Oni, ubiquitous supernatural figures in Japanese literature, lore, art, and religion, usually appear as demons or ogres. Characteristically threatening, monstrous creatures with ugly features and fearful habits, including cannibalism, they also can be harbingers of prosperity, beautiful and sexual, and especially in modern contexts, even cute and lovable. There has been much ambiguity in their character and identity over their long history. Usually male, their female manifestations convey distinctivly gendered social and cultural meanings.Oni appear frequently in various arts and media, from Noh theater and picture scrolls to modern fiction and political propaganda, They remain common figures in popular Japanese anime, manga, and film and are becoming embedded in American and international popular culture through such media. Noriko Reiderýs book is the first in English devoted to oni. Reider fully examines their cultural history, multifaceted roles, and complex significance as "others" to the Japanese. Includes bibliographical references (p. 210-230) and index An overview: what are oni? -- Shuten Doji (drunken demon): a medieval story of the carnivalesque and the rise of warriors and fall of oni -- Women spurned, revenge of oni women: gender and space -- Yamauba, the mountain ogress: old hag to voluptuous mother -- Oni in urban culture: de-demonization of the oni -- The oni and Japanese identity: enemies of the Japanese empire in and out of the imperial army -- Sex, violence, and victimization: modern oni and lonely Japanese -- Oni in manga, anime, and film -- Oni without negatives: selfless and surrealistic oni