Oni no nenbutsu - [Yokai|Charm]

Oni no Nenbutsu. - [Yokai | Oni | Charm | Slang] - 鬼の念仏 - "An Oni's Cold Prayers."  - aka "Oni no Kannebutsu"

• About this yokai: A repenting Oni, dressed in Buddhist attire and performing "Kannebutsu" a form of Buddhist prayer; he rings a shōgo (gong) with a wooden mallet to collect funds for the temple on early winter mornings... (or is he just a Demonic Solicitor with ulterior motives?) - In an attempt to redeem himself; he's broken one of his horns. 

• History: Yet another popular character originating from Ōtsu-e; a type of souvenir charm that has been made and sold since the 1700's along the Tokkaido Road, at Ōtsu station, Lake Biwa. - Because of its location close to the capital in Kyoto, Ōtsu would become a famous crossroad for various religious sects, travellers & trade, these type of prints travelled far and wide as souvenirs! - The prints where designed to be simplistic (yet very elegant) and produced rapidly in mass (sometimes using stencils[x]), so that families could have many ready for sale and even a lower class (or low funds) traveller could afford one. - Some are pointed social commentary, while others are supposed to be cute, funny or even just pretty. - In the Edo period, these would come to be popularized functioning as a travelling charms, supposedly; Oni no Nenbutsu's power was "To stop children from crying at night by warding off demons." [x] - The character became so well known, that it was used as the poster/signboard advertisement for Otsu-e painters; beyond Otsu-e; Famous artists such as Kawanabe Kyosai (1831–1889) would also take their turn drawing this Oni & various statues depicting this oni can be found at temples across japan. (essentially its an early art-meme!)

[an example of oni no nenbetsu from, kuniyoshi project.]

The saying; "Oni no Nenbutsu" (鬼の念仏) or "An Oni's Winter Prayer" is a proverb that refers to someone with the appearance of benevolence who acts auspicious or poius on the surface, but is actually a cruel and heartless person deep down. The picture is a commentary on Human failings, particularly pointed towards religious hypocrites who, Despite their benevolent appearance and practice, still behave like demons. [A "wolf in sheep's clothing" is probably an apt English comparison.] The satire calls out the monks & priests that look and act the part, but actually behave in a way that fits an Onis behavior, rather than the Buddhist Operandi. (They dont practice what they preach.) - [Oni are often examples of the 3 Buddhist poisons: Jealousy, Hatred and Delusion.] - The drawing brings yet another Oni related saying to mind: "Oni mo kakureru" or "Even a demon breaks its horns." - (Probably most comparable to "A snake sheds its skin." which is sorta like saying that "even a sinner can change for the better.") - The broken horn shows perhaps, hes succeeding? however its left to be vague on purpose. -- Overall, its a great example of how Oni have transformed from something religious to something Humorous whilst still keeping their underlying spiritual nature. 

[kawanabe kyosai 1864]

• Relation with Fuji Musume: it seems that the Oni was often paired with "Fuji-Musume" in ukiyo-e prints & such, (brings to mind a "beauty and the beast" situation, cute.) Sadly i have yet to find any stories to do with the two together, but they where for a while, something like Otsu's mascots & even appeared together as Netsuke[x], Toys, Dolls, Statues[x] and even on manhole covers for a while there, the two seem to have been the two most popular otsue characters.

• See also: Charms & Folktoys, Benkei-Namazu, Fuji-Musume   ,aobozu