16. FMP: Project Proposal 2

After taking some time to consider the progress of my FMP currently, I realised that, for what its worth, my project still requires a lot more research before I can properly crack on with finalising the storyboard for my animation. I took a while to reflect on how much more I will need to research and change before I can start, and I have come to the conclusion that I will be changing the main prompt for my animation.

I will be changing my idea from a battle scene between two characters in Hokkaido between an Oni of Japanese descent and another character from Chinese descent to an Oni causing mayhem during a festival in Hokkaido during the Edo period, as it is a period of peace. The Oni, however, will be under disguise as a human (through research I have been able to confirm that Oni can in fact shapeshift).

My initial idea is to make the Oni a child, both due to the fact that animating a small character allows me to be more expressive with their movements, and that I can make them interact with a human, acting almost like a lost puppy and then transforming back to their original Yokai form to startle them.

The festival will be Setsubun, something I have researched prior to changing my idea in the first place, and it allows me the freedom of giving my Oni character some personality. As Setsubun is based around warding off evil spirits, such as Oni, I have leeway to adapt a sneaky mischievous nature to my character, avoiding everything superstitiously negative for them, like roasted fuku mame that has been thrown over the floor.

Now that I have a more clear and (personally speaking) better idea for my project, I will need to continue to do research into a few more topics, such as:

• The appearance of Oni (moodboards), in order to be able to start conceptualising my character
• Further Hokkaido study (moodboards and analysis) to base my background on
• Structural analysis (buildings, stalls, in Japan, which will serve as inspiration and reference in my animation)
• Colour analysis for the Oni and Hokkaido (colour palettes)
• Research on the Edo Japan period and how it changed Japan in comparison to its days of war
• Civilian clothing during the Edo Japan period, along with festival wear
• Oni representation in video games
• Oni mask analysis
• Animation cycles for child characters (maybe look into younger characters in anime and video games as inspiration?)
• Ball animation cycles (My idea is to make the character look bouncy and animated due to the upbeat and energetic nature of children)

Once I have covered all of these points and necessities to the project, I will be able to create my concepts and storyboards for my final animation.

In order to finalise the change in my ideas, I rewrote the Project Proposal to follow this projects plans.

15. FMP: Research (Great Lord Enma- Ruler of Hell)

As one of my main characters will take the form of the Oni, relating back to my research of the Yokai, I decided to look further into the god that the Oni serve, known as the Great Lord Enma.

Great Lord Enma

Enma Daio, the ruler of Hell, is the most important of the 13 judges of the dead in Japanese mythology. His outfit consists of robes of an ancient government official from the Chinese Tang Dynasty, and is portrayed with an unsettling expression upon his face. He is mainly served by his two secretaries, Shiroku and Shimyo, as well as many other demonic servants- two of which are Gozu and Mezu- two guardians of the gateway of Hell.

His name often is used by parents who scold their children in modern day Japan, “If you tell a lie, Enma will rip out your tongue!”

Enma’s main duty is to judge the souls of the newly dead and send them on to their next location. He keeps a scroll in order to recall all of the good and evil deeds of each and every person in order to use their actions as evidence against them when their time of judgment comes. He looks over the torturing and suffering in hell, making sure that each soul gets enough punishment.

Enma’s true form is Jizo Bosatsu, a deity of the underworld and protector of children. It is common to see small statues of Jizo around Japan, placed on the side of pathways and around graveyards, as he is beloved to all in Japan for being a kind and compassionate ruler, as a deity who made the promise to not become a full Buddha until all souls were freed of damnation, Hell and Earth included. While Enma may seem terrifying, at heart, he is a well-spirited God, and he truly wishes to save each soul from eternal suffering, which explains why the dead are given so many trials before being ultimately judged and sent to their next location.

Enma’s origins started in Indian culture, where he was known as Yama (the god of death). The idea of this deity spread widely throughout different Asian religions and countries, and was brought to Japan during the Tang Dynasty, where the idea of the ruler of death mixed with Japanese superstition created Enma.

This research will serve great importance to the portrayal of my Oni character, as we have learned that this ruler isn’t unfair or twisted, but strict and set on putting everyone on the path of righteousness, giving the wrong and unjust a chance of redemption or the punishment necessary depending on the crimes they carried out before death. As Oni serve this ruler, we can assume Enma has a certain level of trust for them, allowing for them to carry out his duties.

We have also learned that Enma originated from India, similarly to the Yaksha, as mentioned earlier on. This once again shows the similarities through Asian superstition, and how most tales and creatures originate from different places and merge and change over time to become what they are known as today.

Harvard References:

Yokai.com. (n.d.). Enma Daiō | Yokai.com. [online] Available at: https://yokai.com/enmadaiou/ [Accessed 15 Feb. 2022].