![]() ![]() These rites became popular observances on the last day of winter ( setsubun), and resulted in the formation of stereotypical demon images such as Shutendōji.Ī second type of oni is represented by marginalized persons, including foreigners, rebellious indigenous peoples, people drifting ashore in Japan, itinerant performers, religious thaumaturges, rebels, pirates, and mountain dwellers. Such rites of "demon exorcism" or tsuina were incorporated into the Buddhist rites of Shushōe and Shunie ( Omizutori) held early in the New Year these rites featured exorcisms of demons using the power of Buddhist tutelaries such as Bishamon and heavenly bodhisattvas ( hiten). tsuina) masks worn by the demon exorcists called fangxiàng (Jp. As the visible forms of oni were represented as misshapen and weird beings, popular iconography of oni was influenced by graphic portrayals of hell demons and "hungry ghosts," as well as by the four-eyed Chinese zhuīnuó (Jp. Other demons included denziens of hell, the bull-headed gozu and the horse-headed mezu.Īccording to Zeami's Fushikaden, oni appearing in Noh drama are either vengeful spirits ( onryō) who possess human beings, or demons of hell. Such oni were believed to be the spirits of persons who carried resentments or malice during their lifetime the spirits or ghosts of malicious or jealous women were thought to be particularly capable of becoming the female demons called hannya. In short, such expressions referred to departed spirits which had become oni and brought curses upon those still living. ![]() In contrast, the Nihon ryōiki relate incidents of demons ( mono) which caused insanity, and the "evil spirit of a slave" ( ashiki yatsu no reiki) which caused death. Other expressions found include ashikimono ("evil spirits") and matsurowanukami ("unruly kami"), terms which are believed to refer to evil kami or the tutelaries of people who opposed kingly authority in ancient times. The Nihongi notes the practice of using peaches to ward off oni, a reflection of Chinese beliefs that peaches possessed the power to control noxious spirits and demons. The first type bring disaster, death, and plague, and initially were considered invisible beings, but later came to have visible forms. While the character for oni was read in China as gui and referred to the soul of a deceased person, it was read in Japan variously as oni (demon), mono ( an indwelling spirit), or kami.īased on the salient characteristics of beliefs about oni, the concept of oni can be classified into three main types: (1) wicked spirits or evil kami, (2) oni as foreigners or strangers, and (3) oni as good kami. Due to their fearful spiritual power, oni were considered ambivalent beings possessing the power of both good and evil, and were thus the objects of both worship and avoidance. Rosebud Ben-Oni is a complicated writer, in the best sense, with fingers in many pots.A misshapen supernatural demon or devil visiting this world from the other world, bringing with it disaster or blessing. A playwright and novelist, she also edits “Her Kind” at Vida: Women in Literary Arts. She has written extensively about being a Jew of mixed race, and in the anthology Identity Envy: Wanting to Be Who We’re Not, she depicts her love affair with a beautiful and brilliant Muslim woman, exploring the complications of sexual, racial and religious labels in terms of identity formation. Likewise her story in Men Undressed, “Nude Studies on an Affair,” is among the most passionate-if sometimes violent-in the anthology. Amid all this, it isn’t surprising that the intense Ben-Oni takes sex as seriously in “real life” as she does on the page, boldly eschewing the trendiness of casual hyper-sexuality that permeates our culture, and digging for the deeper meaning beneath. I think I’ve developed a bit of a literary crush on her, and I invite you to read along and get your crush on too. TNB: You’re one of the contributors to a book the entire premise of which is women writing sex from male characters’ points of view. On a scale of 1-10, exactly how nervous does this make you, in terms of every male critic on the planet potentially pointing a finger at you and your co-writers and deriding you for “getting it wrong?” In a Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus (or wait, is that the reverse?) era, what would possess you to dare to try and.
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