Seven Demon Stories from Medieval Japan
Page 3
after this spot, however, can also be supplemented by a different scroll that
consists of four sections over nine pieces of paper. These sections, which
are written text only, were perhaps copied in the mid-Muromachi period
( MJMT 3: 122).
Regarding the calligrapher of the writing, some attribute it to Urabe
Kenkō (or Yoshida Kenkō, 1283–1350), Keiun (?), or Nijō Tameyo (1250–
1338), but there is no proof to back up this assertion. The painter is not
known (Sakakibara, “Ōeyama ekotoba shōkai” 156).
Plot summary of ōeyama ekotoba
During the reign of Emperor Ichijō (986–1011), people begin to disap-
pear mysteriously in and around Kyoto, the Heian capital of Japan. Abe
no Seimei (921?–1005), a yin-yang master of the Heian Court, divines that
it is the work of Shuten Dōji, the chieftain of the oni; Shuten Dōji and
his cohorts abduct and devour people. The imperial court charges the two
generals, Minamoto no Raikō (or Yorimitsu) and Fujiwara no Hōshō (or
Yasumasa), to destroy Shuten Dōji and his evil minions.
14
Part I: Samurai
Before Raikō and Hōshō set out on their quest with several loyal
retainers, the troupe prays for success at four separate shrines. Their faith
is rewarded, for while on their way to the oni’s lair on Mt. Ōe, the group
encounters four deities disguised as priests. The old priests advise Raikō’s
party to disguise themselves as yamabushi (mountain priests), providing the
men with the necessary clothing. The warriors, now joined by the deity-
priests, meet an old woman washing bloody clothes at a river on Mt. Ōe.
She tells the heroes about the activities of Shuten Dōji and his band of
oni. Arriving at the demon’s mountaintop palace, the members of the royal
troupe tell the oni guard that they are a band of lost yamabushi in need of
lodging for the night. Shuten Dōji allows them into his palace and jovially
regales the men with stories from his past.
After Shuten Dōji retires, a number of oni disguised as beautiful women
visit Raikō and Hōshō in their quarters. Raikō gives the oni-women an intense
glare, and the demons scurry off. Soon after, another group of oni disguised
as a dengaku (field music) troupe emerges to entertain Raikō and his band.
Again, Raikō’s fierce stare wards the oni off. Raikō and Hōshō then scout out
the palace compound. They discover a cage holding a kidnapped page of the
Tendai sect’s head priest and in another cage, Chinese captives. Raikō’s and
Hōshō’s troupe then moves to Shuten Dōji’s grand bedchamber. They find
the entrance to his quarters blocked by an impenetrable iron door, but with
the help of the deity-priests, the once impervious door magically melts away.
Inside, Shuten Dōji in his true monstrous form lies in drunken repose. While
the four deity-priests hold each of Shuten Dōji’s limbs, the warriors behead
him. As Shuten Dōji’s head hurls through the air, his mouth tries to bite
Raikō. Raikō quickly borrows Tsuna’s and Kintoki’s helmets, putting them
over his own, and is thus saved from Shuten Dōji’s final attack. Raikō’s band
then kills the rest of the oni and frees the surviving captives. Before parting
with the warriors at Mt. Ōe, the four deities reveal their true identities and
also show the heroes their own honji (true nature or original form).
After the troupe returns to the capital, Shuten Dōji’s head is placed, by
imperial command, in the Uji no hōzō (Treasure house of Uji). Both Raikō
and Hōshō are generously rewarded for their heroic deeds.
DemOn COnquerOrs
The evil supernatural Shuten Dōji character is eliminated by the legendary
historical figures Minamoto no Raikō, Fujiwara no Hōshō, Raikō’s shitennō,
and Hōshō’s retainer. In a sense, they are legendary because they are known
as courageous warriors mostly in legends—this is especially true of Raikō
Drunken Demon
15
and Tsuna, Raikō’s right-hand man and the first of Raikō’s shitennō. They
play an active role in the world of setsuwa (tale literature or narrative; myths,
legends, anecdotes, and the like),8 but historical records of them are sparse.
