Mazoku
Encyclopedia
is a common concept in Japan
ese fantasy
referring to a race of beings born with supernatural
and paranormal
powers.
) suggests that they are meant to threaten human existence or defy the gods, while -zoku (族 - race) indicates that they are a family. A more positive way of viewing this term is suggested in Chrono Trigger
, where many "monsters" have become antagonist due to political manipulation: The Ma is a short form of Magic (As in Japanese, Mahō 魔法).
's clan Asura
and Yaksha
, as well as Zoroastrianism
's Daeva
, and is the general term for devils, demons and evil beings. The term is used in the form of separating these supernatural entities from the devils and demons in Christianity
and Oni of Japanese local mythology. In polytheism
, it is simply a word used as an Antonym of 神族 (shinzoku), which means literally the race of gods.
The term maō is used to describe the king or kings ruling mazoku. It was originally used to transliterate Buddhism deity, the demon god 第六天魔王波旬. Later used for Lucifer
/Satan
in the Bible. In polytheism
, a term used as an Antonym of maō is 神王 (shin'ō), which means the king of gods. However, the term 主神 (shushin, literally the main god) is used more often since the term shushin was also used in monotheism meaning God.
The Japanese feudal lord Oda Nobunaga
also called himself a maō in a letter to Takeda Shingen
signing it with 第六天魔王 (The demon king of the sixth sky).
When described as humanoid, usually having some or all of these features, and share a lot in common with demons/devils.
, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
, widely translated as "Elf King" in English, was translated as 魔王 (Maō) in Japanese. The term Daimaō (大魔王 - great demon king) is sometimes used to suggest an even higher class being than the maō. In Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
, a term chōmaō (超魔王 - ultimate demon king) is used to suggest an even higher class being.
and console RPGs starting with the original Dragon Quest
. Since then, the concept has evolved considerably. More common and popular concepts could be seen used in Slayers
, YuYu Hakusho
and Disgaea
.
, are living beings that reside in Makai (different from the world after death, but a parallel universe with mazoku as living beings). Reikai (the temporary world after death) viewed them as trouble makers and criminals, classifying them by power and intelligence, from intelligent A-Class to D-Class, to simple animals and plants. Anything more powerful than A-Class mazoku is classified as an S-Class, with only a few in existence; such as Raizen
, Yomi, and Mukuro. Reikai set up a barrier between Makai and Ningenkai (the human world) to block Mazoku from entering the human world. However, due to the size of the Net, the barrier was large enough to prevent A-Class and above Mazoku from passing, but B-class and below could simply go through these "holes" like a small fish. Therefore, from time to time, when a gap opened, some Mazoku would find their way to the human world and behave mischievously, though not always by their own choice.
In the story, D-Class Mazoku are always dumb and do not know the limits of their power and ability. They are normally more monster-like and will judge their enemies' power by their size, rather than what they can sense. B-Class and C-Class mazoku are more intelligent, and usually take a more humanoid form since they are closer to humans, and also have organizing plan capabilities, even teaming up with other Mazoku if necessary, but sometimes still react on instinct. A-Class Mazoku, however, do not act on instinct, but instead will use their brains and "senses" in order to judge how much power they have and observe before taking action. S-Class Mazoku are rare, but are said to be numerous if one goes deep enough inside Makai (where its said to be structured like an infinitely deep dungeon with different floors). It is told towards the end of the story that Mazoku are not the criminal-like creatures Reikai would have them portrayed to be, incidents of mazoku killing humans are only 1/1000 to the rates of humans killing humans.
It was explained in the story that because the unexplored resources of the human world are precious to all, Reikai created the barrier in order to take it for themselves. They then went as far as capturing C-Class and D-Class mazoku, brainwashed them, and then released them in the human world to perform mischievous acts, where they would then be re-captured by specially appointed human-beings, by Reikai, known as Spirit-detectives. The brainwashed Mazoku were then killed after they served their purpose through several "capture and release" missions. Koenma, towards the end of the story, discovered all of this and would take down the barrier for good.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
referring to a race of beings born with supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
and paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
powers.
Mazoku
The very name Ma (魔 - devilDevil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
) suggests that they are meant to threaten human existence or defy the gods, while -zoku (族 - race) indicates that they are a family. A more positive way of viewing this term is suggested in Chrono Trigger
Chrono Trigger
is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1995. Chrono Triggers development team included three designers that Square dubbed the "Dream Team": Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of Square's Final Fantasy series; Yuji Horii, a...
