"The demon ghost ogre"

When talking about a folk creature, it is often very difficult to find a convincing translation. Indeed, these are specific to each culture and have no equivalent. This is particularly the case of the oni (鬼) which can be an ogre, a demon or even a... cat.

Oni is written with the kanji 鬼 which itself means "ogre/demon". From what I could find on the net, the part of the square top would correspond to a grotesque head. It is true that currently, this imaginary creature is often depicted with a large red head with coarse features. It is believed that the oni pronunciation comes from the kanji 隠 (on) meaning "to be hidden".

Because originally and this is still the case in China, the oni is a kind of ghost that can not be distinguished. However in Japan, it has taken various forms such as that of the monster that can take the appearance of anyone. A young woman, an old man... One can find writings relating that they would be at the origin of humans who filled with