An entertaining story is a great way of advertising or disseminating one’s
name or creating fame. In the process of story formation, extolling Raikō—
an ancestor of the Minamoto clan—was a major issue for his descendants,
and Tsuna was an important character to advance (or recover) the fame
of his line of the Watanabe clan. In contrast, Hōshō, who produced few
descendants, saw his status decline in the story as time passed.
Minamoto no Raikō (or Yorimitsu)
Minamoto no Raikō (948–1021) was the eldest son of Minamoto no
Mitsunaka (or Manjū in the Sino-Japanese reading of the characters, 912?–
97), one of the first chieftains of the Seiwa Genji line of gunji kizoku, or
warrior-aristocrats. Mitsunaka accumulated wealth and influence by tying
his fortunes to those of the Fujiwara Regency—the Fujiwara family’s
northern line monopolized the position of regent during the Heian period
(794–1185).9 According to Motoki Yasuo, Mitsunaka’s greatest achievement
was his role as an informer in the Anna Incident in 969 that politically
ruined Minamoto no Takaakira (914–83); Mitsunaka thus played a role in
helping establish the Fujiwara Regency under which he laid the founda-
tion for his descendants to flourish.10 Likewise, oboroya Hisashi writes that
Mitsunaka’s significance lies in his moving to Tada in Settsu Province (the
present-day eastern part of Hyōgo prefecture and the northern part of
osaka prefecture), developing his manor there, and forming an estate with
his dependents; thus he laid the foundations for his descendants to flourish
(oboroya 66). Since Mitsunaka had his base in Tada, he is also known as
Tada no Manjū. Raikō is said to have entered Tada, succeeding Mitsunaka.
Raikō: A Warrior-Aristocrat
Raikō first appears in the historical documents in the entry on the sixteenth
day of the ninth month of 988 in Nihon kiryaku (Short History of Japan,
ca. from the late eleventh century to the early twelfth century). Fujiwara
no Kaneie (929–90) had a banquet for his newly built mansion on Second
Avenue, and Raikō presented him with thirty horses (Kuroita, Nihon kiryaku
2: 165). Raikō was forty years old.
According to Sonpi bunmyaku (Genealogy of Noble and Humble),11 the
massive genealogical compendium compiled by Tōin Kinsada (1340–99), a
high-ranking court noble, Raikō became the governor of Settsu, Iyo, Mino,
16
Part I: Samurai
Owari, Bizen, Tajima, Sanuki, Hōki, and Awaji Provinces (Tōin 3: 107).
often, he did not go to the place of an appointment but stayed in the capi-
tal, sending someone else to work on his behalf while he received the tax
revenue in the capital. Raikō was also appointed a member of the imperial
palace guards, Military Guards, and the Household of Crown Prince, and he
was a provisional captain of the Imperial Stables of the Left. In 1011, at age
sixty-four, Raikō be
came senior fourth rank, lower grade, his final official
rank. Importantly, while holding government positions, Raikō served the
household of the Fujiwara Regent family. It was the time when the Fujiwara
Regency was at its height, and the Fujiwara held the power of appointments
and dismissals of the governorships. Ayusawa Hisashi, Raikō’s biographer,
writes that by serving the Fujiwara Regent family and having close connec-
tions with them, that is, currying favor with them, Raikō held the positions
of various governorships and accumulated immense wealth—the same
method his father, Mitsunaka, used (Ayusawa 22).
