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Shuten-dōji (酒呑童子, also sometimes called酒顛童子, 酒天童子, or朱点童子) is a mythicaloni or demon leader ofJapan, who according to legend was killed by the heroMinamoto no Raikō. Although decapitated, the demon's detached head still took a bite at the hero, who avoided death by wearing multiple helmets stacked on his head.
Shuten-dōji had his lair atMount Ōe (大江山) northwest of the city ofKyoto, orMount Ibuki, depending on the version. It has also been theorized that the original mountain wasMount Ōe (大枝山) on the western edge of the city ofKyoto.
The oldest surviving text of the legend is recorded in the 14th centuryŌeyama Ekotoba (大江山絵詞 "Tale of Mount Ōe in Pictures and Words"), a picture scroll held by theItsuō Art Museum. It was later incorporated into the corpus ofOtogi-zōshi ("Companion tales"), and became widely read in the woodblock-printed versions of them called theOtogi Bunko (Companion Library), especially Shibukawa Seiemon editions (ca. 1720).[1][2] There is also a set of texts which localizes the Shuten-dōji's fortress atMt. Ibuki.[3] The Mt. Ibuki group texts reveal the villain'shonji (avatar identity) as "the demon king of the Sixth Heaven" (Dairokuten maō [ja]), whereas the Mt. Ōe-localized group texts generally do not, with the exception ofŌeyama Ekotoba which is oldest.[3]
There are two different mountains named Mt. Ōe inTanba Province. TheOtogi Zōshi text of the later period is clearly referring toŌeyama [ja] (大江山) northwest of the Kyoto capital, since it specifically mentions Senjōdake which is part of this mountain chain.[4][5][6]
But recent scholarship assigns the original mountain to have been theMt. Ōe (大枝山) further south (on the western edge of Kyoto city and extending toKameoka, Kyoto). This other Mt. Ōe also has a piece of acclivity named Oi-no-Saka (老ノ坂, "Slope of Aging").[6][7]
There are in fact some comparatively recent versions that actually place the demon lair at the southerly Mt. Ōe, or portray the Senjōdake as the main and Oi-no-Saka as the secondary fortification for the demons, according to religious scholar and folkloristTakeda Chōshū [ja].[4]
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The oldest text (Ōeyama Ekotoba orŌeyama Emaki) version the legend can be summarized as follows:[8][9][10]
During the reign ofEmperor Ichijō (r. 986–1011), a large number ofmissing people were being reported in the capital city of Kyoto, most of the victims being young women.Abe no Seimei, the famousonmyōdō diviner of the imperial court, determines that theoni-king of Mt. Ōe (later identified as Shuten-dōji) was responsible for the abductions. The Emperor then commanded Minamoto no Raikō (Minamoto no Yorimitsu) and Fujiwara no Hōshō (Fujiwara no Yasumasa [ja]) to exterminate this demon. Raikō had his four lieutenants called theshitennō while Hōshō had only the junior secretary (shōgen) ofDazaifu to assist them. The party left Kyoto in the year 995.[11][12]
The party encountered a group of four men who turned out to be transformations of four deities. At their recommendation, Raikō and his retinue disguised themselves asyamabushi priests.[a] When they traveled through a cave-tunnel, they came to a river and found an old kidnapped woman doing thelaundry.[b] The old woman explained that the kidnapped young maidens were being forced to act asmaidservants, but the ogres wantonly slaughtered the girls, ate their flesh and drank their blood.[15][16][12]
The warriors, pretending to be priests, convinced the ogre-king to give them lodging. The ogre-king treated his guests withsake and began to tell the tale about himself, how he was called Shuten-dōji, the "sake-drinking lad" by his underlings for his love of drinking sake, and how the ogres had been displaced from their ancestralHira Mountains whenEnryaku-ji temple was built nearby.[c] and have been at Mt. Ōe since the year 849.[13][14]
Raikō then offered Shuten-dōji the sake given to him by one of the deities, which rendered him incapacitated. The warriors dressed up in armor and weapons which they concealed in their priestly back-pack chests calledoi (笈).[10][d] Then they stormed Shuten-dōji's sleeping quarters, and while the four deities held down the ogre's limbs, Raikō cut off Shuten-dōji's head with a stroke of his sword,Dōjigiri. The severed head was still alive and snapped its jaws, aiming at Raikō's head, but the warrior defended himself by wearing two of his men's helmets in addition to his own. The group returned triumphant to Kyoto with the head, which was laid to rest in theUji no hōzō [ja] (Treasure House of Uji) atByōdō-in temple.[19][17][20]
According to theŌeyama Ekotoba version, Shuten-dōji returned to his true form when he slept. He was 50 feet in height, had a red body and a five-horned head, with fifteen eyes; one leg was white and the other black, while his arms were yellow and blue.[21]
The version of the legend found in Shibukawa'sOtogi Bunko[22] has been printed in English translation byHaruo Shirane and Noriko T. Reider.[23][24] Some of the textual similarities and differences are noted below.
