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- KAPPAPEDIA - Yokai Monsters -
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Shuten Dooji 酒呑童子 Shuten Doji "Sake Child" Demon
Shuten Dōji 酒顛童子, 酒天童子, 朱点童子 Saka Doji
There is a lot of material about this popular Sake Drinker Yokai Monster,
from the hanga of old to the manga of new.
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妖怪 Saka Doji, Shuten Doji 酒呑童子 a Sake Yokai Monster
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source : 妖怪博士の日記
This monster lives at the border of Kyoto and Tamba (Tanba) (京都と丹波国の国境) on big branches or in caves (鬼の岩屋 oni no iwaya) and is the boss of the local monster clan.
It's face is slightly red and the hair short and red. It can grow up to 6 meters high and has five horns. It also has 15 eyes.
Others say it looks like a beautiful boy of the "other world".
It is related to the famous monsters of Oeyama 大江山.
He often had virgins brought to his camp and used to "eat" them . . . most probably by using them as "comfort women" for himself and his men.
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Shuten-dōji 酒呑童子, also sometimes spelled 酒顛童子, 酒天童子, or 朱点童子
is a mythical oni leader who lived in Mt. Ooe (大江山) of Tamba Province or Mt. Ooe (大枝) on the boundary between Kyoto and Tamba. He was based in a palace somewhat like a Ryūgū-jō on Mt. Ooe, and he had many oni subordinates.
- snip
He, who was born in Echigo in the Heian era (8th century) when Dengyō Daishi and Kōbō-Daishi were active, became a page of the Kokojou-ji (国上寺) (in Tsubame, Niigata) (at the base of Mt. Kugami, there is a Chigo-dou where he is said to have passed through).
- snip
one of the “three great evil yokai.”
Shuten-doji, who came to Kyoto, had many subordinates with Ibaraki-doji as his first, and based on Mt. Ooe, appeared in Kyoto from time to time, kidnapped the daughters of noble families, cut them with swords, and ate them raw.
- snip
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CLICK for more photos !
“Ooe-yama Shuten-doji Emaki” scoll (大江山酒天童子絵巻)
- details in the WIKIPEDIA -
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models of festival floats from the Karatsu kunchi festival 唐津くんち in Saga, Kyushu
Festival float Nr. 11 番曳山 is about "the drunken ogre and the helmet of Minamoto Yorimitsu"
酒呑童子と源頼光の兜.
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source : nino-art.at.webry
clay bell 土鈴
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source : karatsu-otsuka
酒呑童子と源頼光の兜 the helmet of Raiko
hariko papermachee doll 張子
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Shuten Dōji Will Drink Your Blood and Eat Your Flesh
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A new exhibit, at the Smithsonian’s Sackler Gallery opens Saturday, March 21 and runs through September 20. It features hanging scrolls, folding screens and printed books telling the Shuten Dōji legend:One thousand years ago, the ogre giant Shuten Dōji lounged in his mountain castle
The Shuten Dōji legend:
One thousand years ago, the ogre giant Shuten Dōji lounged in his mountain castle, sipping wine and snacking on samurai meat. As he dined with his demonic companions, with a gaggle of captive young noblewomen to serve them, perhaps he wondered how sweet life had turned out for him. A life of debauchery rewarded day after day with earthly pleasures.
Nearby by in Kyoto, the capital of medieval Japan, the emperor grew concerned. Each day, he was forced to stand by and watch, as Shuten Dōji kidnapped one woman after another. The emperor called for the legendary samurai Minamoto "Raiko" Yorimitsu 源頼光 and his five retainers to conquer the ogre giant. The handsome and morally righteous Riako accepted the challenge, and after a brief stop to pray, he and his band set off toward Shuten Dōji’s castle on Mount Oe.
Disguised as Buddhist monks to avoid suspicion, with armor hidden in their wooden backpacks, the good guys traveled deep into the mountains. Along the way, the disguised samurai met three gods in human form, who shared their strong dislike for the ways of the wicked Shuten Dōji. Raiko is given a magical helmet, as well as a special sleep-inducing sake (rice wine), and the gods guide him to the castle.
When the samurai arrive, they are welcomed and entertained by Shuten Dōji, who is fooled by their monk costumes. After they enter the giant’s home, they watch as horned demons slice off human thigh and shoulder meat before eating it like sushi. Dōji settles down on his favorite decorative rug as the captured noblewomen enter through hand-painted doors to serve the guests wine. It’s then when Raiko gives Shuten Dōji the special sake, and the giant quickly becomes drunk and sleepy.
What Raiko doesn't know, is that whenever someone serves Shuten Dōji wine, the ogre giant transforms into a hairy, red, demon. But Raiko, nevertheless, ambushes and beheads the monster. The hero can’t declare victory, however, because when Raiko least expects it, Shuten Dōji’s head jumps back to life and attempts to kill the samurai. Protected by his magic helmet, Raiko deflects the attacks, conquers the monster and his demon henchmen, and marches victoriously back to Kyoto hauling Shuten Doji’s head in an ox-cart.
