[Rhuen]

yep another of these, bring us your knowledge of Japanese demons "except Kitsune, thats so complicated it has another thread dedicated to it," but general japanese demons here

I shall begin with a little bit

The Oni
In folklore there are also tales of supernatural creatures called the ‘Oni’. Artists depict the ‘Oni’ with horns and wearing tiger skins. They have no neck, but a crest of hair and a big mouth; their fingers are clawed, and their arms elevated to the shoulders. These artistic renditions of demons not only represent the supernatural, but also embodiments of the evil facets of human nature. The earth ‘Oni’, according to Buddhist belief, are responsible for disease and epidemics (they are dressed in red). The ‘Oni’ of hell (red or green bodies) hunt for sinners and taking them by chariot to Emma-Hoo, the god of hell. There are invisible demons among the ‘Oni’ whose presence can be detected because they sing or whistle. The ‘Oni’ who are women are those transformed into demons after death by jealousy or violent grief. The Buddhist ‘Oni’ demons did not always represent the forces of evil.In Buddhist lore there are tales of monks who after death became ‘Oni’ in order to protect temples from potential disasters. The belief in the ‘Oni’, reached its zenith in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Tengu - The Mountain Demon
Another prominent demon in Japanese folklore is the ‘Tengu’, a mythological being living in mountain forests. Artistic depictions of the ‘Tengu’ range from stumpy, bearded creatures to beings with great lumpy noses. According to lore, anyone entering the territory of the ‘Tengu’ unwittingly can fall into strange and unpleasant situations. The ‘Tengu’ can, in a flash, transform themselves into ugly little men, women and children; then they maliciously tease people with all sorts of nasty tricks. As quickly as they appear, just as quickly they vanish. Some ancient beliefs depicted the ‘Tengu’ as creatures of war and conflict. Sometimes their actions in legends are hypocritical. Artists depicted them with a bird’s head on a human body with spreading wings and clawed feet. Until the 14th century, evil legends were told about the ‘Tengu’; but gradually they evolved into both good and bad beings. Many tales were told of the ‘Tengu’ overcoming evil. In the Buddhist belief they became guides for monks in understanding the Dharma tenets and sacred rites, and also protected Buddhist shrines.In the 18th and 19th centuries they were revered as mountain deities- tributes were offered to them. The woodcutters and huntsmen offered tributes to the ‘Tengu’ deities in order to receive success in their work.
Those that were less respectful found themselves in all sorts of trouble. The belief in the ‘Tengu’ continued until the beginning of the 20th century. Today ceremonial festivals are held in their honour. Tales are still being told of them in modern Japan. In some areas, woodsmen still offer rice cakes to the ‘Tengu’ before starting their work.

[Rhuen]

some more japanese demons

Obake / Bakemono
Literally, "transforming thing." Refers to any type of preternatural being. Comprises yokai and yurei, and can also be used more generally to refer to anything that is weird or grotesque.


Yokai
Literally, "bewitching apparition." Encompasses a wide spectrum of ghouls, goblins and monsters--some frightening, some amusing, and many bizarre. Yokai usually appear at dawn or dusk.

Yurei
Literally, "dim/hazy/faint spirit." Spirits of the dead who remain among the living for a specific purpose, usually to seek vengeance. Yurei generally appear between 2 and 3 AM.

Oni "another definition"
"Demons" or "ogres." Ferocious creatures with horns and fangs that are best known for manning the gates of the various Buddhist hells and performing some of the tortures that take place in them.

Tengu: A powerful mountain goblin, originally portrayed with a long beak and wings but gradually becoming more human-like, with a long nose instead of a beak. Tengu can assume various forms and can be kind protectors or cruel tricksters, carrying off small children, starting fires, and even inciting wars.

Kappa: A scaly river monster with a beak-like snout and a water-filled dish on its head that gives it supernatural powers. Kappa are dangerous pranksters, known for dragging people into the water and then pulling their intestines out through their anuses. Kappa love cucumbers and sumo wrestling--but if you are challenged to a bout, and value your life, you had best let the kappa win.

Rokurokubi: A female monster with an extremely flexible neck. By day they are indistinguishable from normal women, but after nightfall rokurokubi stretch their necks out to any length in search of prey. According to one theory, they are seeking out men in order to suck the life energy out of them.

Akuma/Toori Akuma/ Ma
This Japanese creature is terrifying and evil. It has an enormous flaming head with eyes like coals. It flies through the air brandishing a sword. Even the sight of an akuma brings bad luck.

[Rhuen]

two more

Ogoncho: a Japanese white dragon which lives in a deep pool, called Ukisima. Ukisima is near Kyoto, at a place called Yama-Shiro. Every 50 years the dragon changes into a golden bird. The cry of the bird is an omen of famine.

Rinjin: A Japanese Dragon King, who lives in a palace under the sea
also called Ryujin and Ryojin not to be mistaken with Raijin the thunder god.

