Click on The Good, The Bad and The Oni to read bio
Ugly Shoki
by HakuinJimmu
Ugly Shoki yearned for a career in the exciting industry of fashion, but his unattractiveness and weight problem made it seem impossible – until the day he landed a job at a prestigious fashion magazine.
Wait…that’s Ugly Betty.
Oddly enough, the T’ang Dynasty physician, and the 21st century TV character, share many similarities. Both are unattractive, which stands in the way of their dreams. Both become successful through the intervention of a powerful person. And in a fit of utter despair, both commit suicide...er, that's Ugly Shoki.
Shoki is the Japanese name of a Chinese scholar from the province of Shensi. His original name was Chung Kuei (an unfortunate choice considering his weight problem) and his one goal in life was to be a physician in the Royal Court.
He failed – and therein lies the tale. Or more accurately, tales.
In one version, Chung Kuei passes the exams at the top of his class, but Emperor Xuanzong rejects him for being too ugly. Humiliated, Chunk Kuei commits suicide in front of the emperor causing him to belatedly realize that ugly people have feelings too. In remorse he orders a royal burial. Chung Kuei’s spirit, grateful for the funeral (and magnanimously forgiving the cause) repays Xuanzong by guarding him and his kingdom from evil spirits.
Another version declares that while Chung Kuei’s desire to be a physician is great, his talent is not. He fails his exams and commits suicide. Xuanzong, hearing of this dedication, gives him the posthumous degree of “Doctor of Zhongnanshan.” A delighted Chung Kuei appears to the emperor in a dream and promises to protect him from evil spirits.
In yet another version, Chung Kuei again fails the exams and commits suicide. Later, when Xuanzong becomes ill, Chung Kuei appears to him in a dream and earns the emperor’s gratitude by slaying the spirits responsible for the disease.
From his origins in the 7th or 8th century, Chung Kuei’s reputation spread throughout China. In the early 17th century he crossed over to Japan where he was known as Shoki the Demon Queller. During the Boy’s Day Festival, families began hanging pictures of him for protection. In these pictures, he is typically depicted as a heavy-set man with large eyes, a beard and a fierce expression. His garment consists of scholar’s robes, a hat, and heavy knee-high boots. In his hand he carries a sword which he uses to threaten the evil spirits known as Oni.
Oni are human shaped, but can be identified by their horns, sharp nails and three eyes. The Chinese Chung Kuei kills them, but Japanese Shoki appears to have gained a more enlightened approach and “quells” them instead. Once quelled, the Oni become allies aiding him in his battle against evil.
Such is Shoki. A fat man with a beard, hat and boots, assisted by non-human helpers. A special friend to children whose image appears all over the country on a certain day of the year.
Wait…who is it we’re talking about again?
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The Good, The Bad and The Oni
by Aria Murasaka
The term "Oni" translates into English as either "demon" or "ogre", and it is true that the way these creatures are usually represented - skin an angry shade of red or a rather unhealthy grey, horns and a distorted smile revealing waaaaaay too many sharp teeth - only serves to reinforce the impression that oni qualifies as both the bad and the ugly.
Now we all know that looks can be deceiving. And this happens to apply to our demonic friends as well.
Oni haven't always looked the way they do know. In fact, they used not to have a look at all: for a long time, they were believed to be the invisible agents of the misfortunes and natural disasters that plagued the lives of innocent humans. That's how the ideogram for "ghost" came to be the one for oni as well.
That's the way it used to be. Only, for some reason, it was decided that oni would be given shape. And yes, I do mean "given" and not "choose". Their hideous form was certainly not of their making. If you think that running around with constantly tousled hair, nails you can't use to scratch an itch without the risk of scraping away a pound of flesh at the same time (which hurts like hell - no pun intended - even for them), and wearing only a tiger-printed loincloth was their idea of fun, then think again.
This was all a misunderstanding, you see. For some unknown reason, the Chinese decided one day that all the misfortunes of this world, all the demons, would come from one direction: the northeast. And what was the name of that gate? Kimon, the demon's gate. And the northeast direction was also known as the ox-tiger direction in Chinese cosmology. Hence the horns (ox) and the loincloth (tiger).
That being said, they can probably count themselves lucky that the northeast direction wasn't that of the pig and the rooster: comb-like hair and corkscrew tails don't rank high in the world of mythical beings.
The one advantage, though, of not being invisible anymore and having such an impressive physique is that you become somewhat of a celebrity. In fact, a few oni are notorious: aka-oni and ao-oni are the assistants of the Lord of the Underworld; there's also Shuten-doji, who used to kidnap young women until he was slain by warriors when drunk. Ok, so these are not exactly glamorous tales.
Their most famous role is that of the victim protagonist in one of the most famous rituals of Setsubun. In an effort to purify their homes, keep away bad luck and invite in good fortune, Japanese people typically throw beans at oni when they spot one (beans being the one thing oni hate most in life - after the ridiculous small rag they've been condemned to wear). Since oni have learned their lessons well and seem to stay away from humans on that day, men (the father, if possible) wearing oni masks are "driven away" in their stead. This tradition continues to this day.
The one positive outcome for oni out of all this is that they made enough of an impression on the Japanese collective mind is that they got themselves a prime spot in popular culture. After all, none other than Akira Kurosawa featured an oni in one of his last movies, Dreams. And they are very popular in both manga/anime (from Dragonball Z to Inuyasha) and video games (from Onimusha to Ookami - though the video game called Oni was made by an American studio and doesn't feature any oni, the term being probably just a reference to the way the main character fights).
But even though they seem to embody all that's harmful to the human species, to the point that said species doesn't hesitate to hurt them on purpose, and on a yearly basis, through the scattering of beans, and to call on a man called Shoki, who specializes in oni-hunting, the truth is that oni are actually good for you. It's they who protect many a household: their likeness is carved on tiles which appear at the end of roofs and are called onigawara.
See? There’s also some good in them after all.
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Sources
Shoki
Shoki and Oni
Shoki the Demon Slayer - Dictionary of Japanese Buddhist Statuary
Painting of Shoki (upper right) by Zen monk Hakuin Ekaku (1685–1768)
Shoki and Oni illustration courtesy of the Asian Art Mall
Photo of Chinese Opera Shoki
Oni
The Obakemono Project
Oni mask by Aria Murasaka
Oni Pelted by Beans and Yoshitoshi courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
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Featured February 22 , 2007