Indeed, Raikō served the Fujiwara family well. When Tsuchimikado
Mansion, Fujiwara no Michinaga’s (966–1027) residence, burned down in
1016 during a great fire in the capital, Raikō went to the capital from Mino
Province, the place of his appointment, to express his sympathy after the
fire (Oboroya 94–95). Michinaga’s mansion was rebuilt with materials sent
by various provincial governors and was completed in 1018. Among them,
Raikō, at that time the governor of Iyo, was exceptional, as he supplied
furnishings for the entire mansion. Eiga monogatari (A Tale of Flowering
Fortunes, eleventh century) recounts:
Minamoto Yorimitsu, the governor of Iyo, had provided the interior
furnishings for the entire establishment, supplying everything that could
possibly be needed by any of the three personages—to say nothing of
blinds, mats, jugs, basins, and other furnishings for the ladies’ apartments,
and equipment for the offices occupied by retainers, chamberlains, and
Escorts. In the whole house, there was nothing of which one could think
or say, “Thus-and-so is lacking,” Everything was so superbly planned that
Michinaga, looking about, asked himself how Yorimitsu could possibly
have done it all. The curtains, the workmanship of the screens and Chinese
chests, even the gold and silver lacquered designs and trims—all showed
a truly exceptional taste. Michinaga wondered about how Yorimitsu could
have managed it, and the other lords were enthusiastic in their praise.
(McCullough, A Tale of Flowering Fortunes 2: 485)
A setsuwa, Jikkinshō (A Miscellany of Ten Maxims 1252), describes
Yorimitsu as a zealous retainer of the Fujiwara Regent family. When Raikō
was fifty-eight years old, while Fujiwara no Tomoakira (?–?) was performing
Drunken Demon
17
his duties for the Special Festival Party at the mansion of Fujiwara no
Yorimichi (Michinaga’s eldest son, 992–1074), “his fellow employee,
Yorimitsu, joined him. Tomoakira chased him off saying that it was a breach
of protocol for two men to perform the same duty. Although this may be
an example of excessive zeal on the job, it is interesting that the famous
hero Yorimitsu was driven away by a fellow retainer” (Geddes 1: 208; Asami
99). Jikkinshō was compiled two centuries after Raikō’s death, and we are not
sure how true this episode is, but it presents a different image of Raikō than
do other setsuwa that usually praise his bravery and military prowess.
Raikō had three daughters; they all married high-ranking aristocrats—
one of them Fujiwara no Michitsuna (955–1020), Michinaga’s half-brother.
A Tale of Flowering Fortunes recounts that when Michitsuna had taken Buddhist
vows, Yorimitsu’s daughter who was much younger than Michitsuna was
“terribly upset, and Yorimitsu also felt a keen sense of loss. He had know-
ingly allowed his young daughter to marry an older man, he lamented, and
now it was his fault that she had been hurt” (McCullough, A Tale of Flowering
Fortunes 2: 524). As Ayukawa states, from historical records, Raikō’s life
appears to have been more like a middle-ranking aristocrat aspiring to suc-
ceed in the capital than that of an eminent warrior (Ayukawa 123).
Raikō as a Poet
Sonpi bunmyaku comments that Raikō was a poet (Tōin 3: 107), which
went along well with an aristocratic life because composing poems was a
requirement for gentlemen and gentlewomen. His wife was the mother of a
famous poet, Lady Sagami (998–1061).12 Raikō had three poems included in
imperial anthologies of Japanese poems—one in Shūi wakashū (Collection
of Gleanings 1005), one in GoShūi wakashū (Later Collection of Gleanings
of Japanese Poems 1086), and one in Kin’yō wakashū (Collection of Golden
Leaves 1127) (Motoki 124). This does not necessarily make him a poet in
particular, but Raikō exchanged letters with Ōe no Masahira (952–1012), a
famous poet and scholar, and the husband of Akazome Emon (956–1041),
one of the thirty-six poetic sages, in 1001—around the time when Raikō
was assigned to the governorship of Mino Province and Ōe to the gover-
norship of owari Province (Ayusawa 54–55).
Raikō as a Military Strategist
Sonpi bunmyaku also reports that Raikō excelled in military strategy. Inter-
estingly, however, there is no historical record that endorses Raikō’s image
as an excellent military tactician. He had never participated in any military
18
Part I: Samurai
expedition, though he held military positions such as imperial palace guard,
provisional captain of the Imperial Stables of the Left, and member of the
Military Guards. It should be noted that Sonpi bunmyaku was compiled in the
second half of the fourteenth century when the story of Shuten Dōji had
already been formed.