Raijin: the god of thunder he can take the forms of a small male child or a giant serpent.

[Rhuen]

I know their are actually three in the last post but Raijin is only their to show he is not Rinjin.
also some Japanese immortals and one monster that was only seen as a statue in Japan. and two more at the end.

Sennin are immortals living in the mountains - some kind of hermits. They are capable of a lot of magic tricks like flying on an animal in the air. Sennin may appear mortals in their dreams. There are about 500 of them. Like in life, only a few of the sennin are frequently mentioned and depicted. The rest belongs to the "silent majority". By the way, the Japanese mythology knows not only male but female sennin as well. Here are the best known - the sennin celebrities.

Seiobo is also called the "Queen Mother of the West". She cultivates a garden of peach trees that blossom only every 1000 years. However one of these peaches eaten, gives eternal life.

Tobosaku is the bad guy in the Japanese mythology who stole not only one, but three peaches out of Seibo's garden. So he became immortal. No wonder that Tobosaku is always shown as an old man, with a broad smile and a peach in his hand. Happy old man!

Gama is a benign sage with a lot of magical knowledge about pills and drugs. He is always accompanied by a toad and he can assume the shape of a toad. He could also change his skin and become young again.

Chokaro traveled a lot and had an elegant solution to the transportation problem. He had a magic pumpkin. He only had to blow into the pumpkin and out of it came a horse. Chokaro therefore is always shown with a pumpkin of which a horse is peeping out.



Shishi is a funny-looking being - something like a dog wanting to be a lion. The origins of the shishi character are in China. Shishi dogs are the equivalent of the Chinese foo dog. Shishi were posted right and left of temple and house entrances as guardians. They can also be found on roofs.
Shishi dogs are depicted either with their mouth open (to scare off the evil demons) or with their mouth closed (to keep the good spirits in). The thing that they hold in their hands, which looks like a globe, is called a tama, the Buddhist jewel. A shishi really looks like the perfect watch dog, sorry - watch lion

Kintaro, also called the "Golden Boy", was a child of extreme strengths. The son of a princess, he was brought up by Yamauba, an old woman living in the mountains. Kintaro lived in the mountain woods and talked to the animals. He was so strong that he could bend trees like nothing.
In one of the legendary stories, Kintaro one day had a fight with a demon that took the form of a gigantic spider. Kintaro uprooted a tree and smashed the evil spider demon with the tree. On Japanese art objects, Kintaro is usually shown fighting with a wild animal or a demon. Needless to mention that he won all his fights. When he was grown-up (!), Kintaro became a warrior calling himself Sakata Kintoki.


Yet another definition of the Oni
Oni are devil-like demons with long nails, wild hair, a fierce look and two horns on their forehead like the devil images known in Western Christian cultures. They wear tiger skins and can fly. Oni hunt for the souls of those who did evil things in their lives. In a nutshell, a guy one would not like to encounter in the darkness!
The Oni character is a deep-rooted aspect of Japanese culture. Japanese children grow up with tales of Oni. In medieval times, people living on distant islands were considered as oni. And during the time of the Japanese seclusion from the rest of the world and during war times, foreigners were looked at as Oni.

[Rhuen]

now the most well known story featureing the Japanese Ice Vampire the Yuki Onna

The Snow Bride
Mosaku and his apprentice Minokichi journeyed to a forest, some little distance from their village. It was a bitterly cold night when they neared their destination, and saw in front of them a cold sweep of water. They desired to cross this river, but the ferryman had gone away, leaving his boat on the other side of the water, and as the weather was too inclement to admit of swimming across the river they were glad to take shelter in the ferryman's little hut.
Mosaku fell asleep almost immediately he entered this humble but welcome shelter. Minokichi, however, lay awake for a long time listening to the cry of the wind and the hiss of the snow as it was blown against the door.
Minokichi at last fell asleep, to be soon awakened by a shower of snow falling across his face. He found that the door had been blown open, and that standing in the room was a fair woman in dazzlingly white garments. For a moment she stood thus; then she bent over Mosaku, her breath coming forth like white smoke. After bending thus over the old man for a minute or two she turned to Minokichi and hovered over him. He tried to cry out, for the breath of this woman was like a freezing blast of wind. She told him that she had intended to treat him as she had done the old man at his side, but forbore on account of his youth and beauty. Threatening Minokichi with instant death if he dared to mention to anyone what he had seen, she suddenly vanished.
Then Minokichi called out to his beloved master, "Mosaku, Mosaku, wake! Something very terrible has happened!" But there was no reply. He touched the hand of his master in the dark, and found it was like a piece of ice. Mosaku was dead!
During the next winter, while Minokichi was returning home, he chanced to meet a pretty girl by the name of Yuki. She informed him that she was going to Yedo, where she desired to find a situation as a servant. Minokichi was charmed with this maiden, and he went so far as to ask if she were betrothed, and hearing that she was not, he took her to his own home, and in due time married her.
Yuki presented her husband with ten fine and handsome children, fairer of skin than average. When Minokichi's mother died, her last words were in praise of Yuki, and her eulogy was echoed by many of the country folk in the district.
One night, while Yuki was sewing, the light of a paper lamp shining upon her face, Minokichi recalled the extraordinary experience he had had in the ferryman's hut.
"Yuki," said he, "you remind me so much of a beautiful white woman I saw when I was eighteen years old. She killed my master with her ice-cold breath. I am sure she was some strange spirit, and yet tonight she seems to resemble you."
Yuki flung down her sewing. There was a horrible smile on her face as she bent close to her husband and shrieked, "It was I, Yuki-Onna, who came to you then, and silently killed your master! Oh, faithless wretch, you have broken your promise to keep the matter secret, and if it were not for our sleeping children I would kill you now! Remember, if they have aught to complain of at your hands I shall hear, I shall know, and on a night when the snow falls I will kill you!"
Then Yuki-Onna, the Lady of the Snow, changed into a white mist, and, shrieking and shuddering, passed through the smoke-hole, never to return again.

