Onryō
In traditional beliefs of Japan and in literature, onryō (怨霊, literally "vengeful spirit", sometimes rendered "wrathful spirit") refers to a ghost (yūrei) believed capable of causing harm in the world of the living, harming or killing enemies, or even causing natural disasters to exact vengeance to redress the wrongs it received while alive then takes their spirits from their dying bodies.
The term overlaps somewhat with goryō (御霊), except that in the cult of the goryō, the acting agent need not necessarily be a wrathful spirit.
Origin of onryō
While the origin of onryō is unclear, their existence can be traced back to the 8th century and was based on the idea that powerful and enraged souls of the dead could influence or harm the living people. The earliest onryō cult that developed around Prince Nagaya who died in 729; and the first record of possession by the onryō spirit affecting the health is found in the chronicle Shoku Nihongi (797), which states that "Fujiwara Hirotsugu (藤原広嗣)'s soul harmed Genbō to death" (Hirotsugu having died in a failed insurrection, named the "Fujiwara no Hirotsugu Rebellion," after failing to remove his rival, the priest Genbō, from power).
Onryo (wrestler)
Ryo Matsuri (祭遼, Matsuri Ryō) is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known for his ring name Onryo (怨霊, Onryō). He is mostly known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling and Big Japan Pro Wrestling. He is the founder of 666 promotion.
Pro wrestling career
Matsuri started his career as Wolf Ozawa in the Tokai University backyard wrestling promotion, where he was contacted by Mens Teioh to train in Wrestle Dream Factory. He adopted the gimmick of Onryo (怨霊, Onryō), based in the Japanese folklore ghosts of the same name, and started to use pale facepaint and shabby clothes which released ashes with each movement. He was in-storyline a dead wrestler who had returned for vengeance, and elements of his gimmick included the ability to turn invisible to his opponents and disappear at will. Onryo gained popularity and appeared in promotions like Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi and Wrestle Association R before signing with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling. He participated in the Super J Cup 2000, eliminating Curry Man before being eliminated himself by CIMA.
Podcasts:
Stations
Bring me the head of John the Baptist
show it round and shine
his cloudy, marble, crossed and final eyes
once more into mine.
Give me a leg up high enough
to see beyond this wall,
to be the first to see the victors take the gate
or to be the last one so fall.
I said, “I meant a world of good”
and she said, “I wouldn't doubt it”
standing where she was,
she kissed the back of my head;
I said, “we could make the woods”
but she said, “how ‘bout it —
let's sleep and let them
find us here instead.”
Every time I catch a good sang
wouldn't you know — the station starts to fade,
but every step I've ever taken
has brought me in time just to hear it slip away.
Bring me the head of John the Baptist
show it round and shine
his cloudy, marble, crossed and final eyes