The Japanese term for a demon or ogre often shown with horns is oni.
Oni are powerful supernatural beings in Japanese folklore, commonly translated as demons, ogres, or trolls. Traditional depictions show them as hulking figures with horns, sharp teeth, clawed hands, brightly colored skin, and an iron kanabō club. Red and blue are especially common colors, though black, yellow, and other variations also appear.
Oni are frequently portrayed as violent beings associated with mountains, caves, hell, thunder, and calamity. They may torment or eat humans, but their roles are not always purely monstrous. Buddhist and popular Japanese traditions also use oni as guardians, punishers, or symbolic embodiments of human wrongdoing.
The Setsubun festival illustrates their best-known cultural role. During the ritual, people throw roasted soybeans while shouting “Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi,” meaning “Demons out, good fortune in.” Oni should not be confused with yōkai, which is a much broader category of supernatural creatures, or kami, divine and sacred beings in Shinto.