[Rhuen]

a story about a plant spirit

The Princess Peony
Many years ago at Gamogun, in the province of Omi, was a castle called Adzuchi-no-shiro. It was a magnificent old place, surrounded by walls and a moat filled with lotus lilies. The feudal lord was a very brave and wealthy man, Yuki Naizen-no-jo. His wife had been dead for some years. He had no son; but he had a beautiful daughter aged eighteen, who (for some reason which is not quite clear to me) was given the title of Princess.
For a considerable period there had been peace and quiet in the land; the feudal lords were on the best of terms, and everyone was happy. Amid these circumstances Lord Naizen-no-jo perceived that there was a good opportunity to find a husband for his daughter Princess Aya; and after a time the second son of the Lord of Ako, of Harima Province, was selected, to the satisfaction of both fathers, the affair having little to do with the principals. Lord Ako's second son had viewed his bride with approval, and she him. One may say that young people are bound to approve each other when it is the parents' wish that they be united. Many suicides result from this.
Princess Aya made her mind up to try and love her prospective husband. She saw nothing of him; but she thought of him, and talked of him.
One evening when Princess Aya was walking in the magnificent gardens by the moonlight, accompanied by her maids-in-waiting, she wandered down through her favorite peony bed to the pond where she loved to gaze at her reflection on the nights of the full moon, to listen to frogs, and to watch the fireflies.
When nearing the pond her foot slipped, and she would have fallen into the water had it not been that a young man appeared as if by magic and caught her. He disappeared as soon as he had put her on her feet again.
The maids-of-honor saw her slip; they saw a glimmer of light, and that was all. But Princess Aya had seen more. She had seen the handsomest young man she could imagine.
"Twenty-one years old," she said to O Sadayo San, her favorite maid, "he must have been -- a samurai of the highest order. His dress was covered with my favorite peonies, and his swords were richly mounted. Oh that I could have seen him a minute longer, to thank him for saving me from the water! Who can he be? And how could he have got into our gardens, through all the guards?"
So spoke the princess to her maids, directing them at the same time that they were to say a word to no one, for fear that her father should hear, find the young man, and behead him for trespass.
After this evening Princess Aya fell sick. She could not eat or sleep, and turned pale. The day for her marriage with the young Lord of Ako came and went without the event; she was far too sick for that. The best of the doctors had been sent from Kyoto, which was then the capital; but none of them had been able to do anything, and the maid grew thinner and thinner.
As a last resource, the Lord Naizen-no-jo, her father, sent for her most confidential maid and friend, O Sadayo, and demanded if she could give any reason for his daughter's mysterious sickness. Had she a secret lover? Had she a particular dislike for her betrothed?
"Sir," said O Sadayo, "I do not like to tell secrets; but here it seems my duty to your lordship's daughter as well as to your lordship. Some three weeks ago, when the moon was at its full, we were walking in the peony beds down near the pond where the princess loves to be. She stumbled and nearly fell into the water, when a strange thing happened. In an instant a most beautiful young samurai appeared and helped her up, thus preventing her from falling into the pond. We could all see the glimmer of him; but your daughter and I saw him most distinctly. Before your daughter could thank him he had disappeared. None of us could understand how it was possible for a man to get into the gardens of the princess, for the gates of the castle are guarded on all sides, and the princess's garden is so much better guarded than the rest that it seems truly incredible that a man could get in. We maids were asked to say nothing for fear of your lordship's anger. Since that evening it is that our beloved princess Aya has been sick, sir. It is sickness of the heart. She is deeply in love with the young samurai she saw for so brief a space. Indeed, my lord, there never was such a handsome man in the world before, and if we cannot find him the young princess, I fear, will die."
"How is it possible for a man to get into the grounds?" said Lord Yuki Naizen-no-jo. "People say foxes and badgers assume the figures of men sometimes; but even so it is impossible for such supernatural beings to enter my castle grounds, guarded as it is at every opening."
That evening the poor princess was more wearily unhappy than ever before. Thinking to enliven her a little, the maids sent for a celebrated player on the biwa, called Yashaskita Kengyo. The weather being hot, they were sitting on the gallery (engawa); and while the musician was playing "Dannoura" there appeared suddenly from behind the peonies the same handsome young samurai. He was visible to all this time -- even the peonies embroidered on his dress.
