Japan Oni Cultural Museum - 909 大江町仏性寺 Fukuchiyama

This is a nice museum mainly for kids I would say. It's interesting to learn the history of Oni. The museum is up in the mountains of Oe so driving is recommended.

Funny museum but no restaurant or cafe for rest

Oni Museum 日本の鬼の交流博物館 This museum of Oni is located in Oe-cho which is north-west of Fukuchiyama City. The town of Oe is known for the legend of Oni which is a monstorous demonic figure often depicted in old Japanese folklore. The museum explains the origin of Oni providing with profound source of historical findings collected from all over Japan being displayed. The museum was built for a purpose to bring us close to the history of Oni and make us feel as if we are spending time in the same space with Oni. The place is nicknamed " Onihaku " From ancient times Oni was believed to be an incarnation of ancestral spirit which brings both disaster and fortune to our lives. In old times people suffered various kind of hardships in their lives such as natural disasters and it was common that they believed such hardships were acts of demoniac sprit which controlled their lives. Oni was an embodiment of such fear among people suffered their lives. While Oni holds a strong impression as demoniac figure there are some Onis worshipped as divine figures believed to bring fortune. There are so many different types of Onis introduced in this museum as well as a wide collection of Onis from all over the world. There are many Japanese old folk tales depicting Oni as a demoniac figure which should be exterminated. One good example is a tale of Momo Taro. There are many different tales based on a legend of each location in Japan. This region of Oe also has a legend of Oni being exterminated. It was believed that Oni ( Shutendoji = a mythical Oni which likes drinking sake ) used to live in Mt. Oe. Shutendoji terrorized Kyoto by kidnapping princesses and Minamoto Yorimitsu was sent to the mountain to take princesses back from Shugendoji. Yorimitsu deceived Shutendoji into drinking sake and get drunk and cut his head off. All this legend was depicted in drawings of ancient times from 9th or 10th century. TGM Kyoto Guide : Trans-word+

Cool place to visit if you are interested in oni. They have a few displays of oni depictions from around the world. Overall pretty small, so won’t take much time at all to see. If you’re in the area and are interested, it is worth a stop, but I wouldn’t recommend it to be the sole reason of your outing.

Small but friendly museum. There's no English, but it was still fun to view the different masks and art of Oni. The staff was extremely friendly. There is a bus shuttle that takes you right to the museum from Oe station.

Here is the one and first Demon Museum in Japan! Mt. Oe is place where the strongest demon (oni) Shuten Douji was lived! ?

Cool place to visit! Small musuem but the peices are interesting. Love all the oni statues that are around the area. I wish that there would have been some English in the museum, it would have been nice to understand the peices on display. Also I was disappointed that there wasn't a gift shop I would have liked buying some oni stuff. The place was cool for a quick stop on an afternoon exploration of the area.

This is a great little museum, worth the 330 yen entrance fee. They have an excellent collection of oni masks from both inside Japan and internationally, as well as a collection of oni roof tiles across history. I agree with other reviewers that it would be nice to have English signage, as visitors will definitely miss out on a lot of the cultural importance and story of the evolution of oni culture over time in Japan without the ability to read Japanese. The museum is best accessed by car, and a good visit when paired with hiking the Oeyama Mountain Range (which is believed to be the home of Shuten Doji, one of Japan's most feared Oni). The mountains are easily hiked in a day, and for visitors who come in late fall, there is the opportunity to see the sea of clouds if you get up early. Right next to the oni museum is Green Lodge, an accommodation that also has a restaurant (and they also make an oni-shaped bento box for those who don't want to hike on an empty stomach). To iterate another reviewer, a gift shop would definitely be welcome for some oni-related products.