Oni: Japan’s Famously Fierce Monsters a Part of February Tradition

Terrifying or Cute?

Oni are fierce creatures with horns that appear in Japanese folk legends like Momotarō. In modern depictions, their skins are commonly red, although they may also be other colors like blue or yellow, and they wield metal clubs and wear tiger-skin loincloths. While they once represented terrifying outsiders, today they are often drawn as cute or humorous characters.

At the festival of Setsubun, held just before the start of the lunar year in early February, there are rituals for driving away oni with beans at temples and shrines. There are also more casual enactments in families or schools with parents or teachers wearing masks to act as the oni. Participants typically chant oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi, or “oni out, good luck in,” as they throw beans or a substitute easier to tidy away, like wrapped snacks.

(Children wearing oni masks to celebrate Setsubun, with containers of beans ready to throw. © Pixta)

(Originally written in English. Banner image © Adobe Stock.)