"There he is! There he is!" they cried; at which he instantly disappeared again. The princess was highly excited, and seemed more lively than she had been for days; the old Daimio grew more puzzled than ever when he heard of it.
Next night, while two of the maids were playing for their mistress -- O Yae San the flute, and O Yakumo the koto -- the figure of the young man appeared again. A thorough search having been made during the day in the immense peony beds with absolutely no result, not even the sign of a footmark, the thing was increasingly strange.
A consultation was held, and it was decided by the lord of the castle to invite a veteran officer of great strength and renown, Maki Hiogo, to capture the youth should he appear that evening. Maki Hiogo readily consented, and at the appointed time, dressed in black and consequently invisible, concealed himself among the peonies.
Music seemed to have a fascination for the young samurai. It was while music was being played that he had made his appearances. Consequently, O Yae and O Yakumo resumed their concert, while all gazed eagerly towards the peony beds. As the ladies played a piece called "Sofuren," there, sure enough, arose the figure of a young samurai, dressed magnificently in clothes which were covered with embroidered peonies.
Everyone gazed at him, and wondered why Maki Hiogo did not jump up and catch him. The fact was that Maki Hiogo was so much astonished by the noble bearing of the youth that at first he did not want to touch him. Recovering himself, and thinking of his duty to his lord, he stealthily approached the young man, and, seizing him round the waist, held him tight. After a few seconds Maki Hiogo felt a kind of wet steam falling on his face; by degrees it made him faint; and he fell to the ground, still grasping the young samurai, for he had made up his mind that he would secure him.
Everyone had seen the scuffle, and some of the guards came hurrying to the place. Just as they reached the spot Maki Hiogo came to his senses, and shouted "Come, gentlemen! I have caught him. Come and see!" But on looking at what he held in his arms he discovered it to be only a large peony!
By this time the Lord Naizen-no-jo had arrived at the spot where Maki Hiogo lay, and so had the Princess Aya and her maids.
All were astounded and mystified except the Daimio himself, who said "Ah! It is as I said. No fox or badger spirit could pass our guards and get into this garden. It is the spirit of the peony flower that took the form of a prince." Turning to his daughter and her maids, he said, "You must take this a compliment, and pay great respect to the peony, and show the one caught by Maki Hiogo kindness as well by taking care of it."
The Princess Aya carried the flower back to her room, where she put it in a vase of water and placed it near her pillow. She felt as if she had her sweetheart with her. Day by day she got better. She tended the peony herself, and, strange to say, the flower seemed to get stronger and stronger, instead of fading. At last the princess recovered. She became radiantly beautiful, while the peony continued to remain in perfect bloom, showing no sign of dying.
The Princess Aya being now perfectly well, her father could no longer put off the wedding. Consequently, some days later, the Lord of Ako and his family arrived at the castle, and his second son was married to the princess.
As soon as the wedding was over the peony was found still in its vase -- but dead and withered. The villagers always after this, instead of speaking of the Princess Aya, or Aya Hime, called her Botan Hime or Peony Princess.

[Rhuen]

baku
Baku come form Japanese legends. it has the face of a lion, the body of a horse, the feet of a tiger, and the tail of a cow. It is called the 'eater of dreams', as it will devour a person's evil dreams either making them harmless or changing them into good luck.

[Rhuen]

eight-forked serpent of koshi
The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi is an enormous Japanese serpent with eight heads and eight tails, each head having two red eyes. It was large enough to cover eight hills and valleys. Trees, moss and other vegetation grew on its head and back, and it liked to eat young maidens. It would eat one princess every year for seven years. When it tried to eat the eighth princess, it was slaughtered by a knight. The knight built a huge circular enclosure with eight gates and at each gate a platform. At each gate he placed a tub of rice beer. The serpent drank the beer and soon became drunk and fell asleep. While asleep, the knight cut off each of the serpent's nine heads. In the serpent's tail the knight found a sword that is still on display in the temple of Atsuta. Japanese currency commemorates the killing of this serpent.

