- Ushi-oni
The nihongo|ushi-oni|牛鬼| ox ogre, or gyūki, is a creature which appears in the
folklore ofJapan . There are various kinds of "ushi-oni", all of them some sort of monster with a horned, bovine head.Perhaps the most famous "ushi-oni" appears as a protective symbol in the "Ushi-oni-matsuri", which is held in late July in
Uwajima ofEhime Prefecture . Something like thedragon dance rs at aChinese New Year celebration, this "ushi-oni" is represented with a huge, multiple-person costume with a cloth body and a carved, painted head held upon a pole. It has a sword for a tail, and is thought to drive away evil spirits.Another well-known "ushi-oni" is a massive, brutal sea-monster which lives off the coast of
Shimane Prefecture and other places in Western Japan and attacks fishermen. It is often depicted with a spider- or crab-like body. This "ushi-oni" seems to be connected to another monster called the "nure-onna ", who sometimes appears before an "ushi-oni" attack and tricks the victim into holding her child, which then becomes stuck to the person's hands and grows heavier in order to hinder escape.Yet another "ushi-oni" is depicted as a statue on the grounds of the Negoroji temple in Takamatsu,
Kagawa Prefecture . It is a bipedal monster with huge tusks, spurred wrists, and membranes like a flying squirrel. A sign nearby explains that this creature terrorized the area about four-hundred years ago, and was slain by a skilled archer by the name of Yamada Kurando Takakiyo (山田蔵人高清). He dedicated its horns to the temple, and they can still be seen to this day. [http://www1.plala.or.jp/negoro/usioni.html]"Ushi-oni" are also mentioned in
Sei Shōnagon 's tenth-century diary "The Pillow Book ", and in the "Taiheiki " of the fourteenth century.Popular Culture
In the "
Yu-Gi-Oh! " trading card game there are two cards featuring "ushi-oni" - "Ushi Oni" is a bull fiend with four octopus tentacles on its back, and "Abare Ushioni" is a bull monster.In the anime Karas, a bloodthirsty Ushi-Oni (voiced by
Michael McConnohie ) becomes a mechanized 'Mikura' concealing itself in the form of a police chief.In the game
Jade Empire , there is a two headed ushi-oni.In the manga
Naruto , the eight-tailed beast is revealed to be an ushi-oni, built like a minotaur with eight octopus tentacles.ee also
*
Minotaur References
* cite book
last = Mizuki
first = Shigeru
authorlink = Mizuki Shigeru
title = Mizuki Shigeru No Nihon Yōkai Meguri
publisher = JTB
date = 2001
location = Japan
pages = pp. 135-136
id = ISBN 4533039561
* [http://www.pref.ehime.jp/izanai/english/route/route4.htm Ehime Tourism Information: Sightseeing Routes]
* [http://ebikani.org/youkai/ushioni/ushioni.htm Negoro-ji Ushi-oni Shashinshū]
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