Good vanquishes evil once again.
- source : www.smithsonianmag.com - Joseph Caputo
Minamoto no Yorimitsu 源頼光 (948 – August 29, 1021),
also known as Minamoto no Raikō
Raiko is usually accompanied by his four legendary retainers, known as the Shiten'ō (The Four Guardian Kings).
They were Watanabe no Tsuna, Sakata no Kintoki, Urabe no Suetake, and Usui Sadamitsu.
The Karatsu Kunchi festival in Karatsu City, Saga Prefecture, features a large float inspired by the helmet of Minamoto, being partially devoured by the oni Shuten Douji . . .
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !
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Ooeyama. Ōeyama 大江山 Mt. Ōe. Mount Oeyama
Some legends say this mountain was a refuge for pirates from Korea 朝鮮人の海賊.
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CLICK for more photos !
Near the place where the remains of the mansion of Shuten Doji are supposed to be there is a huge boulder. There is also a place where the river flows upstream when the demons wash the bloody robes; this is where the villagers later they build the 不動堂 Fudo Hall below the waterfall 千丈ヶ滝下 Senjogataki.
Even further up in the mountain, where Shuten Doji was defeated by Raiko Yorimitsu there is now the shrine 鬼獄神社 Onitake Jinja.
大江山鬼嶽稲荷神社 Onitake Inari Jinja
Oni-take Inari Jinja 京都府福知山市大江町北原 Fukuchiyama, Kyoto
At the forest 童子ケ森 Dojigamori in Fukuchiyama there is the head of Shuten Doji burried in the ground. It had flown there all by its own.
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Mt. Ōe (大江山)
Mention Mt. Ōe to any Japanese person, and they’ll likely start indulging you in the legends of the many oni (demons) that roam the ridges of the hallowed peak.
Oni’s cave (鬼の洞窟)
Senjogatake (千丈ヶ嶽) / Senjogataki 千丈ヶ滝 Waterfall
Oni-take Inari Jinja (鬼岳稲荷神社)
- source - japanhike.wordpress.com -
After Minamoto Raiko had killed the yokai Shuten Doji, all the girls he had kidnapped ("eaten") were set free to go home. But one had gone so out of her mind, she did not remember where she was from. She was pregnant and eventually gave birth to a baby with all teeth already there. This "Demon Child"鬼童 Kido grew up and went to Kyoto, trying to kill the brother of Raiko. But he did not succeed and got caught himself.
He is the subject of legends of its own.
Kidoomaru 鬼童丸、鬼同丸（きどうまる）Kidomaru
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Utagawa Kuniyoshi 歌川国芳『鬼童丸』
- 鬼童丸 Kidomaru Demon -
. 大江山鬼伝説 Demon Legend of Oeyama Mountain .
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大江山酒呑童子祭り Oeyama Shuten Doji Festival
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Shutendoji Oeyama Onigawara Craft Center
Oeyama Onigawara (roof tiles with the figure of a demon) Craft Center
is located in Shutendoji-no-sato, which is in the grand nature of the Oeyama mountain ranges (designated as Tango Amanohashidate Oeyama Quasi-national Park) or has inherited a demon legends and other folk tales.
There is Japanese demons museum nearby too.
(Oe-Yama-no-Ie) 912-1Butsushoji Oe-cho Fukuchiyama City
. source - kyoto-kankou.or.jp .
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source : youkai-heim.jp
酒呑童子先生 Shuten Doji, Saka Doji, our teacher - More Local Legends
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.................................................... Hyogo 兵庫県
In 姫路 Himeji at a large shrine there is a Demon Boulder 鬼岩 about 1 meter high related to Shuten Doji. If someone sits on this boulder, he will be cursed 祟り.
.................................................... Ibaraki 茨城県
The deity Takemikatsuchi no Mikoto 鹿島の武甕槌命 from Kashima drove Ibaraki Doji out of the region.
This area where he fled is now called 鬼越山 Onigoeyama.
.................................................... Kyoto 京都
Kubizuka Daimyojin Shrine 首塚大明神
京都府京都市右京区 - Kyoto
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... near Oinosaka Pass on Rte 9, is a popular tourist attraction as well as a major haunted spot in Kyoto. It is believed that Shuten-doji, a leader of mysticism and magic, was killed by Minamoto Yorimitsu and his head was buried here in the Heian period.
The shrine has a gloomy and sinister feel even in daytime. You feel your body become heavy on a sudden even if you are not spiritually sensitive. Photographs taken here will get innumerable orbs floating all over. Rumor has it that people get cursed once passing through the torii gate, or that a lady with downcast eyes always stands at a bus stop in the midnight.
- source : guides-japan.com
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. . . CLICK here for Photos !
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. Shuten-dōji 酒呑童子 Shuten Doji .
and the Rashomon Gate羅城門の鬼、羅生門の鬼
The story is also told in the Noh play by Kanze Nobumitsu.
The hero Watanabe no Tsuna渡辺綱 fights against a demon (Ibaraki doji).
