By the Gods!
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Oni
The Oni are giant horned demons said to have come to Japan from China with the arrival of Buddhism. Buddhist priests perform annual rites in order to expel them, but these evil brutes just keep coming back, it seems. The Oni are cruel and lecherous demons, said to swoop down from the sky to steal the souls of people about to die. They’re like otherworldly vultures, but uglier.
They appear in a variety of colours, and have three fingers, three toes and sometimes three eyes. Their depictions have changed and evolved a great deal over the years, as they are popular subjects for representation in pop culture. Some sources attribute them with the ability to shape-shift. The Oni of the Buddhist hell have the heads of oxen or horses, and hunt down sinners to take them away in their chariot of fire to Emma-O, the ruler of the underworld. Some Oni are held responsible fore illness and disease, and others are said to have been mortal women whose jealousy or grief transformed them into demons.
Bodhisattva
In Buddhism the Bodhisattvas are “enlightenment beings” who are destined to become buddhas. When the moment they finally achieve nirvana arrives, allowing them to escape the cycle of death and rebirth, they decline it. They do this that they might help others along the path to enlightenment. This is a big deal: these guys are sacrificing the ultimate goal of all Buddhists to lend their support to others on the path. Get it straight: they are nice guys.
They are shown robed as princes wearing five-leaved crowns, often sitting on a lotus. Two of the best known Bodhisattvas are Avalokiteshvara and Manjushri, pictured above. According to Mahayana Buddhism, human beings are sometimes able to enter paradise by means of a Bodhisattva’s merits and spiritual power rather than through their own, provided that they call on the Bodhisattva in faith. The Bodhisattvas give up their own chance at nirvana to help others along the path. That’s maybe the nicest spiritual being I’ve ever heard of.
Jurojin
In Japan, Jurojin is a Taoist god of longevity and luck. He is one of the Shichi Fukujin (also known as the seven gods of fortune), an assembly of deities gathered together in the 17th century by a monk who intended them to symbolize the virtues of a man of his time.
Jurojin was the god of luck, longevity and happy old age. He is depicted as a small old man with a long white beard, and is often shown in the company of the crane, tortoise or deer, symbols of long life. He carries a staff with an attached scroll, on which is written the wisdom of the world, and the lifespan of all things. Also, half the time he’s got an enormous head. In summary: he is an adorable old dude that likes animals and will help you win the lottery.
Aizen-Myoo
Also known as Ragaraja, Aizen-Myoo is a deity from Mahayana Buddhism. He is regarded as the god of love in popular Japanese belief, and is one of the Wisdom Kings of Vajrayana traditions. He is a deity of both physical and intellectual desire and represents love transformed through the desire for enlightenment.
His body is completely red, and is usually shown sitting on a blossoming lotus. He has three eyes, the head of a lion for his hair, and has six arms, each holding a weapon. Why fearsome arsenal for this love-god? The better to love you with, silly. Despite his frightening appearance, Aizen-Myoo is renowned for his great compassion toward humankind.
Rangda, Demon Queen
Rangda is the queen of the Leyaks in Balinese mythology, known best for her struggles with the leader of the benevolent spirits, (the good guys) Barong. Leading an army of Leyaks and evil witches against these forces of good, Rangda is seen as a fearsome personification of evil.
She is depicted as a mostly nude woman with long, unkempt hair, pendulous breasts and long claws. Her face, like the Leyaks, has long fangs and bulging eyes, and a long, protruding tongue. “The better to love you with, my dear!“ I just grossed myself out. Like the Leyaks, again, she has the same appetite for newborn babies. Because it’s hard to get more evil than eating newborn babies.
While most of the time she’s seen as the epitome of evil in Bali, she is invoked for protection (the violent kind of protection) in some parts of the island. Bali being a Hindu island, it is also suggested that Rangda has some close associations with the goddess Kali, patron of destruction, transformation and protection in Hinduism.
Leyak
The Leyak is a horrifying demon in Balinese myth. Steeped in black magic, the Leyak can appear as an ordinary human by day, but by night it takes its true form: a disembodied, menacing head with great fangs and bulging eyes hovering in the air, with the entrails of the body still attached and floating beneath it. Whoa.
They are said to haunt graveyards, feed on corpses, and have some shape-shifting powers. They seek out pregnant women and newborn children to feed on their blood. It is believed that the Leyaks can be summoned by those practicing a form of witchcraft to do harm to others at the bidding of the summoner. Scary stuff. The Leyaks are led by Rangda, the Demon Queen.
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