By the Gods!
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Fujin
One of the eldest of the Shinto deities, Fujin was the god of wind. He is said to have been present at the initial creation of the world, well before Izanagi and Izanami were sent to create the islands of Japan. During the world’s creation, Fujin released the wind from his bag, clearing out all the mists of the world, seemingly linking heaven with earth, allowing the gods to address the further creation of the world.
Fujin is portrayed as a distinctly freaky-looking demon. He wears animal skins and carries a large bag filled with the wind over his shoulders. The bag and the idea of wind being contained by the deity dates back to Greek mythology, specifically the depictions of the wind god Boreas, who wore a mantle similar to the representations of Fujin’s bag. There was a great degree of cultural diffusion and exchange between Greek, Chinese and Japanese beliefs in the Classical period, and so while he remained Fujin in Shinto mythology, the fusion of Fujin and Boreas was seen as Oado/Wardo in Chinese Buddhism. I don’t care what you call him, he’s scary as balls.
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.
Mulan
The story of Mulan is a Chinese folktale written in the 6th century CE, though its setting is believed to have been the Wei Dynasty (386-534). The Disney movie I know you’re thinking about sets the story during the 15th century, though this is forgivable, considering how little primary information on the tale actually endured the ages and survives today. The story comes from an epic poem, The Ballad of Mulan. Mulan’s historical existence is questioned, (though it is certainly a possibility) as many believe the story to be nothing more than myth.
The Ballad of Mulan is one of the earlier stories in world history pointed to as a forerunner for gender equality, though some believe it is a cautionary tale against the wiles and cunning of women. This would not be anomalous, as a mistrust of women is seen in the myths from the Mediterranean through Southeast Asia all through the antiquity to the Wei Dynasty.
Disney actually did a pretty good job of retelling of the folktale: an enemy of China (either a peasant rebellion or Northern tribes) began an invasion. The Chinese instituted conscription of one man from every family. At this time, however, Chinese families were only permitted one child. Mulan, wishing to protect her father from war, stole his armour, horse and conscription summons, and disguised herself as a man. The heroic efforts of Mulan in battle help China win the war, but her female identity is not revealed.
Yanluo Wang
In Chinese mythology we find an underworld structured much the same way as the Christian Hell depicted in Dante’s Inferno. There are ten courts of the underworld, each one reserved for a particular brand of punishment for particular crimes committed during life (bearing resemblance to the nine circles of hell). Each court has a king, and Yanluo Wang is the senior king. He investigates the past lives of the dead and sends them on to the other kings for their specific punishments.
Yanluo Wang is portrayed as a large man with a scowling face, bulging eyes and a long beard. He wears traditional robes and a crown, marking himself as the king of kings in the underworld. He’s got three bestest-buds: a judge, who holds a brush and a book listing every soul and the allotted death date for every life, and Ox-Head and Horse-Face, the fearsome guardians of the underworld who bring the dead before Yanluo for judgment. You gotta have a tight crew to run this operation.
Depending on Yanluo’s judgment, a should good be given a quick reincarnation into a privileged life, or millennia of torture, followed by reincarnation as something way-crappy.
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