Demon from Japanese folklore
Shuten-dōji (, also sometimes called , or ) is a mythical "oni" or demon leader of Japan, who according to legend was killed by the hero Minamoto 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 at Mount Ōe () northwest of the city of Kyoto, or Mount Ibuki, depending on the version. It has also been theorized that the original mountain was Mount Ōe () on the western edge of the city of Kyoto.
Texts.
The oldest surviving text of the legend is recorded in the 14th century "Ōeyama Ekotoba" (大江山絵詞 "Tale of Mount Ōe in Pictures and Words"), a picture scroll held by the Itsuō Art Museum. It was later incorporated into the corpus of "Otogi-zōshi" ("Companion tales"), and became widely read in the woodblock-printed versions of them called the "Otogi Bunko" (Companion Library), especially Shibukawa Seiemon editions (ca. 1720). There is also a set of texts which localizes the Shuten-dōji's fortress at Mt. Ibuki. The Mt. Ibuki group texts reveal the villain's "honji" (avatar identity) as "the demon king of the Sixth Heaven" (Dairokuten maō), whereas the Mt. Ōe-localized group texts generally do not, with the exception of "Ōeyama Ekotoba" which is oldest.
Localization.
There are two different mountains named Mt. Ōe in Tanba Province. The "Otogi Zōshi" text of the later period is clearly referring to Ōeyama () northwest of the Kyoto capital, since it specifically mentions Senjōdake which is part of this mountain chain.
But recent scholarship assigns the original mountain to have been the Mt. Ōe () further south (on the western edge of Kyoto city and extending to Kameoka, Kyoto). This other Mt. Ōe also has a piece of acclivity named Oi-no-Saka (, "Slope of Aging").
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 folklorist Takeda Chōshū.
Summary (oldest version).
The oldest text ("Ōeyama Ekotoba" or "Ōeyama Emaki") version the legend can be summarized as follows:
During the reign of Emperor Ichijō (r. 986–1011), a large number of missing people were being reported in the capital city of Kyoto, most of the victims being young women. Abe no Seimei, the famous "onmyōdō" diviner of the imperial court, determines that the "oni"-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) to exterminate this demon. Raikō had his four lieutenants called the "shitennō" while Hōshō had only the junior secretary ("shōgen") of Dazaifu to assist them. The party left Kyoto in the year 995.
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 as "yamabushi" priests. When they traveled through a cave-tunnel, they came to a river and found an old kidnapped woman doing the laundry. The old woman explained that the kidnapped young maidens were being forced to act as maidservants, but the ogres wantonly slaughtered the girls, ate their flesh and drank their blood.
The warriors, pretending to be priests, convinced the ogre-king to give them lodging. The ogre-king treated his guests with "sake" 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 ancestral Hira Mountains when Enryaku-ji temple was built nearby. and have been at Mt. Ōe since the year 849.
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 called "oi" (笈). 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 the Uji no hōzō (Treasure House of Uji) at Byōdō-in temple.
Physical description.
According to the "Ōeyama 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.
Otogi Bunko version.
The version of the legend found in Shibukawa's "Otogi Bunko" has been printed in English translation by Haruo Shirane and Noriko T. Reider. Some of the textual similarities and differences are noted below.
Divination and expedition.
This version is vague about the time frame but in the capital city of Kyoto people are being abducted. A certain middle counselor seeks his daughter's whereabouts and summons a diviner named Muraoka no Masatoki (rather than Seimei, as in the older text). Masatoki names the demons of Mt. Ōe of Tanba Province as the culprits.
The Mikado commands the formation of a punitive squad, consisting of the standard six warriors, Minamoto no Raikō and his "four guardian kings" ("shitennō") including Watanabe no Tsuna and Hōshō.
Three gods and divine sake.
Because demons are shape-shifters and formidable enemies, the group decides to pay homage to three shrines: Yawata Shrine (Iwashimizu Hachimangū), Sumiyoshi Shrine, and Kumano Shrine.
