oni

Noun

1. A Japanese evil spirit or demon.
   • ONI 鬼. Generic name for devils, the representation of which in art is quite a common feature. Onis have claws, a square head with two horns, sharp teeth, and malignant eyes surmounted by big eyebrows; occasionally they...
   • Across the ocean, in Japan, there once lived curious creatures called Onis. Every Japanese boy and girl has heard of them, though one has not often been caught. - 1918, William Elliot Griffis, Dutch Fairy Tales for...
   • "That's no human being playing the instrument," he thought in amazement. "It can only be an oni or some such being." - 1979, Marian Ury, Tales of Times Now Past: Sixty-Two Stories from a Medieval Japanese Collection,...