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Watanabe no Tsuna (渡辺 綱) (953-1025)
was a Japanese samurai, a retainer of Minamoto no Yorimitsu (also known as Raikō), one of the earliest samurai to be famed for his military exploits.
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- Watanabe Tsuna fighting with Ibaragi Oni at the Rashomon
- In legend
Watanabe features in many of Yorimitsu's legendary adventures, and aids him in fighting many monsters, beasts and demons.
In one such tale, Tsuna accompanies Raikō to the hut of Yamamba, a man-eating hag. There they find a boy known as Kaidomaru, who had been brought up among animals and endowed with superhuman strength. The boy requests that Raikō allow him to become one of his retainers, and Raikō accepts, giving the boy the name Sakata no Kintoki, often shortened to Kintoki.
Some of Watanabe no Tsuna's other comrades in legend are Urabe no Suetake and Usui Sadamitsu. Together, the four are collectively known as the Four Guardian Kings, an allusion to the Buddhist Shitennō.
Watanabe is also said to have assisted Raikō in slaying a tsuchigumo. His most famous feat is most likely the defeat of the demon Ibaraki-doji, the principal follower of Shuten-doji. He fought Ibaraki-doji single-handedly at the Rashomon gate at the southern end of Suzaku-oji, the central North-South street in the old capital Heian-kyo (now Kyoto).
At the end of the intense battle Watanabe no Tsuna cut off the demon's arm before it fled over the gables. Tsuna put the demon's arm away in a Chinese case (唐櫃 karabitsu). The demon later returned to claim the lost arm, and tricked Tsuna to release the arm. This legend is continued in a Japanese tale known as Ooeyama.
- Tsuna and the Ibaraki-doji
- Tsuna's Meitō, the Demon Slayer
- In popular culture
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. . . . . carver Otoman, circa 1830, ivory, height 72 mm
- In netsuke
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !
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source : kurand.jp/blog
京丹波町
The town of Tanba is proud to be the place where Minamoto Raiko gave it a lot of sake to drink and then get rid of Shuten Doji. The sake is called
鬼殺し Onikoroshi " killing the demon"
from Shuchi 須知 (a town in the Tanba district)
鬼を殺すほど辛い酒 a sake as hot-spicy (karai) as to kill a demon
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.................................................... Miyagi 宮城県
In the town of Igu 伊具郡 there lives a family called Watanabe, dating itself back to Watanabe no Tsuna. They never built a gable 破風 on their house, because Watanabe no Tsuna cut off the arm of Shuten Doji and escaped over the gable .
.................................................... Nara 奈良県
Byakugooji 白毫寺 Byakugo-Ji
奈良県奈良市白毫寺町392
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- source and more photos : 東風庵
- - - Yamato province birth legend
Shuten Doji was a page acolyte at the temple Byakugō-ji in the Yamato province (presently, Nara Province), 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-doji, and it has been said that the place where he was abandoned was thus called “Chigo-saka” (稚児坂 page-hill).
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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 Mt. Ooe, and became Shuten-doji.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !
. Byakugo-Ji and Haiku .
.................................................... Niigata 新潟県 - Echigo 越後
Kokujooji 国上寺 Kokujo-Ji / 運高山国上寺
新潟県燕市国上１４０７ - Tsubame, Kugami
- Homepage of the temple (one of the oldest in Echigo
- source : kokujouji.com
国上 can be read as Kokujo or Kugami.
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CLICK for more photos of the temple !
酒呑童子 / 茨羅鬼童子/ 茨城童子 / 茨木童子 Shuten Doji and Ibaraki Doji
(Ibaragi Dōji)
In the village Kugami Mura国上村 near mount 国上山 Kugami there lived a man called Sado Hayato 佐渡隼人. He had no children and therefore went to Mount Togakushiyama to pray for a son. When a son was born he called him
外道丸 Gedomaru. Gedomaru lived as an acolyte at the temple Kokujo-Ji from the age of 7, because he was quite a wild boy and beyond his parent's control. When he was 17 he had become a very handsome yong man. The local ladies began to look at this beautiful boy when he came down from the mountain to have a drink of sake at the lokal inn.
He loved only sake, so the local folks called him 酒呑童子 "Saka Doji""the child of sake".
But he never gave a look at the ladies or cared for their love letters. When he burned the love letters he received from all the females, due to one of the lady who was not able to acquire her love, when the love letters burned, the smoke that came out enveloped him, turning him into an oni 鬼 monster.
Because of this, it was said that he, who had now became an oni, was moving from mountain to mountain in Honshu.
Gedomaru later flew to Mount Togakushi in Shinshu and begun to eat the local people there with crunching sounds.
So they prayed to Togakushi Daigongen 戸隠大権現 and Gedomaru went off.
Other legends locate him at 弥彦山 Yabikoyama in Niigata, but finally he settled at 大江山 Oeyama.
Other legends locate him at 比叡山 Mount Koyasan , but 弘法大師 Kobo Daishi threw him out.