Chapter 5 of A Tale of Flowering Fortunes mentions Raikō or Yorimitsu’s
name; when Fujiwara no Korechika (974–1010), Michitaka’s eldest son and
Michinaga’s nephew, and his younger brother Takaie (979–1044) were to
be banished in 996, Raikō was one of their guards: “Extraordinary pre-
cautions went into effect at the imperial palace. on duty in the guards’
offices, where each commanded the services of innumerable warriors, were
descendants of Mitsunaka and Sadamori—Former Michinoku Governor
Korenobu, Lieutenant of the Left Gate Guards Koretoki, Former
Bizen Provincial Official Yorimitsu, and Former Suō Provincial Official
Yorichika” (McCullough, A Tale of Flowering Fortunes 1: 184; Yamanaka et
al., 1: 238). The time of Raikō is the backdrop of Shuten Dōji, but in 994,
the fifth year of Shōryaku, Nihon kiryaku records that the court “sent the
men of prowess, Minamoto no Mansei, Taira no Koretoki, Minamoto no
Yorichika [Yoshinaka or Manjū’s second son], and Minamoto no Yorinobu
[Manjū’s third son] to the mountains to have them look for the bandits”
( Nihon kiryaku 2: 177). Raikō’s name is not there.
A century later, Ōe no Masafusa (1041–1111), scholar-poet-noble-
man, listed in his Zoku honchō ōjōden (Records of Japanese Individuals Who
Achieved Rebirth in the Pure Land, Continued, ca. 1101–11) the names
Minamoto no Mitsunaka (or Manjū), Minamoto no Mitsumasa (or Mansei),
Taira no Korehira (or Ikō), Taira no Muneyori (or Chirai), and Raikō as
peerless warriors under Emperor Ichijō’s reign (Hanawa, Gunsho ruijū 5:
412). Raikō, as the eldest son of Mitsunaka, must have been known as a
cho ōjōden, a story titled “Tōgū no daishin Minamoto no Yorimitsu no ason
kitsune wo iru koto” (Raikō, Member of the Household of Crown Prince,
Shoots a Fox)13 appeared in Konjaku monogatarishū (Collection of Tales of
Times Now Past, ca. 1120), the greatest setsuwa collection. As Raikō suc-
cessfully shoots a fox in the distance with a whistling arrow, the impressed
crown prince presents him with a horse. The story portrays Raikō as an
excellent archer and a man with compassion—a warrior who does not
wish to take the life of a fox and one who does not boast about his skill.
In Nichūreki (Combination of Two History Books), thought to have been
compiled during the thirteenth century, Raikō’s name appears under musha
(warriors) ( Nichūreki 3: 107).
Drunken Demon
19
The story of Shuten Dōji gives an impression of Raikō as a mighty war-
rior, but as mentioned earlier, from the historical records alone, an image
of the heroic subjugator of fantastic villains does not easily emerge. Raikō’s
younger brother, Minamoto no Yorinobu (or Raishin 968–1048), who was
Chinjufu shogun (commander-in-chief of the Defense of the North) and
the third son of Mitsunaka, is the most historically documented among
Mitsunaka’s sons.14 The lack of historical documents allows the story of
Raikō to be free from any factual records; he can soar in the writers’, paint-
ers’, and readers’ imaginations.
Raikō Endowed with Supernatural Power, a Demon Conqueror
Alongside “poet” and “excels in military strategy,” Sonpi bunmyaku also
states that Raikō was endowed with supernatural power (Tōin 3: 107). This
annotation may have influenced or been influenced by the legend of Shuten
Dōji because, as mentioned, the story of Shuten Dōji had already been
formed by the time of Sonpi bunmyaku’s compilation.
In the Ōeyama ekotoba picture scrolls, the narrator has a priest describe
Raikō: “Although there are four strong generals, Chirai, Raishin, Ikō, and
Hōshō, Raikō is held in awe by people inside and outside the capital, high
and low, more than the sum of these four generals. Raikō is a manifesta-
tion of Daiitoku (Yamantaka, the Wisdom King of Great Awe-Inspiring