#ongyo-ki

[p5x-theories]

Shadow battle icons (part four)!

[dailydemonspotlight]

Ongyo-ki?

Ongyo-Ki - Day 32 (Request)

I haven't used this oni since the Heian era! Today's demon of the day is a demon Nocturne players know well (for being incredibly annoying,) the shadow-striking demon and purported origin of Ninjutsu, Ongyo-Ki!

In Japanese mythology, Oni are prevalent; they're commonly depicted as shapeshifting brutes who will happily pillage villages and eat anything that gets in their way. However, they are still sapient, and are possible to commune with, given enough time and diligence, and can even be controlled by one with a strong enough will. Introducing the retainer of the four oni of infamous myth, Fujiwara no Chikata. Unfortunately, I am terrible at Japanese, and there is almost nothing about him in English!

Based on my very limited knowledge, mostly pulled from @na-vidya-na-avidya 's fantastic breakdown of this case, Fujiwara no Chikata was a sorcerer during the Heian (or, confusingly, sometimes the pre-Nara) period who had control over and communed with four Oni, each having control over different powers (and each showing up in SMT! Who knew?) which went as follows: Ongyo-Ki, Sui-Ki, Kin-Ki, and Fuu-Ki, each of which had control over their own domains through manipulation of their auras. The specific Oni requested, however, Ongyo-Ki, has an ability purported to be the origin of the typical depictions of Ninjas and their stealth-based sorcery.

Ongyo-Ki, specifically, has control over his own aura in the way that he can completely suppress it, disappearing into the shadows. Using this ability, he disappears completely from sight and any form of detection, able to strike from the darkness at any time by hiding away. This translates into his infamous boss fight in SMT Nocturne, with the oni's mastery over shadows translating into a control over the domain of illusions.

Sorry for the short spotlight, there just isn't much to go off of with this demon! If you're interested in further research into Fujiwara, check out this post. Thank you for reading!

[shinmegamitensei]

シヴァ - 真・女神転生V 日めくり悪魔 Vol.214

[davidarievil]

I participated in a tribute to ATLUS! I’m very impressed with the other artists, if you have time, take a look:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/18SKbaVbAQWu_Tq6fx93eQ-FRNPZBobfQ/view

[shinmegamitensei]

ongyo-ki using megidoalon ↳ requested by anonymous

[shinmegamitensei]

オンギョウキ - 真・女神転生V 日めくり悪魔 Vol.027

[tetsujinforce]

 More requests

[eirikrjs]

The Sorcery of Fujiwara Chikata, woodblock print by Utagawa Yoshitora, 1872

This print depicts the Heian-era sorcerer Fujiwara no Chikata summoning the four oni (from left, Ongyo-ki, Sui-ki, Kin-ki, and Ka-ki) to help him overrun the armies of the imperial court. However, the poet Kinotomo recited the words, "All things, whether grass or tree, are ruled by the Emperor and not even an oni can turn his back to the Emperor and live in this land," (source) which defeated the four oni and subdued Fujiwara no Chikata.

Though SMT and popular tradition hold Ongyo-ki (隠形鬼), Sui-ki (水鬼), Kin-ki (金鬼), and Fuu-ki (風鬼) as the primary oni of Fujiwara no Chikata, two other alternate oni, Ka-ki (火鬼) and Do-ki (土鬼), are sometimes seen instead of Fuu-ki, as evidenced on this print.