[Hamato]

I love the kappa demon I read that If you throw a pickle, with famliy names written on it, into a lake or river with a kappa they will protect them or somthing like that ( Its been about 2 years since I read about japanes demons)

[Rhuen]

yes Kappa love Pickles, that and cow anus blood are their favorite foods, they also love to wrestle and hate to lose, if they challenge you to wrestle you should, it should easily win unless it spills its head dent then it will become weak so you will need to let it win.

[Rhuen]

Tanuki: shapeshifting Badger or Raccoon, it was a trickster much like the Kitsune and would often come into conflict with them, its favorite way to escape an enemy was to transform into a road side statue, "the best way to think about this is the video game incarnation of it, in Super Mario Bros. 3 the full Raccoon suite is based on the Tanuki includeing the changeing into a statue ability"

one of the favorite tricks of the Tanuki was to change its scrotum into a giant scrotum and beat on it like a drum keeping people and livestock awake at night, and this form of it is often depicted in Tanuki statues.

[Rhuen]

ATTRIBUTES OF YUREI

According to Shinto beliefs, all people are endowed with a spirit or a soul, called reikon. When a person dies, the reikon leaves the body and joins the souls of its ancestors, provided the correct funeral and post-funeral rites have been performed. Ancestral souls are a comforting presence; they are believed to protect the family, and are welcomed back to the home every summer during the obon festival.
However, when a person dies in an unexpected manner or with an excess of emotion, or when he or she hasn't been given an appropriate funeral, the reikon may become a yurei, a tormented ghost who remains among the living in order to seek revenge or take care of unfinished business.
In the beginning, yurei were visually indistinguishable from their original human selves. Then, in the late 17th century, as kaidan ("ghost stories") became increasingly popular in literature and in the theater, yurei began to acquire certain attributes which continue to characterize them today. It is believed that the main purpose of these attributes was to make it easier to distinguish yurei in art and on the stage from ordinary, living characters.
Most of the yurei's characteristics derive from Edo-period funeral rituals. For example, they appear in white, the color in which people were buried at that time--either in white katabira (a plain, unlined kimono) or in kyokatabira (a white katabira inscribed with Buddhist sutras). Yurei also appear with a white triangular piece of paper or cloth on their forehead--usually tied around the head with string--called hitaikakushi (lit., "forehead cover"). These were originally conceived to protect the newly dead from evil spirits, but eventually became just part of the ritual ornamentation of Buddhist funerals.
Yurei began to appear without legs in the mid-18th century, as part of the movement toward increasingly lurid and gruesome kaidan. Some attribute this new characteristic to Maruyama Ohkyo, a well-known artist of the time. In the theater, actors portraying yurei wore long kimono to cover their legs, and were often hung by a hidden rope to appear more yurei-like. The outstretched arms and dangling hands typical of yurei also arose as a convention of the theater.

[Rhuen]

a nice long Oni definition

Oni (Japanese folklore)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Oni (鬼) are fabulous creatures from Japanese folklore, similar to Western demons or ogres. They are popular characters in Japanese art, literature, and theater.
Appearance
Depictions of oni vary widely but usually portray them as hideous, gigantic creatures with sharp claws, wild hair, and two long horns growing from their heads. They are humanoid for the most part, but occasionally, they are shown with unnatural features such as odd numbers of eyes or extra fingers and toes. Their skin may be any number of colors, but red, blue, black, pink, and green are particularly common. Their fierce appearance is only enhanced by the tiger skins they tend to wear and the iron clubs they favor, called kanabou. This image leads to the expression "oni with an iron club", that is, to be invincible or undefeatable.
Origins and Behavior
In the earliest legends, oni were benevolent creatures said to be able to ward off evil and malevolent spirits and to punish evil-doers. Japanese Buddhism incorporated these beliefs by at least the 13th century, calling the creatures aka-oni and ao-oni and making them the guardians of hell or the torturers of the wicked there. They also came to be recognized as shinto spirits.
Over time, the oni's strong association with evil colored the perception of the creatures themselves, and they came to be seen as harbingers or agents of calamity. Folk tales and theater began to depict them as dumb, sadistic brutes, intent only to destroy. Foreigners and barbarians were said to be oni. Today, they are variously described as the spirits of the dead, of the earth, of the ancestors, of the vengeful, of pestilence, or of anger. No matter what their essence, oni are today seen as something to avoid and to ward off.
Since the 10th century, oni have been strongly associated with the northeast (kimon), particularly in yin yang tradition. Temples are often built facing that direction, and Japanese buildings sometimes have L-shaped indentions at the northeast to ward oni away. The Japanese capital itself moved northeast from Nagaoka to Kyoto in the 10th century.
Some villages hold yearly ceremonies to drive away oni, particularly at the beginning of Spring. During these festivals, people throw soybeans outside their homes and shout "Oni out, good luck in!". Monkey statues are also thought to guard against oni, since the Japanese word for monkey, saru, is a homonym for the word for "leaving".
Some vestiges of the oni's once benevolent nature still remain, however. Men in oni costumes often lead Japanese parades to ward off any bad luck, for example. Japanese buildings sometimes include oni-faced roof tiles, which are thought to ward away bad luck, much as gargoyles in Western tradition. In Japanese versions of the game tag, the player who is "it" is instead called the "oni".

