present-day eastern Hyōgo prefecture and the middle part of Kyoto). It is farther northwest
of Mt. Funaoka.
37. Kyō-Shirakawa. City of Kyoto and Shirakawa, an area outside the capital, east of the
Kamo River. Shirakawa is known as an important road with a checkpoint barrier as well as a
place of scenic beauty.
38. Minghuang, Brilliant Emperor, is another title of Emperor Xuanzong (reigned 712–
56) of the Tang Dynasty.
39. David Chen (professor, ohio State University, personal communication) kindly
pointed out that the character 褐, a commoner’s clothes, is mistaken for 羯, an ancient
barbarian tribe in northwest China. According to Dr. Chen, the 羯 tribesmen made a good
The Record of Tool Specters
243
drum of a special design known as the Jie drum 羯鼓, which was adopted by early Chinese
musicians, and this was the drum Minghuang liked to play. According to a legend about
Minghuang, he was playing the drum in a garden pavilion in the first lunar month of spring,
and his performance was so excellent that the trees were startled and all together burst into
bloom before their natural flowering time. Upon this occasion, he improvised a song titled
“The Springtide Is Good.”
40. Kagura literally means “music of the gods”; it is the appellation for the most representative performing art of Japanese religious music. The etymology of kagura is kami no kura, the
“seat of the kami”—the kami are seen as dwelling in the kagura performance. Averbuch 6.
41. A famous thief who was active during the time of Confucius (551–479 BCE).
42. Gojō. Benevolence, justice, politeness, wisdom, and fidelity.
43. The route of the tsukumogami ’s procession going eastward along First Avenue corre-
sponds to the route of hyakki yagyō (night procession of 100 demons) in “Ongyō no otoko Rokkakudō no Kannon no tasuke ni yorite mi o arawasu koto,” the thirty-second tale of
volume 16 of Konjaku monogatarishū (see Tyler, Japanese Tales 99–101; for the Japanese text, see SNKBZ 36: 271–76).
44. Kanpaku denka. Fujiwara Saneyori (900–970) becomes Kanpaku, or regent, in 967,
which corresponds to the fourth year of the Kōhō era, the background for this story.
According to Ōkagami (The Great Mirror, ca. 1085–1125), his younger brother, Fujiwara no
Morosuke (908–960), encountered the hyakki yagyō.
45. One of the twelve external gates of the Greater Imperial Palace, or Daidairi. Tatchi-
mon is located far east of the north side of the Greater Imperial Palace.
46. The prince regent’s encounter with the tsukumogami on his way to the imperial palace refers to the story of Fujiwara no Morosuke in Ōkagami ( SNKBZ 34: 166–67; for an English translation, see McCullough, Ōkagam 136).
47. The amulet (of Sonshō Darani ) carried by the regent that protects him from the
demons is described in “Sonshō Darani no genriki ni yorite oni no nan o nogaruru koto,”
forty-second tale of volume 14 of Konjaku monogatarishū (see Tyler, Japanese Tales 237–39; for the Japanese text, see SNKBZ 35: 508–12).
48. The full name is Butchō Sonshō Dhāranī (Dharani of the Victorious Buddha Crown).
The Dharani was widely used to prevent natural disasters, secure longevity, and ward off evil.
49. The emperor’s residence within the imperial palace compound.
50. Nimyōō. They are Fudō myōō (Acala Vidyārāja), the Immovable Protector of Dharma, and Gōzanze myōō (Trailokya-vijaya), Conqueror of the Three Worlds.
51. Ichiren’s title changes from nyūdō (novice) to shōnin (holy priest) at this time.
52. hyaku hachi no bonnō. One hundred and eight kleśa, or afflictions. The number “108”
signifies many.
53. gusokukai (upasampadā). Buddhist precepts for monks and nuns. There are 250 rules
for the fully ordained Buddhist monk and 348 for the fully ordained Buddhist nun.