Other legends locate him at 高野山 Mount Hieizan, but 伝教法師 Dengyo Daishi threw him out.
He lived a while at the food of Mount Ibukiyama 伊吹山の麓 as 伊吹童子 Ibuki Doji and then moved on to Oeyama.
- - - - - Echigo birth legend
He, who was born in Echigo in the Heian era (8th century) when Dengyō Daishi and Kōbō-Daishi were active, became a page of the Kokujou-ji (国上寺) (in Tsubame, Niigata) (at the base of Mt. Kugami, there is a Chigo-dou where he is said to have passed through).
While he was 12 years of age, he was a “pretty boy,” and refused all of the females who loved him, and all of the females who approached him died from being so love-stricken. When he burned the love letters he received from all the females, due to one of the females who was not able to acquire her love, when the love letters burned, the smoke that came out enveloped him, turning him into an oni. Because of this, it was said that he, who became an oni, after moving from mountain to mountain centered on Honshu, eventually settled on Mt. Ooe.
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 to Zentaiheiki, 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.
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.
In the town of Wano和納 (Wanoo, 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.
In Wanoo, there are place names like the Doji estate and the Doji field.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !
- Relation to Ibaraki-doji -
Shuten-doji rampaged together in Kyoto along with Ibaraki-doji, but there are actually several theories about their relation. One of those theories is that Ibaraki-doji was not a male oni, but a female oni, and that Ibaraki-doji was a lover of his son, or Shuten-doji himself. Therefore, it has been said that Shuten-doji and Ibaraki-doji knew of each other’s existence, and aimed for the capital together.
Ibaraki dōji, Ibaraki Dooji 茨木童子 / 茨城童子 "Ibaraki child"
He is said to be the child of the fierce warrior 平将門 Taira no Masakado (?903 - 940).
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !
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西蒲原郡 分水町 Bunsui machi
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source : wiki
katame no gyoshin 片目の魚神 fish god with one eye
He became a a deity to protect the fish who get wounded or loose one eye in dirty rivers.
The village claims a canal where a baby (later to become Shuten) was washed after birth. In this canal there lived a fish with one eye 片目の魚.
Maybe one miracle induced the next . . .
Once a child had gone lost and when folks came to think of it they thought Shuten Doji had kidnapped the boy and eaten him (or maybe made him his male servant).
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栃尾市 Tochio town
In the 軽井沢地区 Karuizawa district there are only 50 families, and 34 of them have the name 茨木性 Ibaraki. There is a place named 茨木清水 Ibaraki Kiyomizu where Shuten Doji and Ibaraki Doji had a sumo wrestling match. After that, Ibaraki Doji stayed in the area and founded this village. His descendants live live in simple farm houses and if they try to build a stronger roof and gate, the family will be punished with bad luck - or so they say.
At the district 一之貝地区 Ichinokai a tale is told at Setsubun.
On the Setsubun Day (now February 3) Watanabe no Tsuna had cut off the arm of Shuten Doji. So the villagers with the name 渡辺 Watanabe are not afraid of this yokai.
Together with the villagers named Ibaraki these families do not have to throw beans for driving away the oni.
. Setsubun 節分 the "Seasonal Divide" .
Throwing beans to drive out the oni.
fuku wa uchi 福は内（ふくはうち）"Good luck, come in!"
oni wa soto 鬼は外（おにはそと）"Demons, go out! "
.................................................... Okayama 岡山県
In the village 下熊谷 Shimokumatani in Niimi 新見市 there lived a woodcutter who went to the forest with his many helpers. One of the helpers found a red and white auspicious mochi in a very lonely place in the woods 紅白餅. It looked so very delicious, he could not help but eat it. All of a sudden his face changed and became very wild, like a mask and he jumped around quite wild. He was like a demon who had lost its way in the woods. Finally his friends tried to bring him back, but he said
"I have become a demon all right, so please do not touch me." and eat the last man who had touched him. The helpers ran to their master and told him the story.
When they all went back to the spot, they found the demon.
"Now I will go back to Oeyama in Tanba!" he shouted, jumped into the sky and disappeared.
They finally realized is must have been Shuten Doji.
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酒呑童子 / 酒典童子 reference
- source : www.nichibun.ac.jp
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. . . CLICK here for Photos !
- reference 酒呑童子 -
ukiyo-e about Shuten Doji
- source : ukiyo-e.org -
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Ricewine, rice wine (酒 sake, saké, saki) .
- Introduction -
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. - - - Join my Kappa friends on facebook ! - - - .
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source : mikosi-jiten
Head of Shuten Doji - Kanda Matsuri Festival Float - 附け祭り Tsuke Matsuri
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. karakuri ningyoo からくり人形 mechanical dolls .
Dolls of 酒呑童子 Shuten Doji (tba)
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
. Mingei 民芸 Regional Folk Art from Japan .
- #kappashutendoji #shutendoji -
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. Kappa densetsu 河童伝説, Kappa minwa 河童民話 - Legends - Introduction .
