あまのじゃく

Japanese

Noun

あまのじゃく • (amanojaku) 

1. 天邪鬼: a kind of oni that appears in various folktales as the bad guy, who deliberately goes against what people say; someone with a personality or behavior reminiscent of the folktale character: a crank, a perverse person; (Buddhism) in Buddhist statuary, the small devil or demon being trampled under the feet of a 仁王 (Niō, “Deva king”) or one of the 四天王 (Shitennō, “four Deva warriors”); (Buddhism) in Buddhist statuary, the devil or demon face on the breastplate of 毘沙門天 (Bishamonten, “Vaiśravaṇa”); a grub (insect larva)