54. Gautama Buddha or Shakamuni (ca. 563–486 BCE). The founder of Buddhism.
55. sanmitsu. They are shin-ku-i (the action of body or mudra, speech or incantation of mantra, and mind or concentration on the Principal Buddha).
56. One of the ten great disciples of Gautama Buddha or Shakamuni. Kasen’en is famous
for his debating skills.
57. One of the ten great disciples of Gautama Buddha or Shakamuni. Furuna is noted
for preaching.
58. gochi. They are (1) the wisdom of knowing the quintessence of all existences; (2)
mirror-like wisdom, which reflects all phenomenal things as they are; (3) the wisdom of
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Part IV: It
observing the equality of all things; (4) the wisdom of observing the distinctive features of
all phenomena; and (5) the wisdom of accomplishing metamorphoses. Mahavairocana has a
crown bearing five miniature figures of Five Wisdom Buddhas.
59. A Buddhist priest in south India and the fourth patriarch in the lineage of esoteric
Buddhism. He had extraordinary supernatural power and is said to have lived several hun-
dred years to transmit the esoteric teaching to Kongōchi.
60. Konchi signifies Kongōchi (?–741), the fifth patriarch in the lineage of Shingon eso-
teric Buddhism. After having a revelatory dream of Kannon Bodhisattva, he moved from
India to China in 720 and taught esoteric Buddhism in China. He was revered by Emperor
Xuanzong (Jp. Gensō, 685–762) and translated a number of esoteric scriptures in Chang-an
and Lo-yang.
61. Kōchi signifies Fukū Sanzō (Amoghavajra, 705–74, also known as Fukū Kongō), the
sixth patriarch in the lineage of Shingon esoteric Buddhism. He was a disciple of Kongōchi
and translated a great number of scriptures he had brought from his trip to India and Sri
Lanka.
62. An immortal mountain wizard who lived in ancient India.
63. Intoku honshōō nyorai.
64. Chōju daisen’ō nyorai.
65. Myōshiki jizai’ō nyorai.
66. Hokkai taishōō nyorai.
67. They are, in descending order, bukkai (realm of Buddhas), bosatsu-kai (realm of Bodhisattvas), engaku-kai (realm of Pratyekabuddhas), shōmon-kai (realm of srāvakas), ten-kai (heaven), jin-kai (world of men), shura-kai (world of aśura), chikushō-kai (world of animals), gaki-kai (world of hungry ghosts), and jigoku-kai (hell).
68. “A” is the first sound in the Sanskrit alphabet, and it embodies the mystic truth in eso-
teric Buddhist belief. According to esoteric Buddhism, all phenomena are originally “unpro-
duced” or uncreated, and this principle is symbolized by the letter A. The one who meditates
on A will attain Buddhahood.
69. A generic term for “hīnayāna” Buddhist sutras, as well as a specific group of sutras
(the Āgama sutras).
Conclusion
lifE in MEdiEval JapanEsE sociETy undulaTEd and erupted with
sweeping social changes and wars. The seven stories revolving around oni
examined in this book reveal various customs and manners, socio-political
and religious events, and folk beliefs of medieval Japan. As stories were
transmitted orally or the text(s) copied, the authors and narrators would
add or delete as they preferred, undoubtedly with changes to appeal to the
intended audience. Certainly, audiences would understand the tales from
their own perspective of their own time: “Tales set in the past would have
been shaped in part by the contemporary concerns of compilers whether
the stories were newly created, recorded from a
n oral tradition, or appropri-
ated from earlier texts. There would have been no impulse to repeat stories
without meaning for the new writers and audiences within the context of
their own lives” (Li, Ambiguous Bodies 141).
With the rise of the warrior class, the imperial court of the central gov-
ernment was largely relegated to ceremonial duties and functions, although
court aristocrats attempted to hold on to their waning political power. one
hypothesis for the creation of The Illustrated Story of Minister Kibi’s Adventures
in China was that the work was one of many political tools employed by the
Cloistered Emperor GoShirakawa to end the Heike hegemony. The Heike
clan was eventually brought down by the rival clan, Genji—descendants of
Raikō and his brothers—and by GoShirakawa’s machinations with warriors
and court nobles.