This version is vague about the time frame[e][25] but in the capital city of Kyoto people are being abducted. A certainmiddle counselor[f] seeks his daughter's whereabouts and summons a diviner named Muraoka no Masatoki (rather thanSeimei, as in the older text).[g][26] Masatoki names the demons of Mt. Ōe ofTanba Province as the culprits.
TheMikado[h] commands the formation of a punitive squad, consisting of the standard six warriors,Minamoto no Raikō and his "four guardian kings" (shitennō) includingWatanabe no Tsuna[i] and Hōshō.
Because demons are shape-shifters and formidable enemies, the group decides to pay homage to three shrines: Yawata Shrine (Iwashimizu Hachimangū),Sumiyoshi Shrine, andKumano Shrine.[27][j]
Later, the group meet the gods of the three shrines disguised as old men.[k] The gods give Raikō the "sake [which is] divine elixir, poisonous to demons" (神便鬼毒酒,jinben kidoku shu)[l] which will rob the ogres of their ability to fly and stupefy them.[5]
Even though Raikō is already carrying his own vermilion helm in his back-pack chest (cf.§Named swords and arms), he receives from the gods another helmet (of ahoshi kabuto [ja] type, translated as a "hobnailed helmet") which he is instructed to wear when he decapitates the enemy.[31][32]
Just before reaching the lair, Raikō's group encounters the hostage working as laundress, who becomes their informant. Here, she is not an old woman as in the old text, but a 17 or 18-year-old daughter of a courtier.[m] She reveals that the lair which is called Iron Palace (Kurogane no gosho,鐵の御所) lies inside the Demon's Cavern (Oni no iwaya鬼の岩屋), and forewarns the group about the four ogres who are Shutendōji's lieutenants.(cf.§Subordinates).[33][34]
As in the oldest text, Raikō's party pretending to beyamabushi ascetics gains entry at Shuten-dōji's dwelling-place. Raikō disarms the ogre's suspicion by explaining that they, as yamabushi, follow the ways ofEn no Gyōja, whom he says was compassionate and hospitable towards demons.[35] The warriors drink up the blood sake and heartily eat the human flesh in order to gain further confidence.[36] At the height of the drunken revelry, Raikō offers Shuten-dōji the divine sake poisonous to demons.[37] Shuten-dōji begins to tell his life story (he is originally fromEchigo Province according to this text), and also recounts how his henchmanIbaraki-dōji lost an arm in an encounter with Tsuna, one of Raikō's men.[n][38]
As in the older text, the warriors equip their hidden armor and swords and raid Shuten-dōji in his sleeping chamber. The three gods have arrived to help and chain the ogre's limbs to the pillars. As Raikō positions himself with his sword Chisui (or "Bloodsucker"[39]) in hand, the ogre faults the warrior for his sneaky underhanded tactics, exclaiming: "How sad, you priests! You said you do not lie. There is nothing false in the words of demons".[35][41][o]
The warriors attack with their swords and sever Shuten-dōji's head, but as in the older text, the detached head attempts to get a bite at Raikō, and the hero is protected by two helmets stacked on his head: his Lion King helmet on top the hobnailed helmet (hoshi kabuto [ja]) given him by the gods.[42] Subsequently, Ibaraki-dōji andWatanabe no Tsuna engage in a prolonged fight and while they grappled, Raikō decapitated Ibaraki-dōji.[43] The female prisoners are liberated and the warriors return triumphant.[44]
In this version,Ibaraki-dōji, who is famous in his own right, plays the role of one of Shuten-dōji's henchmen. There are also four other underlings dubbed Shuten-dōji's "Four Divine Kings": Hoshikuma-dōji, Kuma-dōji, Torakuma-dōji, and Kane-dōji.