[Rhuen]

Sojobo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Sojobo is the mythical king of the tengu, minor deities who inhabit the mountains of forests of Japan. Sojobo is an ancient yamabushi (mountain hermit) tengu with long, white hair and an unnaturally long nose. He carries a fan made from seven feathers as a sign of his position at the top of tengu society. He is extremely powerful, and one legend says he has the strength of 1,000 normal tengu. Sojobo lives on Mt. Kurama (north of Kyoto).
Sojobo is perhaps best known for teaching the warrior Minamoto Yoshitsune (then known by his childhood name Ushiwaka-maru or Shanao) the arts of swordsmanship, tactics, and magic in the 12th century. This relationship serves as the basis of many Japanese woodblock prints, including one by Yoshitoshi Tsukioka.

Kitsune: see Kitsune thread in this section "too much to post with Japanese demons and the creature overlaps with other countries and even continents in some respects"

[Rhuen]

a nice long Tengu definition "get the felling that Oni, Tengu, and Kitsune are the big three most popular of Japan's demons"

Tengu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Tengu are minor deities found in Japanese folklore. They are a part of the traditions of most Japanese religions including Shinto and Buddhism, where they are classified as marakayikas. They are sometimes identified with the gods Saruta-hiko, Susano-o, and Karura. Tengu are popular subjects of Japanese art, theater, and literature.
Appearance
Tengu come in two major varieties. The karasu tengu or kotengu are crow-headed humanoids. Their heads may be red or green as well as black, and they often have human ears and hair. Their beaks are sometimes lined with sharp teeth, and they have clawed, birdlike hands and feet. They have small wings as well, sometimes shown as beating extremely fast like those of a hummingbird. Their wings and tails are feathered, as may be the entire body. Coloration varies, but they are generally depicted with red clothing, hair, or skin. They sometimes carry ring-topped staffs called shakujo to fight with or to ward off evil magic.
The konoha tengu, yamabushi tengu, konsha tengu, or daitengu are more human-like than their karasu cousins. They are tall beings with wrinkled, red skin or red faces. Their most unnatural feature is an extremely long noses. These tengu typically dress as mountain hermits (yamabushi) or Buddhist monks or priests. They often carry a staff (bo) or a small mallet. They sometimes have birdlike features as well, such as small wings or a feathered cloak. Some legends give them hauchiwa fans made from feathers or the leaves of the Aralia japonica shrub, which they can use either to control the length of their noses or to cause gale-force winds.
Tengu can change their appearance to that of an animal (often a raccoon dog or a fox) or a human being, though they usually retain some vestige of their true form, such as an unusually long nose or a bird-like shadow.
Although both types of tengu have wings and can fly, they are generally able to magically teleport as well.
Behavior
Tengu inhabit the mountains of Japan, preferring deep forests of pine and cryptomeria. They are particularly associated with Mt. Takao and Mt. Kurama. The land of the tengu is known as Tengudo, which may be a specific physical location, a part of some spiritual realm, or simply a name for any tengu settlement.
Legends often describe tengu society as heirarchical. The kerasu tengu act as servants and messengers for the yamabushi tengu. At the top sits the tengu king, the white-haired Sojobo, who lives on Mt. Kurama. In addition, many areas of Japan claim to be haunted by other named tengu, often worshipped in shrines. Though invariably pictured as male, tengu lay and hatch from eggs.
Tengu are capricious creatures, and legends alternately describe them as benevolent or malicious. In their more mischievous moods, tengu enjoy playing pranks that range from setting fires in forests or in front of temples to more grave offenses, such as eating people (though this is rare). Tengu enjoy posing as human beings to dupe lost mountain travelers. They tend to take friendly forms, such as wandering hermits. After gaining a victims trust, the tengu may simply toy with him by, for example, flying him around on a saucer-like contraption or immersing him in a masterfully created illusion. Alternately, the tengu may kidnap him, a practice known as kami kakushi or tengu kakushi -- divine or tengu kidnapping. Victims often awaken far from where they were taken with no memory of the lost time. Missing children are also often blamed on the tengu. Tengu may also communicate with people as if by telepathy, and they are sometimes accused of possessing human beings or taking over their minds. Because of their malicious tricks, people often leave offerings to keep the creatures from bothering them (usually rice and bean paste).
Tengu are proud, vengeful, and easily insulted. They are particularly intolerant of the arrogant, blasphemous, those who misuse power or knowledge for their own gain, and those who disrupt tengu-inhabited forests. This particularly compels them to pursue crooked monks and priests, and in earlier eras, samurai (in fact, some traditions say that the arrogant themselves are reincarnated as tengu). They are sometimes shown with political instincts, as well, meddling in the affairs of humanity to keep mankind from becoming too powerful or disruptive. Despite their intolerance for such behavior in others, tengu are notoriously egotistical, leading to the phrase tengu ni naru ("to become a tengu"), i.e., to be boastful.
They are not immortal, and a seriously wounded tengu will change into a bird (often a crow or a bird of prey) and fly away. At least one legend claims that tengu can be reincarnated as human beings if they behave altruistically during their lives.
Tengu are experts in martial arts, battle tactics, and swordsmithing. They sometimes impart this knowledge to human beings. The human hero Minamoto Yoshitsune learned sword fighting from the tengu king, Sojobo, for example. Such instruction does not even require the student to meet a tengu in person, as the tengu can impart this knowledge through dreams. The black mask worn by ninja is called the tengu-gui due to the tengu's association with fighting.
Origins and Development
The tengu most likely have their origins in China. The name "tengu" is probably derived from the Chinese t'ien-kou ("heavenly dog"), the Dog Star of Chinese astrology, or possibly a name given to a dog-tailed meteor that struck China in the 6th century BC. Eventually, an entire class of mountain demons called t'ien-kou developed in China, behaving much as the Japanese tengu in their more malevolent moods. These t'ien-kou were brought to Japan with the first Buddhists in the 6th or 7th century, where they perhaps became identified with native Shinto spirits. The earliest tengu legends feature only the karasu (crow) tengu, who are almost invariably evil in these tales. Tengu grew more humanoid over the years, as well as less evil and more mischievous.
During Japan's "middle ages", corruption infested much of the Buddhist clergy. It was during this period that the tengu took to punishing the blasphemous, and this association made them a favorite literary device by the Kamakura period for authors wishing to safely criticize particular clergy or sects. The yamabushi mountain monks were also seen as fighting against this corruption, and eventually, the tengu took on their current yamabushi tengu form due to this association.
As late as the Edo period, government officials posted notices warning tengu to leave the area before visits by the Shogun.
A well known Japanese children's story relates the tale of two tengu sitting atop mountains who can extend their noses great distances, following interesting smells down into the villages below.