[ . BACK to DARUMA MUSEUM TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
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- KAPPAPEDIA - Yokai Monsters -
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Shuten Dooji 酒呑童子 Shuten Doji "Sake Child" Demon
Shuten Dōji 酒顛童子, 酒天童子, 朱点童子 Saka Doji
There is a lot of material about this popular Sake Drinker Yokai Monster,
from the hanga of old to the manga of new.
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妖怪 Saka Doji, Shuten Doji 酒呑童子 a Sake Yokai Monster
source : 妖怪博士の日記
This monster lives at the border of Kyoto and Tamba (Tanba) (京都と丹波国の国境) on big branches or in caves (鬼の岩屋 oni no iwaya) and is the boss of the local monster clan.
It's face is slightly red and the hair short and red. It can grow up to 6 meters high and has five horns. It also has 15 eyes.
Others say it looks like a beautiful boy of the "other world".
It is related to the famous monsters of Oeyama 大江山.
He often had virgins brought to his camp and used to "eat" them . . . most probably by using them as "comfort women" for himself and his men.
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- quote -
Shuten-dōji 酒呑童子, also sometimes spelled 酒顛童子, 酒天童子, or 朱点童子
is a mythical oni leader who lived in Mt. Ooe (大江山) of Tamba Province or Mt. Ooe (大枝) on the boundary between Kyoto and Tamba. He was based in a palace somewhat like a Ryūgū-jō on Mt. Ooe, and he had many oni subordinates.
- snip
He, who was born in Echigo in the Heian era (8th century) when Dengyō Daishi and Kōbō-Daishi were active, became a page of the Kokojou-ji (国上寺) (in Tsubame, Niigata) (at the base of Mt. Kugami, there is a Chigo-dou where he is said to have passed through).
- snip
one of the “three great evil yokai.”
Shuten-doji, who came to Kyoto, had many subordinates with Ibaraki-doji as his first, and based on Mt. Ooe, appeared in Kyoto from time to time, kidnapped the daughters of noble families, cut them with swords, and ate them raw.
- snip
CLICK for more photos !
“Ooe-yama Shuten-doji Emaki” scoll (大江山酒天童子絵巻)
- details in the WIKIPEDIA -
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models of festival floats from the Karatsu kunchi festival 唐津くんち in Saga, Kyushu
Festival float Nr. 11 番曳山 is about "the drunken ogre and the helmet of Minamoto Yorimitsu"
酒呑童子と源頼光の兜.
source : nino-art.at.webry
clay bell 土鈴
source : karatsu-otsuka
酒呑童子と源頼光の兜 the helmet of Raiko
hariko papermachee doll 張子
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- quote -
Shuten Dōji Will Drink Your Blood and Eat Your Flesh
A new exhibit, at the Smithsonian’s Sackler Gallery opens Saturday, March 21 and runs through September 20. It features hanging scrolls, folding screens and printed books telling the Shuten Dōji legend:One thousand years ago, the ogre giant Shuten Dōji lounged in his mountain castle
The Shuten Dōji legend:
One thousand years ago, the ogre giant Shuten Dōji lounged in his mountain castle, sipping wine and snacking on samurai meat. As he dined with his demonic companions, with a gaggle of captive young noblewomen to serve them, perhaps he wondered how sweet life had turned out for him. A life of debauchery rewarded day after day with earthly pleasures.
Nearby by in Kyoto, the capital of medieval Japan, the emperor grew concerned. Each day, he was forced to stand by and watch, as Shuten Dōji kidnapped one woman after another. The emperor called for the legendary samurai Minamoto "Raiko" Yorimitsu 源頼光 and his five retainers to conquer the ogre giant. The handsome and morally righteous Riako accepted the challenge, and after a brief stop to pray, he and his band set off toward Shuten Dōji’s castle on Mount Oe.
Disguised as Buddhist monks to avoid suspicion, with armor hidden in their wooden backpacks, the good guys traveled deep into the mountains. Along the way, the disguised samurai met three gods in human form, who shared their strong dislike for the ways of the wicked Shuten Dōji. Raiko is given a magical helmet, as well as a special sleep-inducing sake (rice wine), and the gods guide him to the castle.
When the samurai arrive, they are welcomed and entertained by Shuten Dōji, who is fooled by their monk costumes. After they enter the giant’s home, they watch as horned demons slice off human thigh and shoulder meat before eating it like sushi. Dōji settles down on his favorite decorative rug as the captured noblewomen enter through hand-painted doors to serve the guests wine. It’s then when Raiko gives Shuten Dōji the special sake, and the giant quickly becomes drunk and sleepy.
What Raiko doesn't know, is that whenever someone serves Shuten Dōji wine, the ogre giant transforms into a hairy, red, demon. But Raiko, nevertheless, ambushes and beheads the monster. The hero can’t declare victory, however, because when Raiko least expects it, Shuten Dōji’s head jumps back to life and attempts to kill the samurai. Protected by his magic helmet, Raiko deflects the attacks, conquers the monster and his demon henchmen, and marches victoriously back to Kyoto hauling Shuten Doji’s head in an ox-cart.
