Are depictions of Oni in public offensive?

8 comments

1. No. They are rather common.

2. No, they are cool.

   Here’s the びじゅチューン that depicts how onis might assist with the annual health checkup in Hell:

   > https://youtu.be/7SFneJraj7M

3. Oni get thrown out of the house in February and therefore must exist in public

4. You’ll find that in Japan, a country where over 60% of the population identifies as irreligious, that there’s a great respect for the traditions and rituals of religion (everyone goes to the shrine at new years and draws their fortunes from the lotteries, etc) but MOST people don’t necessarily buy in that deeply.

   It’s generally accepted that oni are mythology and as such they’re great fodder for pop cultural depictions in anime, games, and toys. Take [Lum from Urusei Yatsura](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/76/Lum_Invader_2022.webp), for example. She’s not technically an oni but she’s clearly inspired by them and she’s an icon.

   I’d say people in the USA where I’m from tend to not get upset about depictions of demons in pop culture (think about how many old cartoons have a red devil with horns as a comedic foil, for example) but then again I definitely knew people who freaked out about Harry Potter because it depicts “witchcraft”. I guess they were absent when they were giving out brains.

5. I’ve seen first graders make paper collage art at school where they design their own oni (green oni, pink oni, cute oni, onigiri oni…)

6. The latter.

   Oni, kappa, tengu, and the rest do not play the same role as “demons” do in monotheistic Western religions. The indigenous religions of Japan do not have the concept of a universal “good,” at perpetual war with a universal “evil,” that oni could be slotted into to begin with.

7. No, there’s hardly anything seriously religious in Japan.

8. In my opinion Oni are used for all sorts of purposes (e.g., religious iconography, capitalistic marketing, or political propaganda).

   But there have been depictions of minorities or foreign peoples as Oni (for hundreds of years). Whether it was the Korean descendants of the Kibi region (now Okayama) or the American G.I.’s during World War II, mainstream Japanese institutions have used Oni as scary representations of invaders or uncivilized enemies.

   At the same time though you’ll find positive representations of Oni (like some characters in Demon Slayer) or other pop culture icons.