Amanojaku

Amanojaku are demons from Japanese folklore that appear as horrific little monsters similar to Oni, they are extremely malevolent creatures that delight in not only harming and killing others but also corrupting people into performing evil deeds - for this purpose they are often found in opposition to the gods or other divine creatures, who often banish or imprison these vicious little creatures in order to ensure they can not do further harm.

They are quite common in Japanese art and folk stories but are likely to be mistaken for Oni to other cultures, which is not entire inaccurate (as Oni is a term used to refer to many types of demons in Japan, however the term has become more notable in mass media for depicting large ogre-like monsters, rather than the small creatures Amanojaku are often depicted as).

Due to this they are more likely to be compared to creatures such as imps or gremlins in Western lore, though much more malevolent in nature.