onryō

The tradition & historical record

In Japanese traditional beliefs and literature, onryō (怨霊, lit. 'vengeful spirit', sometimes rendered "wrathful spirits", "hatred spirits", "resentful spirits", "ruthless spirits", "envious spirits", "dark spirits", "fallen spirits", or "downcast spirits") are a type of ghost (yūrei) believed to be capable of causing harm in the world of the living, injuring or killing enemies, or even causing natural disasters to exact vengeance to "redress" the wrongs they received while alive, then taking their spirits from their dying bodies. Onryō are often depicted as wronged women, who are traumatized, envious, disappointed, bitter, or just infuriated by what happened during life and exact revenge in death. These kinds of ghosts appear extremely vengeful, cruel, deranged, egotistical, bloodthirsty, and heartless. Emperor Sutoku, Taira no Masakado, and Sugawara no Michizane are called the Three Great Onryō of Japan (日本三大怨霊, Nihon Sandai Onryō) because they are considered to be the most powerful and revered onryō in Japanese history. ¹

While the origin of onryō is unclear, belief in their existence can be traced back to the 8th century and was based on the idea that powerful and enraged souls of the dead could influence, harm, and kill the living. The earliest onryō cult that developed was around Prince Nagaya who died in 729; and the first record of possession by the onryō spirit affecting health is found in the chronicle Shoku Nihongi (797), which states that "Fujiwara Hirotsugu (藤原広嗣)'s soul harmed Genbō to death" (Hirotsugu having died in a failed insurrection, named the "Fujiwara no Hirotsugu Rebellion", after failing to remove his rival, the priest Genbō, from power). ¹

According to the belief of Ikiryō, a person's soul or spirit exists naturally when it is stable or in balance. When too much hatred or resentment brews, it can become separated from the body, resulting in the spirit becoming an onryō. This can also occur in individuals who died an untimely death. Traditionally in Japan, onryō driven by vengeance were thought capable of causing not only their enemy's death, as in the case of Hirotsugu's vengeful spirit held responsible for killing the priest Genbō, but also causing natural disasters such as earthquakes, fires, storms, drought, famine and pestilence, as in the case of Prince Sawara's spirit embittered against his brother, the Emperor Kanmu. In common parlance, such vengeance exacted by supernatural beings or forces is termed tatari (祟り). The Emperor Kanmu had accused his brother Sawara, possibly falsely, of plotting to remove him from the throne. Sawara was then exiled, and died by fasting. According to a number of scholars, the reason that the Emperor moved the capital to Nagaoka-kyō thence to Kyoto was an attempt to avoid the wrath of his brother's spirit, according to a number of scholars. This not succeeding entirely, the emperor tried to lift the curse by appeasing his brother's ghost, by performing Buddhist rites to pay respect, and granting Prince Sawara the posthumous title of emperor. A well-known example of appeasement of the onryō spirit is the case of Sugawara no Michizane, who had been politically disgraced and died in exile. It was believed to cause the death of his calumniators in quick succession, as well as catastrophes (especially lightning damage), and the court tried to appease the wrathful spirit by restoring Michizane's old rank and position. ¹

Possibly the most famous onryō is Oiwa, from the Yotsuya Kaidan. In this story, the husband remains unharmed; however, he is the target of the onryō's vengeance. Oiwa's vengeance on him is not physical retribution, but rather psychological torment. Other examples include: ¹

How a Man's Wife Became a Vengeful Ghost and How Her Malignity Was Diverted by a Master of Divination In this tale from the medieval collection Konjaku Monogatarishū, an abandoned wife is found dead with a full head of hair intact and her bones still attached. The husband, fearing retribution from her spirit, asks a diviner for aid. The husband must endure while grabbing her hair and riding astride her corpse. She complains of the heavy load and leaves the house to "go looking" (presumably for her husband), but after a day, she gives up and returns, after which the diviner is able to complete her exorcism with an incantation. Of a Promise Broken In this tale from the Izumo area recorded by Lafcadio Hearn, a samurai vows to his dying wife never to remarry. He soon breaks this promise, and the ghost of the deceased wife murders her husband's new young bride, ripping her head off. A watchman chases down the apparition, and, while slashing his sword, recites a Buddhist prayer, destroying the ghost of the dead wife. ¹

The onryō is a staple of the J-Horror genre, most notable being Sadako Yamamura and Kayako Saeki from the Ring and Ju-On franchises, respectively. The characters in these works are usually women who were wronged in life and returned as onryō to wreak havoc on the living and obtain revenge. ¹

In The Ring, Sadako Yamamura is the main antagonist. Her origin is from the Ring novel series by Koji Suzuki, where she haunts and kills people through tapes on a television. It is revealed that she was killed by a doctor who infected her with smallpox, and then sealed her body in a well. Before Sadako dies, she promises to take revenge on the world, and becomes an onryō. The aforementioned Yotsuya Kaidan has been made into numerous movies and retold many times over the course of Japanese history. The story revolves around Tamiya Iemon and his wife Oiwa. Their relationship is not a happy one, and through some set of circumstances, Iemon gives Oiwa a powder that permanently disfigures her face. Upon realizing this, Oiwa takes her own life and that of her baby. After her death, she comes back to haunt Iemon and his new wife, becoming an onryō. Banchō Sarayashiki is another Japanese ghost story that has been retold many ways. In this story, Okiku, a beautiful maid, is the target of desire for the samurai whose house she works at, Aoyama Tessan. She continually refuses his advances, and in a fit of rage, Tessan hides one of ten expensive plates that Okiku is in charge of counting. When Okiku cannot find the tenth plate, she recounts them obsessively, panicking more each time. Tessan tells her he will forgive her losing the plate if she becomes his mistress, but even then, she refuses him. At her refusal, Tessan throws her into a well on the property, where she dies. ¹

Traditionally, onryō and other yūrei (ghosts) had no particular appearance. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Onryō”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

onryō is ghost in Japanese folklore, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 3 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²