Ushi-Oni

At first blush, I considered Ushi-Oni to be the runt of the Nitto’s yokai toys. Standing at a mere 5.5″ tall (or closer to 6 if you measure to the very tip of the horn), he’s easily the shortest of the set so he was immediately behind the 8-ball, so to speak. But over time, his impish grin and distinctive coloring would begin to win me over.

His outstretched hands and big, wide eyes are reminiscent of a ugly but playful puppy. He may not be much to look at, but he’ll win you over with his charm.

Much like Abura Sumashi, Ushi-Oni has a very natural looking paint scheme (which has seen better days on my specimen, as you can see above). He looks like he’s jumping out at you from a tall, dense grass. The hands, feet and horn are spotted with a contrasting brown paint, which then continues to run the length of the back, all the down to the end of the tail.

Ushi-Oni has only one point of articulation, but it is a waist joint. It comes from the Daiei Yokai films of the late 1960s.

If you are interested in learning more about traditional Yokai monsters, be sure to check out the upcoming book Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide. It’s available this month in Japan and later this year in both the US and the UK. The book is written by good friend Matt Alt (of ToyboxDX fame) and his wife Hiroko Yoda, both stars of the The Great Yokai War.