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Hitotsume-kozou
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Hitotsume-kozou ("one-eyed boys") are goblins found in Japanese folklore. They are roughly the size of ten-year-old children, but otherwise resemble bald Buddhist priests. Their most distinctive feature, however, is a single, giant eye peering from the center of the face.
Hitotsume-kozou are relatively benign creatures, content to run about frightening human beings or telling loud people to be quiet (they enjoy silence). However, many people consider an encounter with a one-eyed goblin to be a bad omen. For this reason, the superstitious often leave bamboo baskets in front of their houses, as these are reputed to repel the creatures.

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a nice long Kappa definition

Kappa (mythical creature)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Kappa (河童) are mythical creatures, water imps found in Japanese folklore.
Appearance
Most depictions show kappa as child-sized humanoids, though their bodies are often more like those of monkeys or frogs than human beings. Some descriptions say their faces are apelike while others show them with beaked visages more like those of tortoises. Pictures usually show kappa with thick shells and scaly skin that ranges in color from green to yellow or blue.
Kappa inhabit the ponds and rivers of Japan and have various features to aid them in this environment, such as webbed hands and feet. They are sometimes even said to smell like fish, and they can certainly swim like them. The expression kappa no kawa nagare ("a drowning kappa") means that even the experts make mistakes.
The kappa's most notable feature, however, is the water-filled depressions atop their heads. These cavities are surrounded by scraggly hair, and this type of bobbed hair style is named okappa atama for the creatures. The kappa derives their incredible strength from these liquid-filled holes, and anyone confronted with one may exploit this weakness by simply getting the kappa to spill the water from its head. One trusted method to do this is to appeal to the kappa's deep sense of etiquette, for a kappa cannot help but return a deep bow, even if it means losing its head-water in the process. Once depleted, the kappa is seriously weakened and may even die. Other tales say that this water allows kappa to move about on land, and once emptied, the creatures are immobilized. The Japanese custom of bowing originated in part as a defense against kappa.
Today, kappa are popular figures in Japanese animation, children's toys, and literature. Modern depictions make them much less monstrous, showing them instead as cute, cartoonish figures. A notable literary appearance is the short story "Kappa" by Akutagawa Ryunosuke. The kappa were also the inspiration for the creature in the film Ringu. The creatures have been featured in several Final Fantasy games, and were the inspiration for the "Koopas" in the Super Mario Bros. series of video games.
Behavior
Kappa are mischievous troublemakers. Their pranks range from the relatively innocent, such as loudly passing gas or looking up women's kimonos, to the more troublesome, such as stealing crops, kidnapping children, or raping women. In fact, small children comprise one of the gluttonous kappa's favorite meals, though they will eat adults as well. They feed on these hapless victims by sucking out the entrails (or blood, liver, or "life force", depending on the legend) through the anus. Even today, signs warning about kappa appear by bodies of water in some Japanese towns and villages. Kappa are also said to be afraid of fire, and some villages hold fireworks festivals each year to scare the sprites away.
Kappa are not entirely antagonistic to mankind, however. They are curious of human civilization, and they can understand and speak Japanese. They thus sometimes challenge those they encounter to various tests of skill, such as shogi (a chess-like game popular in Japan) or sumo wrestling. They may even befriend human beings in exchange for gifts and offerings, especially cucumbers, the only food kappa are known to enjoy more than human children. Japanese parents sometimes write the names of their children (or themselves) on cucumbers and toss them into kappa-infested waters in order to mollify the creatures and allow the family to bathe. There is even a kind of cucumber-filled sushi roll named for the kappa, the kappamaki.