Shuten-dōji, after telling the story of his own life, recounts the famous episode where Ibaraki-dōji goes to the capital city and has his arm severed byWatanabe no Tsuna (one of Raikō's men).[45] Later on, Raikō decapitated Ibaraki-dōji who was wrestling with Tsuna.[45]
Shuten-dōji's "Four Divine Kings" (shitennō) are described by the laundress-girl, so Raikō's group is aware of their existence in advance. Their names, together with their meanings were: Hoshikuma-dōji (Star-Bear Demon), Kuma-dōji (Bear Demon), Torakuma-dōji (Tiger-Bear Demon), and Kane-dōji (Iron Demon).[35]
Warriors would conceal their armor and swords, many of which have been given proper names, in theiroi (portable chests; "panniers" according to Reider).[33]
Raikō's chest contained the sword Chisui (ちすゐ, assumed to be "血吸", thus "Bloodsucker"[39]), vermilion armor (hiodoshi) calledranden gusari (らんでん鎖, Randen Chain[39]), and a vermilion helmet called Shishiō ("Lion King" or "Lion Lord".[46]) Hōshō's contained a two-foot halberd (ko-naginata) called Iwakiri (Cutting Rock or Stonecutter[39]). Tsuna had a sword namedOnikiri [ja] (Cutting Demon or Demon Slasher[39]) and yellow-green set of armor and helmet.[p][33][47]
A real existingtachi (Japanese long sword) namedDōjigiri, which is one of theFive Best Swords under Heaven and designated national treasure of Japan,[48] is associated with the tradition of being the sword that killed Shuten-dōji.[49][q] Tada Shrine also has atachi, Onikirimaru, which has a legend that it defeated Shuten-dōji.[note 1][51]Kitano Tenmangū Shrine ownstachi that has been handed down as Onikiri (also known as Higekiri) described in this tradition.[52]
In the Otogi Bunko text discussed here however, since many swords attack Shuten-dōji and sever his head, it is not clear who or which sword is to be credited with the decapitation.[42]
It has been said that Shuten-dōji was the strongest oni of Japan. Academic folkloristKazuhiko Komatsu [ja] has counted Shuten-dōji among the three most fearedyōkai in medieval Kyoto, alongside the vixenTamamo-no-Mae and the demonŌtakemaru.[53][54] Cultural anthropologist and folklorist Kazuhiko Komatsu has noted that if people in the Middle Ages, particularly those in the capital, were asked to name the most fearsome yōkai, they would likely mention three: Shuten-dōji, Tamamo-no-mae, and Ōtakemaru.[55]
Komatsu suggests that these yōkai were considered exceptional because they received special treatment after their defeat. He explains that their remains, or parts of them, were kept as "treasures" by the ruling class in Kyoto, centered around the Emperor. These remains were stored in the treasure house of Byodo-in Temple in Uji, built by Fujiwara no Yorimichi, symbolizing the rulers' power.[55]
The preservation of the demon's head and the fox's remains in the treasure house can be seen as a victory trophy, similar to the way fish prints or taxidermy animals are kept. It is believed that among the many demons defeated in the Middle Ages, the most formidable ones were deemed worthy of being stored in the Uji treasure house, representing military might, intelligence, and divine protection that surpassed even the spiritual strength of these powerful yōkai.[55]
Historian Masaaki Takahashi interprets the cave within Mt. Oe, where Shuten-doji resides, as a boundary between the living and the dead, suggesting his palace is situated in a mystical realm or the underworld. He likens it to theDragon Palace. Takahashi also associates the legend with the smallpox epidemic of 994 and finds parallels with other tales, such as the story ofChiyou fromRecords of the Grand Historian and theMing dynasty'sThe Record of Chen Xunquan's Loss of His Wife.[56]
There is a depiction of Shuten-doji drinking human blood like sake, which Takahashi believes could stem from the story of a German named Stein Dotsch, shipwrecked in Tango.[56] The red wine Dotsch drank might have been mistaken for "living blood." This idea likely originated from the short storyShuten-doji, published inWeekly Asahi in 1952, where the Westerner, shipwrecked on Tango's shores, drank wine that resembled blood.[56][57][58]