Later, the group meet the gods of the three shrines disguised as old men. The gods give Raikō the "sake [which is] divine elixir, poisonous to demons" (, "jinben kidoku shu") which will rob the ogres of their ability to fly and stupefy them.
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 a "hoshi kabuto" type, translated as a "hobnailed helmet") which he is instructed to wear when he decapitates the enemy.
Infiltration.
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. She reveals that the lair which is called Iron Palace ("Kurogane no gosho", ) lies inside the Demon's Cavern ("Oni no iwaya" ), and forewarns the group about the four ogres who are Shutendōji's lieutenants.(cf. §Subordinates).
As in the oldest text, Raikō's party pretending to be yamabushi ascetics gains entry at Shuten-dōji's dwelling-place. Raikō disarms the ogre's suspicion by explaining that they, as yamabushi, follow the ways of En no Gyōja, whom he says was compassionate and hospitable towards demons. The warriors drink up the blood sake and heartily eat the human flesh in order to gain further confidence. At the height of the drunken revelry, Raikō offers Shuten-dōji the divine sake poisonous to demons. Shuten-dōji begins to tell his life story (he is originally from Echigo Province according to this text), and also recounts how his henchman Ibaraki-dōji lost an arm in an encounter with Tsuna, one of Raikō's men.
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") 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".
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") given him by the gods. Subsequently, Ibaraki-dōji and Watanabe no Tsuna engage in a prolonged fight and while they grappled, Raikō decapitated Ibaraki-dōji. The female prisoners are liberated and the warriors return triumphant.
Subordinates.
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 by Watanabe no Tsuna (one of Raikō's men). Later on, Raikō decapitated Ibaraki-dōji who was wrestling with Tsuna.
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).
Named swords and arms.
Warriors would conceal their armor and swords, many of which have been given proper names, in their "oi" (portable chests; "panniers" according to Reider).
Raikō's chest contained the sword Chisui (ちすゐ, assumed to be "血吸", thus "Bloodsucker"), vermilion armor ("hiodoshi") called "randen gusari" (らんでん鎖, Randen Chain), and a vermilion helmet called Shishiō ("Lion King" or "Lion Lord".) Hōshō's contained a two-foot halberd (ko-naginata) called Iwakiri (Cutting Rock or Stonecutter). Tsuna had a sword named Onikiri (Cutting Demon or Demon Slasher) and yellow-green set of armor and helmet.
A real existing "tachi" (Japanese long sword) named Dōjigiri, which is one of the Five Best Swords under Heaven and designated national treasure of Japan, is associated with the tradition of being the sword that killed Shuten-dōji. Tada Shrine also has a "tachi", Onikirimaru, which has a legend that it defeated Shuten-dōji. Kitano Tenmangū Shrine owns "tachi" that has been handed down as Onikiri (also known as Higekiri) described in this tradition.
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.
Analysis.
The Three Great Yokai.
It has been said that Shuten-dōji was the strongest oni of Japan. Academic folklorist Kazuhiko Komatsu has counted Shuten-dōji among the three most feared yōkai in medieval Kyoto, alongside the vixen Tamamo-no-Mae and the demon Ōtakemaru. 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.
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.
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.
Origin theory.
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 the Dragon Palace. Takahashi also associates the legend with the smallpox epidemic of 994 and finds parallels with other tales, such as the story of Chiyou from "Records of the Grand Historian" and the Ming dynasty's "The Record of Chen Xunquan's Loss of His Wife".
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. The red wine Dotsch drank might have been mistaken for "living blood." This idea likely originated from the short story "Shuten-doji", published in "Weekly Asahi" in 1952, where the Westerner, shipwrecked on Tango's shores, drank wine that resembled blood.
Relationship with Fujiwara Yasumasa.
In earlier versions of the Shuten-doji legend, Minamoto no Yorimitsu, who defeated the demon, and Fujiwara no