Oni (myth): Difference between revisions

Oni (myth) (view source)

Revision as of 14:46, 10 August 2021

2,859 bytes added , 10 August 2021

→‎Ogres: bringing Benkei back; a verbose section, may trim later

Geyser

Administrators

5,389

edits

@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 A few stories involving them:
 ;[http://web.archive.org/web/20090814100526/http://www.kyoto.zaq.ne.jp/mibu/eng/pages/plays/tales.html#Anchor-Ogre-43793 Rashômon gate]:'''''[Taken from one of the stories of the demon-hunter, Raiko.] While in Kyoto, he and his five retainers heard tale of an oni that lived inside the great gate Rashoumon, the southern gate on the main road through Kyoto. One of his retainers, Watanabe, volunteers to see if this is true, and if so, slay the oni and hang a talisman with all of their names on the gate's handle. Sure enough, he encounters an oni there, but only succeeds in severing one of its arms and driving it off.'''''
+===Ogre-like men===
+[[Image:Earthquake_(Samurai_Shodown)_ZBrush_model_(clay).jpg|thumb|200px|<strike>Earthquake</strike> [[Oni2:Big|Mr. Big]], an ogre-like character for Oni 2 (geyser's take), reminiscent of Musashibo Benkei.]]
+Occasionally people of exceptional size and/or strength can be described as "oni". The most notable such figure in Japanese folklore is (Saitō) Musashibō Benkei, a large warrior monk who lived in the late XII century.
+Apart from tales of his conflicted loyalty as a servant of samurai Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Benkei's uncommon size and strength gave rise to folkloric accounts of incredible feats, both in his youth and as a grown man. Benkei's birth and childhood, in particular, are heavily laden with myth and intertwined with tales of the demon child "Oniwakamaru" (Benkei himself was apparently called '''Oniwaka 鬼若''' in his young years); one such tale is the one of Oniwakamaru (young Benkei) fighting a giant carp fish. Benkei's death is remarkably iconic and demon-like as well: unbeatable in close combat, he was ridden with arrows from afar and allegedly died standing, scaring off his enemies long after his heart had ceased to beat.
+Beyond the heavily exaggerated Oniwakamura myth, the oni theme persists in depictions of Benkei's adolescence, most notably in the [https://www.surlalunefairytales.com/books/japan/griffis/benkeibell.html Mii-dera bell episode], where he playfully stole a large bell from a rival monastery, brought it to his own, and later threw the bell away because it gave out a nostalgic ring (as if saying "I want to go back"). In some accounts Benkei is shown dragging the bell along with a rope, but in many others he is carrying the huge bell on his back, sometimes using a large metal bar for leverage as in the account linked above. In several depictions, this iron bar is pictured to be Benkei's own weapon, a "kanabō 金棒", and Benkei himself is pictured as a hulking monster of a man, with lots of hair and muscle. Arguably [https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/A_1906-1220-0-1054 THIS] drawing of the Mii-dera bell episode is the most herculean/oni-like rendition of Benkei.
+Last but not least, Benkei's legendary affinity for powerful weapons has evolved into a myth of its own: "Benkei's seven tools" that are often displayed on Benkei's back. Along with an ordinary sword, the aforementioned kanabō or tetsubō (iron club) and the naginata typical of warrior monks (a lance with a crescent-shaped blade), the seven tools can include: an axe (masakari), a rake (kumade), a saw (nokogiri), a sickle (nagigama) and a mallet (hizuchi). On a perhaps unrelated note, it is Benkei's playful quest for collecting 1000 samurai swords that led to his fight with Yoshitsune, following which Benkei was humbled and served the rest of his life as Yoshitsune's "retainer".
 ===Aliens===