Oni of Blood

hi all

more Oni fun...

The Oni of Blood!

an old etymology for "oni" is that the word derives from on, the on'yomi reading of a character (隠) meaning "to hide or conceal", due to oni having the tendency of "hiding behind things, not wishing to appear". This explanation is found in the 10th century dictionary Wamyōshō, which reveals that the oni at the time had a different meaning, defined as "a soul/spirit of the dead".^[9][10]

The character for oni, 鬼 (pinyin: guǐ; Jyutping: gwai²) in Chinese also means a dead or ancestral spirit, and not necessarily an evil specter.^[9] Accordingly, Chinese (Taoist) origins for the concept of oni has been proposed by Takahashi Masaaki [ja].^[11]

The oni was syncretized with Hindu-Buddhist creatures such as the man-devouring yaksha and the rakshasa, and became the oni who tormented sinners as wardens of Jigoku (Hell),^[12] administering sentences passed down by Hell's magistrate, King Yama (Enma Daiō).^[6] The hungry ghosts called gaki (餓鬼) has also been sometimes considered a type of oni (the letter "ki" 鬼 is also read "oni").^[6][10]

Some scholars have even argued that the oni was entirely a concept of Buddhist mythology.^[13]

This Oni was loads of fun to paint and I really went to town with reds, oranges and yellows to paint up the vast swathes of skin and clothing. The row of severed heads I painted in pale flesh and washed with purple, giving that recently dead look.  I'm particularly pleased with the warm gold look to the flails. I decided to go against the art work and make the "studs" embedded in the skin into pustules instead as it looked far more effective imho.

hope you enjoy 

dGG