, where many "monsters" have become antagonist due to political manipulation: The Ma is a short form of Magic (As in Japanese, Mahō 魔法).
Maō
Maō is a term developed from Mazoku, suggesting a leader, in fact, a king (王 Ō - king) that rules part of, if not all of the mazoku.Original usage in Mythology and Legend
The original term was used in Japanese transliteration of the Indian (Hindu) mythologyHindu mythology
Hindu religious literature is the large body of traditional narratives related to Hinduism, notably as contained in Sanskrit literature, such as the Sanskrit epics and the Puranas. As such, it is a subset of Nepali and Indian culture...
's clan Asura
Asura
-In Hinduism:In Hinduism, the Asuras constitute a group of power-seeking deities, sometimes considered sinful and materialistic. The Daityas and Danavas were combinedly known as Asuras. The Asura were opposed to the Devas. Both groups are children of Kasyapa...
and Yaksha
Yaksha
Yaksha is the name of a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, who are caretakers of the natural treasures hidden in the earth and tree roots. They appear in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist mythology. The feminine form of the word is ' or Yakshini .In Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist mythology,...
, as well as Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
's Daeva
Daeva
Daeva in Avestan language meaning "a being of shining light", is a term for a particular sort of supernatural entity with disagreeable characteristics. Equivalents in Iranian languages include Pashto dêw , Baluchi dêw , Persian dīv , Kurdish dêw...
, and is the general term for devils, demons and evil beings. The term is used in the form of separating these supernatural entities from the devils and demons in Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and Oni of Japanese local mythology. In polytheism
Polytheism
Polytheism is the belief of multiple deities also usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own mythologies and rituals....
, it is simply a word used as an Antonym of 神族 (shinzoku), which means literally the race of gods.
The term maō is used to describe the king or kings ruling mazoku. It was originally used to transliterate Buddhism deity, the demon god 第六天魔王波旬. Later used for Lucifer
Lucifer
Traditionally, Lucifer is a name that in English generally refers to the devil or Satan before being cast from Heaven, although this is not the original meaning of the term. In Latin, from which the English word is derived, Lucifer means "light-bearer"...
/Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
in the Bible. In polytheism
Polytheism
Polytheism is the belief of multiple deities also usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own mythologies and rituals....
, a term used as an Antonym of maō is 神王 (shin'ō), which means the king of gods. However, the term 主神 (shushin, literally the main god) is used more often since the term shushin was also used in monotheism meaning God.
The Japanese feudal lord Oda Nobunaga
Oda Nobunaga
was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi...
also called himself a maō in a letter to Takeda Shingen
Takeda Shingen
, of Kai Province, was a preeminent daimyo in feudal Japan with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period.-Name:Shingen was called "Tarō" or "Katsuchiyo" during his childhood...
signing it with 第六天魔王 (The demon king of the sixth sky).
Fictional usage
The meaning of mazoku differs from series to series. Some stories coins the term general to all evil beings (instead of a single biological race) that are enemies or nemesis of humans and good gods; while some others used it to specify a certain race (not necessarily evil). Also, even if the word is used to describe a certain race of biological beings, the characteristics still differs from different series. Sometimes, it is portrayed as other biological races, with individuals having similar characteristics, while other series having unique features on different individuals. While it can be confusing, in Japan, a separate term: 惡魔族 (Akumazoku) is used, the word 惡 (aku) suggesting the evilness in contrast of mazoku.When described as humanoid, usually having some or all of these features, and share a lot in common with demons/devils.
- Having pointy ears
- Having exotic skin, hair, eye and blood colours
- Having sharp claws and/or teeth/fangs
- Having horns, wings, tails, or any features humans do not possess
- Having the ability to transform to other forms
- Look completely human
Maō in fiction
Although the term maō is also used as king of mazoku, it is also commonly used as a general term of king of demons, king of devils, and more general, just an overlord, a dark lord or an archenemy of the hero. Having a maō in a series does not necessarily mean that there is a mazoku race for it to rule, a maō can simply rule humans, monsters, anything or nothing at all. Der ErlkönigDer Erlkönig
Der Erlkönig is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It depicts the death of a child assailed by a supernatural being, the Erlking or "Erlkönig"...
, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
, widely translated as "Elf King" in English, was translated as 魔王 (Maō) in Japanese. The term Daimaō (大魔王 - great demon king) is sometimes used to suggest an even higher class being than the maō. In Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
is a tactical role-playing video game developed by Nippon Ichi Software and published by Nippon Ichi Software in Japan, Atlus USA, Inc. in North America, and Koei in Europe for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console...
, a term chōmaō (超魔王 - ultimate demon king) is used to suggest an even higher class being.
Modern influences
The ancestral influences to the presentation of Mazoku in modern Japanese popular fiction is believed to come from Go Nagai's DevilmanDevilman
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai which originally started as an anime adaptation of the concept of Nagai's previous manga series, Demon Lord Dante. A 39 episode anime series was developed by Toei in 1972 and Nagai began Devilman as a manga in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen...
and console RPGs starting with the original Dragon Quest
Dragon Quest
, published as Dragon Warrior in North America until 2005,Due to the inconsistent usage by sources since Square Enix obtained the naming rights to Dragon Quest in North America. Dragon Quest has been used by sources to refer to games released solely under the Dragon Warrior titles...
. Since then, the concept has evolved considerably. More common and popular concepts could be seen used in Slayers
Slayers
is a series of over 52 light novels written by Hajime Kanzaka and illustrated by Rui Araizumi. It was later developed into several manga titles, five televised anime series, two three-episode original video animations , and five movies. It also spawned several console role-playing games for the...
, YuYu Hakusho
YuYu Hakusho
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi. The name of the series is spelled YuYu Hakusho in the Viz Media manga and Yu Yu Hakusho in other English distributions of the franchise. The series tells the story of Yusuke Urameshi, a teenage delinquent who is struck and...
and Disgaea
Disgaea
is a video game series of tactical role-playing games created and developed by Nippon Ichi. The series debuted in Japan on January 30, , with Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, later re-released as Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness and Disgaea DS. One of Nippon Ichi's most popular franchises, it has branched...
.
YuYu Hakusho
In the YuYu Hakusho series, Mazoku, more referred to by human and reikai as YokaiYokai
are a class of supernatural monsters in Japanese folklore. The word yōkai is made up of the kanji for "otherworldly" and "weird". Yōkai range eclectically from the malevolent to the mischievous, or occasionally bring good fortune to those who encounter them...
, are living beings that reside in Makai (different from the world after death, but a parallel universe with mazoku as living beings). Reikai (the temporary world after death) viewed them as trouble makers and criminals, classifying them by power and intelligence, from intelligent A-Class to D-Class, to simple animals and plants. Anything more powerful than A-Class mazoku is classified as an S-Class, with only a few in existence; such as Raizen
Raízen
Raízen is the third largest Brazilian energy company by revenue and the fifth largest in Brazil. The company is a joint-venture formed in 2010 from the merger of the assets of sugar, fuel and ethanol derived from sugar from Cosan and Royal Dutch Shell in Brazil...
, Yomi, and Mukuro. Reikai set up a barrier between Makai and Ningenkai (the human world) to block Mazoku from entering the human world. However, due to the size of the Net, the barrier was large enough to prevent A-Class and above Mazoku from passing, but B-class and below could simply go through these "holes" like a small fish. Therefore, from time to time, when a gap opened, some Mazoku would find their way to the human world and behave mischievously, though not always by their own choice.
In the story, D-Class Mazoku are always dumb and do not know the limits of their power and ability. They are normally more monster-like and will judge their enemies' power by their size, rather than what they can sense. B-Class and C-Class mazoku are more intelligent, and usually take a more humanoid form since they are closer to humans, and also have organizing plan capabilities, even teaming up with other Mazoku if necessary, but sometimes still react on instinct. A-Class Mazoku, however, do not act on instinct, but instead will use their brains and "senses" in order to judge how much power they have and observe before taking action. S-Class Mazoku are rare, but are said to be numerous if one goes deep enough inside Makai (where its said to be structured like an infinitely deep dungeon with different floors). It is told towards the end of the story that Mazoku are not the criminal-like creatures Reikai would have them portrayed to be, incidents of mazoku killing humans are only 1/1000 to the rates of humans killing humans.
It was explained in the story that because the unexplored resources of the human world are precious to all, Reikai created the barrier in order to take it for themselves. They then went as far as capturing C-Class and D-Class mazoku, brainwashed them, and then released them in the human world to perform mischievous acts, where they would then be re-captured by specially appointed human-beings, by Reikai, known as Spirit-detectives. The brainwashed Mazoku were then killed after they served their purpose through several "capture and release" missions. Koenma, towards the end of the story, discovered all of this and would take down the barrier for good.