Onryō
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Onryō (怨霊) is a Japanese ghost who is able to return to the physical world in order to seek vengeance.
While male onryō can be found, mainly in kabuki, the majority are women. Powerless in the physical world, they often suffer at the capricious whims of their male lovers. In death they become strong.
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[edit] Origin of onryō
The traditional Japanese spirit world is layered, with Yomi on one extreme, and the physical world on the other. In-between is a sort of purgatory, an uncertain and ambiguous waiting area where spirits languish before moving on. Ghosts in this in-between state who are influenced by powerful emotions such as spite, love, jealousy, hatred or sorrow can bridge the gap back to the physical plane where they can haunt and wreak havoc on their Earthly tormentors.
[edit] Onryō vengeance
While driven by their desire for vengeance, they rarely follow the Western ideals of justified revenge. Several tales involve abusive husbands, although these husbands are rarely the target of the onryō's vengeance.
[edit] Examples of onryō vengeance
- How a Man's Wife Became a Vengeful Ghost and How Her Malignity Was Diverted by a Master of Divination - A neglected wife is abandoned and left to die. She is transformed into an onryō, and torments a local village until banished. Her husband remains unharmed.
- Of a Promise Broken - A samurai vows to his dying wife never to remarry. He soon breaks the promise, and his former wife's onryō beheads the new bride.
- Furisode - A heartbroken woman curses her famously beautiful kimono before dying. Soon after, everyone who wears the garment soon dies.
Possibly the most famous onryō is Oiwa, from Yotsuya Kaidan.
[edit] The appearance of an onryō
Traditionally, onryō and other yurei had no particular appearance. However, with the rising of popularity of Kabuki during the Edo period, a specific costume was developed.
Highly visual in nature, and with a single actor often assuming various roles within a play, Kabuki developed several visual shorthands that allowed the audience to instantly clue in as to which character is on stage, as well as emphasize the emotions and expressions of the actor.
A ghost costume consisted of three main elements:
- White burial kimono
- Wild, unkempt long black hair
- White and indigo face make-up called aiguma.
[edit] Popular culture
In some Japanese horror movies (most notably Ring and Ju-on) onryō are the driving force in the plot.
In the videogame series Fatal Frame/Project Zero onryō are main ingredients. It can also be argued that Alma from F.E.A.R. is a type of Onryō. The character Cynthia in Silent Hill 4 takes on the appearence of an onryō when she becomes a ghost; however, this may be incidental.
[edit] See also
- Sadako Yamamura
- Kayako Saeki
- Alma Wade
[edit] External references
- Tales of Ghostly Japan Japanzine By Zack Davisson
- Japanese Ghosts Mangajin #40 by Tim Screech
- Yūrei-ga gallery at Zenshoan Temple
[edit] References
- Iwasaka, Michiko and Toelken, Barre. Ghosts and the Japanese: Cultural Experiences in Japanese Death Legends, Utah State University Press, 1994. ISBN 0874211794
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