Onmoraki, Bird of the Dead

The myth

Onmoraki is a bird-shaped yōkai drawn by Toriyama Sekien in his illustrated collection of 1779. Sekien, citing Buddhist texts, writes that it is born from the energy of fresh corpses and appears at temples whose monks neglect the rites. It looks like a dark heron with eyes glowing like fire, and it gives chilling cries. In later accounts it is the spirit of the dead to whom no one paid funeral honors. The bird became a symbol of duty toward the dead, a central theme in Japanese religious life, in which ancestors must be remembered.

Why it has this power

A Common level-5 Darkness Bird with 1600 ATK and 1300 DEF: strong for a common, because neglect weighs heavily. Darkness comes from forgotten temples; Feather and Crown recall its wings and the sacred duty left undone. In the earthly cycle Crown beats Scarab, oddly useful against other dead.

Did you know

The name onmoraki has no clear Japanese origin; Sekien took it from Chinese and Buddhist works, and nearly all we know of it comes from that one illustration.

Connections

Where to get it

• Daily Offering: 0% per pack (Common 64% per card)
• Welcome Pack: 0.97% per pack (Common 70% per card)
• Traveler's Pack: 0.88% per pack · 5.2% in the themed pack (Common 64% per card)
• Bronze Reliquary: 0.86% per pack · 5.1% in the themed pack (Common 62% per card)
• Silver Reliquary: 0.67% per pack · 4% in the themed pack (Common 49% per card)
• Golden Reliquary: 0.46% per pack · 2.7% in the themed pack (Common 33% per card)
• Daily Showcase: Shows up on about 0.69% of days · 150 gold
• Craft with card dust: 40 dust
• Crossing of Myths: Can be offered as a reward during a crossing (the card stays in the crossing deck).

Sources

1. The Database of Paintings of Mysterious Phenomena and Yōkai — International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken)
2. Kaii・Yōkai Denshō Database (folklore of strange phenomena and yōkai) — International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken)