学生の頃、「漢字の意味や読み方を知りたい場合は、その漢字を分解してみれば良い。｣と国語の先生が言った。
漢字の分解をすると、元々その字が何を表わしていた象形文字から出来たか解るので、とても面白い。
（遊び呆けるのではなく、物事を面白がるってのは人生を楽しく豊かにする秘訣の１つだと思う。）
When I was a junior high-school student,a Japanese teacher said
"When if you can't get meanings&pronunciation about a Kanji then try break it to small parts ".
because small Kanji pieces that having something meanings&pronunciation making a Kanji usually.
It's very interesting work for me.
I think "Intellectual curiosity" is very important than "Play a thing without thinking" in our happy life way.
さて、【鬼について】で、あらかた説明は済んでいますが、中国由来のこの漢字を使用するようになる前の古代日本では、これらは「隠（おん/おぬ）」と言う漢字の意味に近い認識をしていました。
『おん(の)に/おぬ(の)に”ある（と感じる）何か影の（隠れた）属性の物』と言うのが、本来の日本の「鬼」の認識です。
もっと分解すれば、この文字は、こざとへんに「急」と言う文字で構成されています。
こざとへんは「平凡な小さな里や野山」を表し、「急」は「心」と「及」で構成された文字であり、「ドキドキする様」を表しています。
つまり、「平凡な日常に存在する心臓を早鐘のごとく打たせる何か」であり、これに「隠れている」という意味づけを持ったこの文字が表すのは「目に見えない得体の知れない物」であり、「恐怖」です。
現在の「鬼」の認識よりももっと曖昧で広範囲な感じです。
Btw,I wrote a little meanings about "隠(On/In)" in my report【About Oni 1】 a bit,
This kanji is older than "鬼(Oni)" for meaning "Ogre" in JP,and more similar with truly meaning "What is Ogre in ancient JP times",I thnk.
This kanji is older than "鬼(Oni)" for meaning "Ogre" in JP,and more similar with truly meaning "What is Ogre in ancient JP times",I thnk.
In ancient JP times,Oni was "隠(On/Onu)".
Ppl used it like a "On(no)ni/Onu(no)ni" in their conversations as a unknown shadow kind of thing,
because On/Onu meaning "no exist".
This words are still living in a country side of JP as only meaning "no exist".
For example,like this「Dare mo on(no)ni nanika kikoeru*I hear something but no one exist*」.
Maybe old ppl used 隠 like this example sentence too but when something happend by "no exist one" then ppl used 隠 as a noun because useful.
Because 隠 meanings "Hide""Dark"too.
When if you broke this Kanji then you will find this Kanji is made by 2 small kanji parts.
It's 
（Kozato-hen）+急（Kyuu/isogu）.
（Kozato-hen）+急（Kyuu/isogu）.Kozato-hen meanings "Small village/Common field/Small mountain ".
急 is made by 及"Touch"+心"Heart" but meaning "Heart beating for something".
In fact,隠's true meaning is "Something dark/unknown dark one who/it make your heart beating hardly in daily life and hiding".
That's why it meaning "Invisible unknown one" too.
Then we can get easily that Oni's true body.
So, it's not Ogre's.
It's more confusion one and true name is "Scary emotions".
同時に解るのは、私達が日常的に恐怖心を心に秘めて生活しているという事。
そしてその系列に「疑心暗鬼」と言う四文字熟語があり、疑う心が暗い部分に鬼が住まう事、相手を疑う事から生じる「負の感情」が鬼を生むと昔の人は知っていました。
同時に、日常に潜む「負の感情」、怒りや妬みや嫉みや悲しみと言うものが本人の「恐怖心/不安」以外の何物でもない事もです。
古今東西、言葉も何もかも略したり可愛くしたり”軽くする事”が世の常なので、それに伴って本来の言葉の意味が失われる事により、感情のコントロールに苦労している人達が多いです。
We can get both "We living with scary emotions in daily life and hiding " easily.
And there is a Yon-moji-jyukugo(Japanese useful idioms)【疑心暗鬼(Gisin-anki)】 that same category with those.
Gisin-anki came from Chinese-story and it meaning "Suspicion will raise ogres, Once you suspect something, everything else will look suspicious".
Old ppl knowing that all of dark emotions come from scary emotions.
In fact,"Anger""Doubt""Envy" many dark emotions came from "Fear" and if you didn't know it then it make you Ogre.
In modern times, many words lost true meanings because ppl likes abbreviations and short-cut because cool.
but I think That's why young ppl and chavs can't control their emothions.
*Sorry I'm only not good at English,but if you were good at Japanese then you will get my Japanese words are very good grade*
江戸時代の俳人・横井也有は、俳句集『鶉衣』に「化物の 正躰見たり 枯れ尾花」と言う「疑心暗鬼」をいさめる句を残しています。
現代日本ではその句の”化物”の部分が”幽霊”に挿げ変わり、よく知られた句となっています。
Old Japanese Haiku-poemmer Yayuu-Yokoi(1702-1783 Edo-period) wrote a Haiku "Bakemono no syoutai mitari kare obana*I got a monster's true body,It's Miscanthus sinensis*" in his poem-book Uzura-koromo.
This is very famous Haiku for warn Gishin-anki,but changed "Bakemono*monster*" parts were "Yuurei*ghost*" today.
This is very famous Haiku for warn Gishin-anki,but changed "Bakemono*monster*" parts were "Yuurei*ghost*" today.
もし日常の生活の中で怒りや嫉妬等の暗い感情を抱く事があったら、感情に任せて怒りや嫉妬に狂うより、一呼吸して、自分が何に対して恐怖/不安があるのかじっくり考えてみると良いかも知れません。
I recommend that when if you got a anger or envy and other "Dark emotion" in your life then take breaths and ask to yourself "Why I'm scared about it? Where it came from in me?" and think.
It will work for your happy life.
