Tōhoku region.

thumb|"Yamauba" (山うば) from the Hyakkai Zukan by Sawaki Suushi thumb|Yamamuba (山むば) from Bakemono no e (化物之繪, c. 1700), Harry F. Bruning Collection of Japanese Books and Manuscripts, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, [[Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University.|alt=]] thumb|"Yamauba" (山姥) from the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō by [[Toriyama Sekien]] thumb|right|A depiction of Yama-uba by Totoya Hokkei (1780–1850), yamamba, and yamanba are variations on the name of a yōkai found in Japanese folklore. Mostly said to resemble women, yamauba may be depicted as predatory monsters or benevolent beings.

thumb|Ushi-oni, from Bakemono no e scroll, [[Brigham Young University]] right|thumb|"Ushi-oni" (うし鬼) from the Hyakkai Zukan by Sawaki Suushi right|thumb|upright|"Ushi-oni" (牛鬼) from the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō by [[Sekien Toriyama]] The , or gyūki, is a yōkai from the folklore of western Japan. The folklore describes more than one kind of ushi-oni, but the depiction of a bovine-headed monster occurs in most. Ushi-oni generally appear on beaches and attack people who walk there.

thumb|"Issun-bōshi" from Otogizōshi is the subject of a fairy tale from Japan. This story can be found in the old Japanese illustrated book Otogizōshi. Similar central figures and themes are known elsewhere in the world, as in the tradition of Tom Thumb in English folklore.

thumb|300px|A dancing drummer wearing a Namahage costume, performed Namahage-Daiko in Akita Station. The are demonlike beings portrayed by men wearing hefty oni (ogre) masks and traditional straw capes (mino) during a New Year's ritual, in local northern Japanese folklore of the Oga Peninsula area of Akita Prefecture.

idiom of Japanese folklore: a mass parade of supernatural creatures

right|thumb|160px|A depiction of amanojaku by Jippensha Ikku The or ("heavenly evil spirit") is a demon-like creature in Japanese folklore, considered a type of wicked ogre-god (akukijin), small ogre (ko-oni), or yōkai. The name is also written using the kanji ("River Earl") or ("Sea Spirit").

thumb|Wooden mask at the Tokyo National Museum. [[Edo period, 1600s or 1700s. Important Cultural Property.]] The is a mask used in a traditional Japanese Noh theater, representing a jealous female demon. It is characterized by two sharp bull-like horns, metallic eyes, and a leering mouth. In Noh plays, the type of mask changes according to the degree of jealousy, resentment, and anger of the female characters. The is a mask that represents a female even more resentful, jealous, and angry than the , a woman on the verge of becoming a demoness.

thumb|Megijima as seen from Takamatsu thumb|Contemporary art on Megijima thumb|Takatoyama - the highest Megijima peak is an island located in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan, north of the city of Takamatsu, and is part of Kagawa Prefecture. It has an area of 2.66 km2, a coastline of 8.9 km, and a population of about 200. Megijima is a popular destination in summer on account of its public beach and close proximity to Takamatsu City (approx. 4 km). Additionally, with over 2000 cherry blossom trees, Megijima also sees an influx of visitors during the springtime when people congregat

Japanese folk story

right|thumb|167x167px|A statue of Datsue-ba in Kawaguchi, Saitama is often depicted sitting by the Sanzu River in literary, visual, and religious depictions of the Buddhist underworld. Although Buddhist hell is imagined in a great number of texts and images ranging from places such as China, India, and Tibet, Datsueba appears to be unique to Japanese iterations of Buddhist hell. Throughout these depictions, Datsueba is broadly imagined and illustrated as an old, frightening ogress who takes the clothes from the deceased as they cross the Sanzu River.

thumb|Shuten-dōji's severed head attacks the warrior Raikō. Shuten-dōji (, also sometimes called , or ) is a mythical oni or demon leader of Japan, who according to legend was killed by the hero Minamoto no Raikō. Although decapitated, the demon's detached head still took a bite at the hero, who avoided death by wearing multiple helmets stacked on his head.

thumb|250px|Onigawara on the roof of Tokyo University of the Arts

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The , also read as Ashihase and Shukushin, were a people of ancient Japan, believed to have lived along the northern portion of the coast of the Sea of Japan. The term Sushen, rendered 肅愼, is found in Chinese records, but is annotated as Mishihase or Ashihase in Japanese language documents, which should have developed into *Mishiwase or *Ashiwase in modern Japanese if the word had survived in colloquial speech.

upright|thumb|"Rōba Oni Ude wo Mochisaru Zu" (Depiction of an Old Woman Taking Away the Oni's Arm) from the Shinkei Sanjūrokkaisen by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi. It depicts Ibaraki-dōji shapeshifting into the form of Watanabe no Tsuna's aunt in order to steal back the arm. Ibaraki-dōji (茨木童子 or 茨城童子 "Ibaraki child") is an oni (demon or ogre) featured in tales of the Heian period. In the tales, Ibaraki-dōji is based on Mount Ōe, and once went on a rampage in Kyoto. The "Ibaraki" in his name may refer to Ibaraki, Osaka; "dōji" means "child", but in this context is a demon offspring. Ibaraki-dōji was th

thumb|right|180px|"Ōshū Adachigahara Hitotsu Ie no Zu" () by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi. This color print was banned by the Meiji government for "disturbing public morals." thumb|180px|right|"Kurozuka" from the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō by [[Toriyama Sekien]] Kurozuka (, "black mound") is the grave of an onibaba in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture (previously Oodaira), Adachi District, or the legend of that onibaba. It lives in Adachigahara (the name of the eastern shore of Abukuma River as well as the eastern base of Mount Adatara) and it is told in legends as the "Onibaba of Adachigahara." The Kurozuka is

right|thumb|180px|"Kidō" from the Konjaku Hyakki Shūi by [[Toriyama Sekien]] Kidōmaru (鬼童丸, 鬼��丸) is an oni that appears in the Kamakura period collection of setsuwa, the Kokon Chomonjū, among other sources.

thumb|upright=1.0|"Hashihime" as depicted in the Kyōka Hyaku Monogatari (1853), illustrated by Ryūkansai Masasumi.

Japanese folk story