The production of Minister Kibi’s Adventures was proposed by GoShira-
kawa possibly to beguile his audience with the allure of nationalism. The
irony of this being the political paradigm of the time was that while the tale
emphasized the intellectual superiority of the individual Japanese minis-
ter, the minister still needed the Chinese emperor’s permission to return to
Japan. The oni starved by Chinese officials was formerly a human being. He
became an oni after his death, which is the Chinese concept of gui, 鬼 (Jp.
oni). This oni, yearning for news of his descendants in Japan, is a touching
creature. He may have represented wandering Japanese souls that had per-
ished overseas, with nostalgic feelings for Japan.
DOI: 10.7330/9781607324904.c008
245
246
Conclusion
With the fall of the Heike, Genji warriors gained political and military
power—the social legitimacy of which was acquired through their lineage
and titles. While Drunken Demon ( Shuten Dōji ) and A Tale of An Earth Spider ( Tsuchigumo zōshi ) are highly entertaining to present-day audiences because the
hero conquers the monster(s), vanquishing a monster was effective propa-
ganda to justify and solidify the Genji lineage. As one struggles for power,
validating one’s family name became a matter of life and death for every clan.
The warrior-aristocrat Raikō has been idolized in the world of setsuwa
since the Kamakura period (1185–1333). These setsuwa also provided a pro-
paganda vehicle for Watanabe clan members to make their lineage known
and retrieve their diminished political power. For their aristocratic and polit-
ical allies who created, described, or accepted the setsuwa, the Ichijō court
was one of ideal times for the nobility (Motoki 199). People affiliated with
the religious groups such as the four shrines and the Enryakuji temple that
appears in the text should not be forgotten as supporters in the creation of
such tales.
While Raikō was a historical figure, we do not know whether Kintoki,
Sadamichi, Suetake, and Tsuna actually served Raikō. Nothing about Tsuna
appears on record until the mid-thirteenth century. But when we look at the
world of setsuwa, at least by the early twelfth century Kintoki, Sadamichi,
and Suetake were considered Raikō’s remarkable retainers, making way for
Tsuna to join a century later. Hōshō’s story suggests how important it was
to be born in the right household or lineage and how critical it was to have
descendants who would advocate for him or his pedigree. Even though
Hōshō was as important as Raikō in the subjugation campaign against the
mighty oni, the enemy of imperial Japan, he was eventually dropped from
the story. Stories (and characters) cease to exist without scribes or tellers
who hand down the tales, and those transmitters knew what audiences
wanted to hear and accommodated them accordingly.
Tsuchigumo, a tale well-known in Japan since the medieval period, further
emphasizes the rights and responsibility of the nobility because the miracu-
lous sword that slayed an evil spider–oni should only be in the possession
of a skilled leader with the authority of his illustrious lineage. But as the
status of the sword waned, the story of tsuchigumo became more like a leg-
end of famous warriors (Itō, “Ihon ‘Tsuchigumo’ emaki nit suite” 89). The
oni and spider are symbolic of evil or “the other” that must be vanquished
or subjugated for the good of society. That is, the conquerors are good, so
the conquered must be evil.
From the point of view of the present study, Tsuchigumo zōshi is remark-
able in that the tsuchigumo, oni, and a beautiful woman become one entity.
Conclusion
247
The scroll should be credited as an influential work that gave birth to the
beautiful killer maiden or matron spider figure that appears in the Noh play,
which exerted great influence on literary arts later in history.
As mentioned, enthusiastically advocating for one’s name and exert-
ing socio-political influence were important for religious institutions as
well. Four helping Shinto deities seen in the Shuten Dōji story may, how-
ever, be less assertive than Kitano Tenjin in A Tale of Lord Haseo ( Haseo
zōshi ). Haseo zōshi is a miraculous tale of Kitano Tenjin, behind the cre-
ation of which one can see the rising power of the Kitano Tenjin Shrine
at that time. To save Ki no Haseo’s life from danger and exhibit Kitano
Tenjin’s miraculous power, the oni who has an artistic sense in this story
was given the role of an angry and violent attacker—an abrupt change
from the honest creature.