Once befriended, kappa have been known to perform any number of tasks for human beings, such as helping farmers irrigate their land. They are also highly knowledgeable of medicine, and legend states that they taught the art of bone setting to mankind. Due to these benevolent aspects, some shrines are dedicated to the worship of particularly helpful kappa. Kappa may also be tricked into helping people. Their deep sense of decorum will not allow them to break an oath, for example, so if a human being can dupe a kappa into promising to help him, the kappa has no choice but to follow through.
Origins
There are several theories for the origins of the kappa in Japanese myth. One possibility is that they developed from an ancient Japanese practice of floating stillborn fetuses down rivers and streams. Another theory is that the kappa were invented to explain the swollen anus common in drowning victims. The name "kappa" may be derived from the term for "robe" used by the Portuguese monks who arrived in Japan in the 16th century; they called this garment a capa, and the monks' appearance is not unlike that of the similarly named Japanese sprites, from the loose, shell-like cloaks to the tonsured hair. Some modern commentators even suggest that the kappa may be space aliens, and many of their pranks are similar to those often attributed to UFOs.

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Nukekubi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Nukekubi are monsters found in Japanese folklore. By day, nukekubi appears to be normal human beings. By night, however, their heads and necks detach smoothly from their bodies and fly about independently in search of human prey. These heads attack by first screaming to increase their victims' fright then closing and biting.
While the head and neck are detached, the body of a nukekubi becomes inanimate. In some legends, this serves as one of the creatures few weaknesses; if a nukekubi's head cannot locate and reattach to its body by sunrise, the creature dies. Legends often tell of would-be victims foiling the creatures by destroying or hiding their bodies while the heads are elsewhere.
By day, nukekubi often try to blend into human society. They sometimes live in groups, impersonating normal human families. The only way to tell a nukekubi from a normal human being is a line of red symbols around the base of the neck where the head detaches. Even this small detail is easily concealed beneath clothing or jewelry.

Ri
A ri is an aquatic creature in Japanese mythology described as a mix between a human and a jellyfish.

Samebito
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Samebito (鮫人, "shark men") are monsters found in Japanese folklore. They are humanoid for the most part with black skin and green, luminescent eyes. They usually sport a pointed beard, as well.
Samebito are the inhabitants of a vast underwater kingdom, so they have little contact with mankind. When a samebito does find itself on land, it is usually in some sort of trouble. They are honest creatures and will repay any kindness offered by a human being. In one story, for example, a samebito repays a debt by crying tears that transform into precious stones.

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Youkai
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Youkai (妖怪) ("apparitions", "spirits" or "demons") are class of creatures in Japanese folklore ranging from the evil oni to the mischievous kitsune. Youkai are generally more powerful than human beings, and because of this, they tend to act arrogantly towards mortals. Youkai also have different values from human beings, and when these conflict, it can lead to animosity. They are generally invulnerable to human attack, but they can be defeated by skilled youkai exterminators (taijiya) and Buddhist monks with Buddha's blessing.
Some youkai simply avoid human beings and, thus, trouble; they generally inhabit secluded areas far from human dwellings. Other youkai, however, choose to live near human settlements out of a true liking of mankind. Some stories even tell of youkai breeding with human beings to produce hanyou, or "half-demons". Most of these tales begin as love stories, but they often end in sadness resulting from the many obstacles faced by youkai and mortals in such relationships.

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Nue
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
A nue (鵺) is a legendary creature found in Japanese folklore. It has the head of a monkey, the body of a raccoon dog, the legs of a tiger, and a snake instead of a tail. A nue can also transform into a black cloud and fly around.
Nue are bringers of misfortune and illness. One legend tells of the Emperor of Japan becoming sick after a nue took up residence atop his palace in the summer of 1153. After the emperor's guards killed the creature, the emperor recovered.
Nue are also a type of nocturnal blackbirds native to Japan. They, too, are thought to bring bad luck