In earlier versions of the Shuten-doji legend, Minamoto no Yorimitsu, who defeated the demon, and Fujiwara no Yasumasa were portrayed as equals. According to theMido Kanpakuki, on March 8, 1017 (April 7, 1017), Yorimitsu's younger brother, Yorichika, killed Yasumasa's retainer, KIYOHARA no Munenobu (Sei Shonagon’s older brother). In theKojidan (vol. 2-57), a story based on this event, Munenobu is killed by one of Yorimitsu's Four Heavenly Kings, suggesting a rivalry between Yorimitsu and Yasumasa.
Additionally, texts likeHogen Monogatari,Umematsuron (vol. 2), andIsei Teikin Orai also list "Tamura (Sakanoue no Tamuramaro),Toshihito (Fujiwara no Toshihito), Yorimitsu, and Yasumasa" as a group of famous generals from ancient times. This connection is echoed inKanze Nobumitsu’s playRashomon, where Yasumasa and Watanabe no Tsuna are depicted arguing.
However, from the mid-Muromachi to theSengoku periods, Raiko and hisFour Heavenly Kings replaced Yasumasa as the main figures in the slaying of Shuten-doji, with Yasumasa being relegated to a supporting role. In theOtogi-zoshi version ofShuten-doji, Yasumasa is depicted as one of Raiko’s retainers alongside the Four Heavenly Kings, a portrayal that became widely accepted in later generations. Some stories, like the legend of the "Hōshō Sword" of theChiba clan (from the Nanboku-chō period), even credit Yasumasa alone with the defeat of Shuten-doji.[59]
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Shuten-dōji, according to one legend, was born atGanbara,Echigo.[citation needed] However, there is also the idea that from the base ofMount Ibuki, where in literature like theNihon Shoki, in the legend of the defeat of the giant snakeYamata no Orochi toSusanoo in a battle, it fled fromIzumo toŌmi, had a child with a wealthy person's daughter, with that child was Shuten-doji. Both father and son had a matchless thirst for sake, which is often cited as support.
According to theOtogi Bunko version as previously described, Shuten-dōji originally came fromEchigo Province (nowNiigata Prefecture) and, had lived since theHeian period (8th century) whenDengyō Daishi andKōbō-Daishi were active.[45] Local legends elaborate that he was a page of the Kokojou-ji (国上寺) (inTsubame,Niigata) (at the base ofMt. Kugami, there is a Chigo-dō where he is said to have passed through).[citation needed]
One story is that he was the son of a blacksmith in Echigo, that he was in his mother's womb for 16 months, and that he had teeth and hair when he was born, was immediately able to walk, was able to talk on the level of a 5–6 year old, had the wisdom and physical strength of a 16-year-old, and had a rough temperament, and due to this unusually ready wit, was shunned as an "oni child". According toZentaiheiki, afterwards, when he was 6 years of age, he was abandoned by his mother, wandered from place to place, and then walked the path towards being an oni.[60][61] There is also a legend that since he was scorned as an oni child, he was put into custody of a temple, but the chief priest of that temple was a user of unorthodox practices, and the child became an oni through learning those unorthodox practices, that he exhausted the limits of evil.[61]
In the town ofWanou (presently, Niigata, Niigata), it is said that when a pregnant woman eats a fish called "tochi", that child will become a robber if it is a boy, and a prostitute if it is a girl. It is also said that a woman who ate the fish, gave birth to a child after it stayed 16 months in her womb, and that child was Shuten-doji. InWanou, there are place names like the Dōji estate and the Dōji field.[62]
Some versions of the legend localizeMount Ibuki inŌmi Province (nowShiga Prefecture).
