Recognize that second kanji? It’s the one for “ogre.” His original name meant “Great Ogre” or “Great Demon.” Judging by his name, you would think it means “demon” and you would be correct.īut in the original game his name was actually Gouki and it was spelled 豪鬼. The Japanese expression 鬼に金棒 (oni ni kanabou) originates out of this image of a kanabou wielding ogre and it means “to be undefeatable.”īy the way, if you’ve ever played Street Fighter then I’m sure you’re familiar with the character named Akuma. They usually wear loincloths or clothing made out of tiger-skin, and they typically wield a large iron club with a spiky ball design on them called a 金棒 (kanabou). Down in Hell, he runs into Goz and Mez – a red and a blue Oni! That is one of the reasons why it can be interpreted as meaning either word.Įver watched Dragon Ball Z? I loved that anime as a kid! There was one episode when Goku was traveling along Snake Way on his way to meet King Kai, and he falls off. These are the ones that look similar to the Western culture’s ogre. That ought to show you the relation between the two words.īut 鬼 relates more to the red or blue demons that can be found in Japanese folklore. If you take a look at the kanji for “ogre” 鬼 and also a close look at the kanji for “demon” 魔 you will notice that 鬼 is a radical in 魔. It’s used in the word 悪魔払い (akuma barai) which means “exorcism.” And it is also a part of a movie’s name that you’ve probably heard before: 悪魔のいけにえ = The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The word 悪魔 is used as part of some other words like 悪魔の宴 (akuma no utage) meaning either “Black Sabbath” or a “Witches Sabbath.” What do one of these 悪魔 look like? Typically they are the guys with red skin, horns, a pointed tail, and sometimes the lower half is even that of a beast’s. But you might also see his name written in katakana as サタン. This is the word that is used to refer to demons from Western cultures and in particular to the devil Satan. The word 悪魔 is made up of the kanji for “bad” 悪 and the kanji for “demon” 魔. Later on I will talk about some specific demons from Japanese folklore.ġ0) Had Enough Demons for One Day? 悪魔 (akuma) – Demon, Devil, or Fiend Many specific demons will fall into one of these three groups depending on its nature. Think of these as “demon families” if you will. I’ll start off with the three big groups of demons: Akuma, Oni, and Youkai. It could refer to an ogre, an evil spirit, or any number of monsters from the underworld. Well today I’ve got quite a few of them for you! Why so many? Well, the word “demon” is a little generic and is used to describe all kinds of different beings. So just what is the Japanese word for Demon? Or you’re watching an anime and the main hero is fighting against the denizens of hell! Either way, you need to know what they’re called and the different kinds you might run into.Īs for me, I just finished Final Fantasy XV the other day (I highly recommend it) and the monsters that came out at night were known as “Daemons” in English, but the Japanese word that is used for them is シガイ (shigai) lit. Let’s face it… there are a lot of baddies out there! You’re playing a JRPG and you’re going up against all manner of beasts and brutes!
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