Indeed, oni are fundamentally honest beings—perhaps sometimes even
gullible. A number of ancient tales attribute honesty or loyalty as an oni trait.
One of the earliest tales is the twenty-fifth tale of Nihon ryōiki (Miraculous
Stories from the Japanese Buddhist Tradition, ca . 822) titled “on the
Fiend [oni], Messenger of King Yama, Who Accepted the Hospitality of
the one for Whom He Had Been Sent and Repaid It.”1 The oni, who is
exhausted from searching for the human he is supposed to bring to King
Yama, receives the sick person’s banquet prepared for the oni––a bribe to
save the man’s life. The oni feels obligated to repay his debt. The oni says,
“As I have accepted your hospitality, I will repay your kindness” (Nakada
194; Nakamura, Miraculous Stories from the Japanese Buddhist Tradition 195).
Similarly, the preceding twenty-fourth story of Nihon ryōiki titled “on the
Fiends [oni], Messengers of King Yama, Who Canceled Death in Exchange
for a Bribe” (Nakada 189–93; Nakamura, Miraculous Stories from the Japanese
Buddhist Tradition 192–94) tells of the oni repaying their debt. The three oni
take an offering of a cow (bribe of food) from the man who is supposed to
die, that is, to be taken to the netherland. The oni in return let the man go,
that is, live, because they know they would be punished in the netherland
for accepting the bribe. They ask the man to recite Kongō hannyakyō (the
Vajracchedika Sutra, Diamond Sutra) to avoid being flogged. As the man
prayed for the oni, they dutifully returned to thank him. It is interesting that
the Kitano Tenjin
section is completely omitted from the two contempo-
rary adaptations of Haseo zōshi. In the modern stories, the oni who created
the soulless beauty remains friendly to Ki no Haseo throughout—there is
no sudden change of character.
Propagating divine worth is also one of the major purposes in Blossom
Princess, a Japanese Cinderella story. The narrator strongly urges readers to
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Conclusion
pray to Kannon, perhaps to the Great Bodhisattva of Mt. Fuji, for their
peace of mind and happiness. The backdrop of the story is not the capital
but the countryside. As wars were fought in the capital area in the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries, a number of court aristocrats left Kyoto, taking
refuge in various provinces. Their presence at the estates of provincial lords
brought the courtly tastes and protocols of Kyoto to the provinces. An
example of the spread of courtly tastes and protocols to the provinces
is Suruga Province, the backdrop of Blossom Princess in which the middle
councilor’s family is said to be originally from Kyoto. The capital of Suruga
Province was called the “Kyoto of the eastern provinces” because it enjoyed
the disseminated aristocratic ambience. The Blossom Princess text elaborates
on marriage rituals and beliefs of that era, which took an enormous amount
of time and wealth as the occasion exhibited the party’s power in the region.
There the female oni, yamauba, appears as the heroine’s helper who lived at
the foot of Mt. Fuji. Although her appearance is brief, the yamauba is an
integral part of the heroine achieving happiness, giving her an ample wed-
ding dowry at the critical moment.
In a number of otogizōshi such as Blossom Princess and Tale of Amewakahiko, a husband loves one person only (at one time, at least) and marries one person only (at one time, at least). This one-to-one conjugal relationship seems
to reflect the Muromachi period’s (1333–1573) tendency to be a monoga-
mous society. Wakita Haruko writes: “Because medieval society had the ie
[corporal household] as its axis, it had to place importance on male-female
conjugal relations. of course, it cannot be said that sexual love was an equal
relationship, for, although monogamous, the system allowed multiple con-
Seven Demon Stories from Medieval Japan Page 38