Good vanquishes evil once again.
- source : www.smithsonianmag.com - Joseph Caputo
Minamoto no Yorimitsu 源頼光 (948 – August 29, 1021),
also known as Minamoto no Raikō
Raiko is usually accompanied by his four legendary retainers, known as the Shiten'ō (The Four Guardian Kings).
They were Watanabe no Tsuna, Sakata no Kintoki, Urabe no Suetake, and Usui Sadamitsu.
The Karatsu Kunchi festival in Karatsu City, Saga Prefecture, features a large float inspired by the helmet of Minamoto, being partially devoured by the oni Shuten Douji . . .
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !
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Ooeyama. Ōeyama 大江山 Mt. Ōe. Mount Oeyama
Some legends say this mountain was a refuge for pirates from Korea 朝鮮人の海賊.
CLICK for more photos !
Near the place where the remains of the mansion of Shuten Doji are supposed to be there is a huge boulder. There is also a place where the river flows upstream when the demons wash the bloody robes; this is where the villagers later they build the 不動堂 Fudo Hall below the waterfall 千丈ヶ滝下 Senjogataki.
Even further up in the mountain, where Shuten Doji was defeated by Raiko Yorimitsu there is now the shrine 鬼獄神社 Onitake Jinja.
大江山鬼嶽稲荷神社 Onitake Inari Jinja
Oni-take Inari Jinja 京都府福知山市大江町北原 Fukuchiyama, Kyoto
At the forest 童子ケ森 Dojigamori in Fukuchiyama there is the head of Shuten Doji burried in the ground. It had flown there all by its own.
- quote -
Mt. Ōe (大江山)
Mention Mt. Ōe to any Japanese person, and they’ll likely start indulging you in the legends of the many oni (demons) that roam the ridges of the hallowed peak.
Oni’s cave (鬼の洞窟)
Senjogatake (千丈ヶ嶽) / Senjogataki 千丈ヶ滝 Waterfall
Oni-take Inari Jinja (鬼岳稲荷神社)
- source - japanhike.wordpress.com -
After Minamoto Raiko had killed the yokai Shuten Doji, all the girls he had kidnapped ("eaten") were set free to go home. But one had gone so out of her mind, she did not remember where she was from. She was pregnant and eventually gave birth to a baby with all teeth already there. This "Demon Child"鬼童 Kido grew up and went to Kyoto, trying to kill the brother of Raiko. But he did not succeed and got caught himself.
He is the subject of legends of its own.
Kidoomaru 鬼童丸、鬼同丸（きどうまる）Kidomaru
Utagawa Kuniyoshi 歌川国芳『鬼童丸』
- 鬼童丸 Kidomaru Demon -
. 大江山鬼伝説 Demon Legend of Oeyama Mountain .
大江山酒呑童子祭り Oeyama Shuten Doji Festival
- quote -
Shutendoji Oeyama Onigawara Craft Center
Oeyama Onigawara (roof tiles with the figure of a demon) Craft Center
is located in Shutendoji-no-sato, which is in the grand nature of the Oeyama mountain ranges (designated as Tango Amanohashidate Oeyama Quasi-national Park) or has inherited a demon legends and other folk tales.
There is Japanese demons museum nearby too.
(Oe-Yama-no-Ie) 912-1Butsushoji Oe-cho Fukuchiyama City
. source - kyoto-kankou.or.jp .
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source : youkai-heim.jp
酒呑童子先生 Shuten Doji, Saka Doji, our teacher - More Local Legends
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.................................................... Hyogo 兵庫県
In 姫路 Himeji at a large shrine there is a Demon Boulder 鬼岩 about 1 meter high related to Shuten Doji. If someone sits on this boulder, he will be cursed 祟り.
.................................................... Ibaraki 茨城県
The deity Takemikatsuchi no Mikoto 鹿島の武甕槌命 from Kashima drove Ibaraki Doji out of the region.
This area where he fled is now called 鬼越山 Onigoeyama.
.................................................... Kyoto 京都
Kubizuka Daimyojin Shrine 首塚大明神
京都府京都市右京区 - Kyoto
- quote
... near Oinosaka Pass on Rte 9, is a popular tourist attraction as well as a major haunted spot in Kyoto. It is believed that Shuten-doji, a leader of mysticism and magic, was killed by Minamoto Yorimitsu and his head was buried here in the Heian period.
The shrine has a gloomy and sinister feel even in daytime. You feel your body become heavy on a sudden even if you are not spiritually sensitive. Photographs taken here will get innumerable orbs floating all over. Rumor has it that people get cursed once passing through the torii gate, or that a lady with downcast eyes always stands at a bus stop in the midnight.
- source : guides-japan.com
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
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. Shuten-dōji 酒呑童子 Shuten Doji .
and the Rashomon Gate羅城門の鬼、羅生門の鬼
The story is also told in the Noh play by Kanze Nobumitsu.
