Amanojaku

Amanojaku or Amanjaku ("heavenly evil spirit") is a demon-like creature in Japanese folklore. They can be considered evil gods (kami), minor demons (oni) or youkai (youkai).

They are often described as a type of small oni. They have the ability to see through a person's heart, "a very perverted demon" and from there can detect and blow up a person's darkest desires, inciting that person to commit bad deeds. Those who become victims will then begin to commit serious evil deeds. Therefore, wherever Amanojaku goes, it will cause a heavy evil spirit to haunt that place. In addition, they are described as a creature of extremely contrary nature. If they are asked to do something, they will do the opposite of what is asked.

In Japanese Buddhism, Amanojaku is depicted as representing evil, but has been defeated by righteousness. The most common image is of the Four Heavenly Kings standing on the squashing Amanojaku demons.

The mythology of Amanojaku is quite mysterious, possibly appearing in ancient Japanese mythology as other forms of Shinto evil gods. Amanozako, Amenosagume, and Amenowakahiko are evil spirits said to have originated from Amanojaku, or Amanojaku from the three aforementioned evil spirits.

The most famous story about this youkai is that of Urikohime. In this story, there was a homeless couple who was old but had no children. One day, suddenly they saw from a shaking watermelon, and then from the watermelon, a plump, lovely baby girl appeared. Due to infertility, the two were raised as biological children and named Urikohime. Growing up, Urikohime became famous in the area and received a marriage proposal from a wealthy family. Overjoyed that their daughter was about to marry a well-off family (in some places, the prince proposed to her), the family gathered money, went to town to buy a dowry, and prepare for the daughter's wedding. Before leaving the house, they told her, "You must not open the door to anyone after dark, no matter how much they beg." Not long after her parents left, there was a small whisper from her front door, "Urikohime, open the door and let me in!". But remembering her mother's words, she refused, but the owner of that word begged that she could only open the window a little. Thinking nothing bad could happen, Urikohime opened the window a little. Immediately, a long finger, sharp claw poked in from the crack and smashed the window. The Amanojaku jumped in, pushed her upside down, and tore off her clothes. The young woman resisted, but eventually fainted from exhaustion. Amanojaku broke her neck, killing Urikohime instantly. Even though she was dead, it didn't stop. It stripped her skin, put on her body, and put on her clothes. Using magic, Amanojaku transformed into Urikohime, cleaned up her body, and obediently waited for her parents' return.

The wedding went as planned. She married the son of a rich family. But as the ceremony was going on, a crow flew by and cried out to her parents that the person standing there was not their daughter. What they feared happened, so the couple quickly grabbed the demon in the form of their daughter, held it tightly, and pressed it to the ground. They quickly wiped the skin with water, so that the skin gradually peeled off and the demon Amanojaku reappeared. It hastily ran away before being caught, but the old couple had time to shout. The villagers immediately chased after them with torches. In the end, the demon was captured. The resentment for what it caused made them unable to stop beating, only when Amanojaku was left with a sticky mess, mixed with blood and flesh, did they stop. And the demon was dead.

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