Oni (Japanese Ogre) Coloring Pages

Famous in Japanese Fairy Tales! What is an Oni (Japanese Ogre)?

An Oni (Japanese Ogre) is a creature with mysterious powers. It often appears in Japanese fairy tales like Momotaro and in old legends. It usually has horns on its head, sharp fangs in its mouth, and holds a spiky iron club in its hand. It is much stronger than a human, so it might seem a little scary. But depending on the story, there are also Oni (Japanese Ogre) that help humans or are a bit clumsy!

What does an Oni (Japanese Ogre) look like?

An Oni (Japanese Ogre) has a few special features that make you think, "That's an Oni (Japanese Ogre)!" right away.

• Horns: It often has one or two horns on its head, just like a cow.
• Fangs: Sharp fangs poke out of its mouth.
• Super Muscular: It has a big, muscular body! It is super strong.
• Tiger-Skin Pants: It often wears pants made of tiger skin with yellow and black stripes.
• Iron Club: It carries a heavy iron club with lots of spikes. There is a Japanese saying, "Giving an iron club to an Oni (Japanese Ogre)." It comes from a strong Oni (Japanese Ogre) getting an even stronger weapon. People use it to mean "making something already strong even stronger!"

Red, Blue... There are many colors of Oni (Japanese Ogre)!

People think that an Oni (Japanese Ogre) can come in many colors. Each color has its own meaning.

• Red Oni (Japanese Ogre): This is the most famous one. It is said to show an angry heart or selfish feelings.
• Blue Oni (Japanese Ogre): This one shows sad feelings or feeling jealous of others.
• Green Oni (Japanese Ogre): This one shows a lazy or unhealthy heart that does not want to move around.
• Black Oni (Japanese Ogre): This one shows mean feelings like doubting others or complaining.
• Yellow Oni (Japanese Ogre) (White Oni (Japanese Ogre)): It is said to show a selfish heart or a needy, spoiled feeling.

These colors stand for the bad feelings inside our hearts that we want to chase away!

Why do we throw beans on Setsubun?

On Setsubun in February, we throw beans while saying, "Oni (Japanese Ogre) out! Good luck in!" Long ago, people thought that bad things like sickness and natural disasters were caused by an Oni (Japanese Ogre). So, people started this event to chase away the Oni (Japanese Ogre) (bad things) with the power of beans. They wish for everyone to live healthy and happy lives!

How to Choose Colors

You can color the Oni (Japanese Ogre) any color you like! Think about what kind of Oni (Japanese Ogre) you want to make as you choose your colors. You can imagine "This Oni (Japanese Ogre) would be so scary!" or "I want to be friends with an Oni (Japanese Ogre) like this!"

• Basic body colors: Choose your favorite Oni (Japanese Ogre) color from red, blue, green, black, or yellow! If you want to make it look powerful, try pressing hard with dark colors.
• Hair: Black or brown looks great, but using gold, silver, or orange might make it look even stronger!
• Horns and fangs: Color them white, cream, or yellow to make them look sharp! Adding a little gray near the bottom makes them look 3D.
• Tiger-print pants: The Oni (Japanese Ogre) trademark! Color them yellow, then carefully draw black stripes. It is great practice for staying inside the lines!
• Spiked club: It is made of iron, so try coloring it gray or dark black. If you color the pointy spikes with a silver pen or colored pencil, it will shiny-sparkle and look super cool!

Show Off Their Strength!

The Oni (Japanese Ogre) is super strong and has big muscles! Try coloring it to show all that power.

• Look at the muscle lines! If you trace the muscle lines in the picture with a slightly darker color, you can make them look super strong.
• If you use colored pencils, press hard for dark parts and soft for light parts. This will make your Oni (Japanese Ogre) look powerful!

How to color and make it look 3D: Think about "shadows" and "light"!

Here are some tips to make the big body of an Oni (Japanese Ogre) look even more 3D!

• Try layering a slightly darker color than the main color on shadowed areas (inside or under the body).
• Under the arms, inside the legs, and under the chin are places that easily get "shadows".
• If you use a slightly brighter color where the light hits, or leave it white without coloring, it will look like it is glowing and make the body look bigger.
• The round tummy, shoulders, and cheeks are places that easily get "light".

Try drawing the background, too!

Imagine where the Oni (Japanese Ogre) is, and try adding a background!

• Bumpy rocky mountains: If you draw rocks in brown or gray, it will look just like a home for an Oni (Japanese Ogre).
• Blazing flames: Use red, orange, and yellow to draw flames. It will look like an Oni (Japanese Ogre) from hell and look super cool!
• Thunder and lightning: If you add jagged lines in yellow or white, the scene where the Oni (Japanese Ogre) appears will look even cooler.

Tips for enjoying your coloring page!

Have fun with your coloring page using your own ideas! You can color not just scary Oni (Japanese Ogre), but also kind ones, crybaby ones, or stylish ones. It is also a really fun idea to make the tiger-skin pants polka-dotted or rainbow-colored!