The hero Watanabe no Tsuna渡辺綱 fights against a demon (Ibaraki doji).
- quote -
Watanabe no Tsuna (渡辺 綱) (953-1025)
was a Japanese samurai, a retainer of Minamoto no Yorimitsu (also known as Raikō), one of the earliest samurai to be famed for his military exploits.
- Watanabe Tsuna fighting with Ibaragi Oni at the Rashomon
- In legend
Watanabe features in many of Yorimitsu's legendary adventures, and aids him in fighting many monsters, beasts and demons.
In one such tale, Tsuna accompanies Raikō to the hut of Yamamba, a man-eating hag. There they find a boy known as Kaidomaru, who had been brought up among animals and endowed with superhuman strength. The boy requests that Raikō allow him to become one of his retainers, and Raikō accepts, giving the boy the name Sakata no Kintoki, often shortened to Kintoki.
Some of Watanabe no Tsuna's other comrades in legend are Urabe no Suetake and Usui Sadamitsu. Together, the four are collectively known as the Four Guardian Kings, an allusion to the Buddhist Shitennō.
Watanabe is also said to have assisted Raikō in slaying a tsuchigumo. His most famous feat is most likely the defeat of the demon Ibaraki-doji, the principal follower of Shuten-doji. He fought Ibaraki-doji single-handedly at the Rashomon gate at the southern end of Suzaku-oji, the central North-South street in the old capital Heian-kyo (now Kyoto).
At the end of the intense battle Watanabe no Tsuna cut off the demon's arm before it fled over the gables. Tsuna put the demon's arm away in a Chinese case (唐櫃 karabitsu). The demon later returned to claim the lost arm, and tricked Tsuna to release the arm. This legend is continued in a Japanese tale known as Ooeyama.
- Tsuna and the Ibaraki-doji
- Tsuna's Meitō, the Demon Slayer
- In popular culture
. . . . . carver Otoman, circa 1830, ivory, height 72 mm
- In netsuke
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !
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source : kurand.jp/blog
京丹波町
The town of Tanba is proud to be the place where Minamoto Raiko gave it a lot of sake to drink and then get rid of Shuten Doji. The sake is called
鬼殺し Onikoroshi " killing the demon"
from Shuchi 須知 (a town in the Tanba district)
鬼を殺すほど辛い酒 a sake as hot-spicy (karai) as to kill a demon
.................................................... Miyagi 宮城県
In the town of Igu 伊具郡 there lives a family called Watanabe, dating itself back to Watanabe no Tsuna. They never built a gable 破風 on their house, because Watanabe no Tsuna cut off the arm of Shuten Doji and escaped over the gable .
.................................................... Nara 奈良県
Byakugooji 白毫寺 Byakugo-Ji
奈良県奈良市白毫寺町392
- source and more photos : 東風庵
- - - Yamato province birth legend
Shuten Doji was a page acolyte at the temple Byakugō-ji in the Yamato province (presently, Nara Province), 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-doji, and it has been said that the place where he was abandoned was thus called “Chigo-saka” (稚児坂 page-hill).
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 Mt. Ooe, and became Shuten-doji.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !
. Byakugo-Ji and Haiku .
.................................................... Niigata 新潟県 - Echigo 越後
Kokujooji 国上寺 Kokujo-Ji / 運高山国上寺
新潟県燕市国上１４０７ - Tsubame, Kugami
- Homepage of the temple (one of the oldest in Echigo
- source : kokujouji.com
国上 can be read as Kokujo or Kugami.
CLICK for more photos of the temple !
酒呑童子 / 茨羅鬼童子/ 茨城童子 / 茨木童子 Shuten Doji and Ibaraki Doji
(Ibaragi Dōji)
In the village Kugami Mura国上村 near mount 国上山 Kugami there lived a man called Sado Hayato 佐渡隼人. He had no children and therefore went to Mount Togakushiyama to pray for a son. When a son was born he called him
外道丸 Gedomaru. Gedomaru lived as an acolyte at the temple Kokujo-Ji from the age of 7, because he was quite a wild boy and beyond his parent's control. When he was 17 he had become a very handsome yong man. The local ladies began to look at this beautiful boy when he came down from the mountain to have a drink of sake at the lokal inn.
He loved only sake, so the local folks called him 酒呑童子 "Saka Doji""the child of sake".
But he never gave a look at the ladies or cared for their love letters. When he burned the love letters he received from all the females, due to one of the lady who was not able to acquire her love, when the love letters burned, the smoke that came out enveloped him, turning him into an oni 鬼 monster.
Because of this, it was said that he, who had now became an oni, was moving from mountain to mountain in Honshu.
Gedomaru later flew to Mount Togakushi in Shinshu and begun to eat the local people there with crunching sounds.
So they prayed to Togakushi Daigongen 戸隠大権現 and Gedomaru went off.
Other legends locate him at 弥彦山 Yabikoyama in Niigata, but finally he settled at 大江山 Oeyama.
Other legends locate him at 比叡山 Mount Koyasan , but 弘法大師 Kobo Daishi threw him out.
