Shuten-dōji- Japanese DemonDemon · Monster"King of the Oni"

Origins

In the Ibuki Dōji tradition, preserved in the Muromachi-period Otogi-zōshi, Shuten-dōji was born on Mount Ibuki, where the spirit of Yamata no Orochi had fled after Susanoo slew it. The great serpent's lingering malice took form in a boy of extraordinary beauty and supernatural power. Raised among mountain spirits, the child grew increasingly wild until he became an oni, eventually making his way to Mount Ōe in Tamba Province.

The Echigo version tells of a boy of surpassing beauty born in Echigo Province. Every maiden who set eyes upon him fell hopelessly in love. When he rejected their advances, the scorned women wrote him passionate love letters. He burned these letters without reading them, and the smoke of their unrequited passion scarred his face, twisting it into something monstrous. Cast out from human society, he retreated into the mountains and became the demon lord of Mount Ōe.

Mount Ōe

Shuten-dōji established his stronghold deep in the ravines of Mount Ōe, between Kyōto and the Japan Sea coast. From this fortress he commanded a host of oni who raided noble households under cover of darkness, abducting women of the court and seizing treasures. The captive women were forced to serve the demons. Those who resisted were devoured.

Within his mountain palace, Shuten-dōji hosted feasts where he and his oni drank enormous quantities of sake. His name means "sake-drinking boy." Human blood filled his drinking cups, and the bones of the devoured were scattered about the palace grounds. Travelers dared not venture near the mountain passes, and even the Imperial Court trembled at reports of his raids.

The Three Gods and the Poisoned Sake

The terror grew until Emperor Ichijō summoned Minamoto no Yorimitsu and ordered him to destroy Shuten-dōji. The onmyōji Abe no Seimei performed divination to determine the demon's location. Yorimitsu assembled his four legendary retainers, the Shitennō, with Watanabe no Tsuna and Sakata no Kintoki among them. The warriors set out for Mount Ōe disguised as yamabushi mountain priests.

On the mountain road they encountered three elderly men who offered them shelter. These old men were gods in disguise: Hachiman, patron deity of the Minamoto clan, and Sumiyoshi Myōjin among them. They gave Yorimitsu a flask of Jinbenkidokushu, divine sake that intoxicates only demons, along with enchanted helmets and a star-shaped charm of protection.

The Slaying

Arriving at Shuten-dōji's palace, Yorimitsu and his retainers maintained their yamabushi disguise. Shuten-dōji, supremely confident, welcomed the apparent holy men and invited them to a banquet. During the feast, Yorimitsu offered the divine sake as a gift. Shuten-dōji and his oni drank deeply. The divine poison did what mortal weapons could not: one by one, the demons fell into a stupor.

Yorimitsu drew the ancestral blade Higekiri and severed the demon king's head in a single stroke. The head flew through the air and snapped its jaws at Yorimitsu's face. Only the enchanted helmets saved him. The warriors destroyed the remaining oni and freed the captive women. Shuten-dōji's head was carried back to Kyōto as proof. The sword Higekiri was thereafter known as Onikiri, Demon Cutter.

The Severed Arm

Shuten-dōji's chief lieutenant, Ibaraki-dōji, survived the slaughter at Mount Ōe. In the Ōeyama Ekotoba, Ibaraki is not merely a lieutenant but a lover, which makes what followed vengeance as much as continued terror. At the Rashōmon gate in Kyōto, Watanabe no Tsuna encountered the demon and severed its arm in single combat. Ibaraki-dōji later recovered the arm through trickery, disguising itself as Tsuna's elderly aunt to get past his guard. The tale became the basis for the Noh play Rashōmon.