USHI-ONI

Lore

The Ushi-oni is not a single creature but an entire class of coastal or aquatic demons, linked by bovine features and extreme ferocity. Buddhist lore depicts them as bull-headed guardians. A bull’s head with horns is always present; the horns are often described as vivid crimson, the hide as rotting like decayed bark, and the eyes blood-shot.

This is a demon that can reshape its guise, posing as an ordinary human. One fatal flaw spoils the disguise: its reflection. Glance at any shiny surface—water, polished metal—and the bull-headed monster looks back, no matter how human its borrowed form appears.

Legends connect the Ushi-oni to places steeped in human grief and dread. Its behavior mixes savage aggression with keen intelligence. It deliberately terrorizes villages, spreading disease or striking again and again. It can coordinate with other yokai or unclean spirits, assigning roles and exploiting their strengths. All this makes the Ushi-oni a fearsome opponent, and any encounter is remembered for a very long time.