Other legends locate him at 高野山 Mount Hieizan, but 伝教法師 Dengyo Daishi threw him out.
He lived a while at the food of Mount Ibukiyama 伊吹山の麓 as 伊吹童子 Ibuki Doji and then moved on to Oeyama.
- - - - - Echigo birth legend
He, who was born in Echigo in the Heian era (8th century) when Dengyō Daishi and Kōbō-Daishi were active, became a page of the Kokujou-ji (国上寺) (in Tsubame, Niigata) (at the base of Mt. Kugami, there is a Chigo-dou where he is said to have passed through).
While he was 12 years of age, he was a “pretty boy,” and refused all of the females who loved him, and all of the females who approached him died from being so love-stricken. When he burned the love letters he received from all the females, due to one of the females who was not able to acquire her love, when the love letters burned, the smoke that came out enveloped him, turning him into an oni. Because of this, it was said that he, who became an oni, after moving from mountain to mountain centered on Honshu, eventually settled on Mt. Ooe.
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 to Zentaiheiki, 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.
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.
In the town of Wano和納 (Wanoo, 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.
In Wanoo, there are place names like the Doji estate and the Doji field.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !
- Relation to Ibaraki-doji -
Shuten-doji rampaged together in Kyoto along with Ibaraki-doji, but there are actually several theories about their relation. One of those theories is that Ibaraki-doji was not a male oni, but a female oni, and that Ibaraki-doji was a lover of his son, or Shuten-doji himself. Therefore, it has been said that Shuten-doji and Ibaraki-doji knew of each other’s existence, and aimed for the capital together.
Ibaraki dōji, Ibaraki Dooji 茨木童子 / 茨城童子 "Ibaraki child"
He is said to be the child of the fierce warrior 平将門 Taira no Masakado (?903 - 940).
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !
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西蒲原郡 分水町 Bunsui machi
source : wiki
katame no gyoshin 片目の魚神 fish god with one eye
He became a a deity to protect the fish who get wounded or loose one eye in dirty rivers.
The village claims a canal where a baby (later to become Shuten) was washed after birth. In this canal there lived a fish with one eye 片目の魚.
Maybe one miracle induced the next . . .
Once a child had gone lost and when folks came to think of it they thought Shuten Doji had kidnapped the boy and eaten him (or maybe made him his male servant).
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栃尾市 Tochio town
In the 軽井沢地区 Karuizawa district there are only 50 families, and 34 of them have the name 茨木性 Ibaraki. There is a place named 茨木清水 Ibaraki Kiyomizu where Shuten Doji and Ibaraki Doji had a sumo wrestling match. After that, Ibaraki Doji stayed in the area and founded this village. His descendants live live in simple farm houses and if they try to build a stronger roof and gate, the family will be punished with bad luck - or so they say.
At the district 一之貝地区 Ichinokai a tale is told at Setsubun.
On the Setsubun Day (now February 3) Watanabe no Tsuna had cut off the arm of Shuten Doji. So the villagers with the name 渡辺 Watanabe are not afraid of this yokai.
Together with the villagers named Ibaraki these families do not have to throw beans for driving away the oni.
. Setsubun 節分 the "Seasonal Divide" .
Throwing beans to drive out the oni.
fuku wa uchi 福は内（ふくはうち）"Good luck, come in!"
oni wa soto 鬼は外（おにはそと）"Demons, go out! "
.................................................... Okayama 岡山県
In the village 下熊谷 Shimokumatani in Niimi 新見市 there lived a woodcutter who went to the forest with his many helpers. One of the helpers found a red and white auspicious mochi in a very lonely place in the woods 紅白餅. It looked so very delicious, he could not help but eat it. All of a sudden his face changed and became very wild, like a mask and he jumped around quite wild. He was like a demon who had lost its way in the woods. Finally his friends tried to bring him back, but he said
"I have become a demon all right, so please do not touch me." and eat the last man who had touched him. The helpers ran to their master and told him the story.
When they all went back to the spot, they found the demon.
"Now I will go back to Oeyama in Tanba!" he shouted, jumped into the sky and disappeared.
They finally realized is must have been Shuten Doji.
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酒呑童子 / 酒典童子 reference
- source : www.nichibun.ac.jp
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. . . CLICK here for Photos !
- reference 酒呑童子 -
ukiyo-e about Shuten Doji
- source : ukiyo-e.org -
.
Ricewine, rice wine (酒 sake, saké, saki) .
- Introduction -
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. - - - Join my Kappa friends on facebook ! - - - .
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source : mikosi-jiten
Head of Shuten Doji - Kanda Matsuri Festival Float - 附け祭り Tsuke Matsuri
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. karakuri ningyoo からくり人形 mechanical dolls .
Dolls of 酒呑童子 Shuten Doji (tba)
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
. Mingei 民芸 Regional Folk Art from Japan .
- #kappashutendoji #shutendoji -
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. Kappa densetsu 河童伝説, Kappa minwa 河童民話 - Legends - Introduction .
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