He, who was born from the large snakeYamata no Orochi (in its avatar as themyōjin ofMount Ibuki) and a human girl, was a page atMount Hiei from an early age, and underwent training, but he drank sake which was forbidden byBuddhism, and in fact was a big drinker, and was therefore hated by everyone.[citation needed] One day, after a religious festival where he dressed in an oni costume, he was about to take off the costume, but he was not able to since it was stuck to his face, and reluctantly went into some mountain recesses where he started his life as an oni. He then metIbaraki-dōji, and together aimed for Kyoto.[15]
He was a page for theByakugō-ji in theYamato Province (nowNara Prefecture), but found a corpse at a nearby mountain, and due to curiosity, brought that meat back to the temple, and made his priest teacher eat it without telling him that it was human meat. Afterwards, the page frequently brought back meat, not only from the flesh of corpses, but also by murdering live humans and returning with their flesh. The priest, who thought that it was suspicious, followed after the page, discovered the truth, harshly criticized the page, and abandoned him in a mountain. The page later became Shuten-dōji, and it has been said that the place where he was abandoned was thus calledchigo-saka (page-hill).[63]
According to another theory, he was a child of the chief priest of Byakugō-ji, but as he matured, he grew fangs and a horn, and later became a child as rough as a beast. The priest was embarrassed by this child, so the child was abandoned, but the child later came to Mount Ōoe, and became Shuten-dōji.[63]
From theHeian period to theKamakura period, he was anoni who lawlessly ran amok in the capital, and he was based in Mount in theTanba Province, or the Ōe inNishikyō-ku, Kyoto, also known as Oi no Saka (老ノ坂) (within the Rakusai district of Kyoto) as well as the neighboring Shinochōōji,Kameoka. For the legend of the Mount Ōe in Tanba Province, there is a theory that it was a misrepresentation of the bandits within Ōe who harassed passing travelers.[64]
According to local legend, Yorimitsu and the others returned with the head back to the capital, but at Oi-no-Saka (老ノ坂, "Slope of Aging") by theMount Ōe on the south edge of Kyoto city,[r] they were warned by a roadsize image ofJizō, "don't bring something unclean into the capital", and as the head was not able to move anymore, they all buried the head right there. Another theory is that when Dōji was dying, regretting his crimes until then, desired to help various people who had illnesses in their head, that he was deified as a great wisdom god (daimyōjin). As this is the Kubitsuka Daimyōjin of the Oi no Saka slope, according to legends, it would perform miracles for illnesses in the head.[65][66]
It has also been said that he was buried in Mount Ōe inFukuchiyama, Kyoto, which is the origin of the Onidake-inari-san jinja (鬼岳稲荷山神社).[citation needed]
Nariaiji temple inKyoto Prefecture preserves thesake bottle and sake cup allegedly used to pour theShinbenkidokushu (thesake that "poisoned" Shuten-dōji).[67]
Shuten-dōji rampaged together in Kyoto along withIbaraki-dōji, but there are actually several theories about their relation.[citation needed] One of those theories is that Ibaraki-dōji was not a male oni, but a female oni, and that Ibaraki-dōji was a lover of his son, or Shuten-dōji himself. Therefore, it has been said that Shuten-dōji and Ibaraki-dōji knew of each other's existence, and aimed for the capital together.