Yorimitsu Shitenno- Japanese GroupCollective"Raikō's Four Retainers"

Raikō's Band

Four warriors served Minamoto no Yorimitsu, the commander known as Raikō, against the supernatural threats that plagued Heian-kyō. They were called the Shitennō after the Four Heavenly Kings of Buddhism. Each had been tested before Raikō called on him: one had severed a demon's arm at Rashōmon, another had been raised wild in the mountains and wrestled bears as a child. They fought together and apart, but their defining exploit was collective.

The Expedition Against Shuten-dōji

The oni king Shuten-dōji had built a fortress on Mount Ōe and was abducting women from the capital. Raikō and his four retainers disguised themselves as yamabushi mountain priests and climbed to the stronghold.

Shuten-dōji received them with false hospitality. In some tellings preserved in the Otogizōshi scrolls, the feast included human flesh. The warriors sat with the demon king and offered him sake laced with a divine sleeping potion the gods had provided. Shuten-dōji drank.

When he collapsed, Raikō drew his sword and took the demon's head. The Shitennō fought the remaining oni through the fortress. But even severed, Shuten-dōji's head lunged at Raikō and tried to bite. It was stopped only by the multiple helmets Raikō had stacked on his head as a precaution.