Seven Demon Stories
from Medieval Japan
Seven Demon Stories
from Medieval Japan
Noriko T. Reider
Utah State University Press
Logan
© 2016 by the University Press of Colorado
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ISBN: 978-1-60732-489-8 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-60732-490-4 (ebook)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Reider, Noriko T., author.
Title: Seven demon stories from medieval Japan / Noriko T. Reider.
Description: Logan: Utah State University Press, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references and
index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015041220| ISBN 9781607324898 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781607324904 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Demonology—Japan. | Folklore—Japan. | Legends—Japan. | Supernatural. |
Spirits.
Classification: LCC GR340 .R36 2016 | DDC 398.20952—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2015041220
Cover illustration: “Minamoto no Yorimitsu slaying tsuchigumo yokai,” by Utagawa Kunyoshi.
To MaryEllEn and WarWick rEidEr
My children who are my driving engines
Contents
Acknowledgments
xi
Introduction 3
PART I: SAMURAI
1 Drunken Demon ( Shuten Dōji: Ōeyama ekotoba): Imagining
the Demon Conquerors
11
Shuten Dōji Texts
11
The Ōeyama ekotoba Picture Scrolls
13
Plot Summary of Ōeyama ekotoba 13
Demon Conquerors
14
Minamoto no Raikō (or Yorimitsu) 15
Fujiwara no Hōshō (or Yasumasa) 22
Shitennō (Four Guardian Kings)
25
Extra-Literary Sources: Relation between the Narrative
and Historical Events
35
Translation of Ōeyama ekotoba
36
2 A Tale of an Earth Spider ( Tsuchigumo zōshi ): The Emergence
of a Shape-Shifting Killer Female Spider
62
The Tsuchigumo zōshi Picture Scroll
63
Plot Summary of Tsuchigumo zōshi 63
The Illustrations
64
Tsuchigumo in Ancient Literature
64
Tsuchigumo (Earth Spider) in Nihon shoki 66
Kumo (Spider) in Nihon shoki 67
The Appearance of Supernatural Tsuchigumo in
Medieval Japan
68
Oni versus Tsuchigumo 69
Tsuchigumo zōshi and the “Swords Chapter”
72
Maiden and Spider in the Noh Play Tsuchigumo 74
Translation of Tsuchigumo zōshi 77
viii
PART II: SCHoLARS
3 The Illustrated Story of Minister Kibi’s Adventures in China ( Kibi daijin
nittō emaki ): Japanese Consciousness of Foreign Powers and
a Secret Code
89
The Il ustrated Story of Minister Kibi’s Adventures in China 90
Plot Summary of The Il ustrated Story of Minister Kibi’s
Adventures in China 91
Condition of The Il ustrated Story of Minister Kibi’s
Adventures in China 91
The Historical Characters
92
Kibi no Makibi, the Minister
92
Abe no Nakamaro, an Oni 93
What The Il ustrated Story Tells Us
94
Japanese Foreign Diplomacy toward Superpowers
94
Internal Political Affairs: Cloistered Emperor
GoShirakawa 98
Kibi’s Position as the Ancestor of Japanese Onmyōdō 100
Translation of Kibi daijin nittō emaki 102
4 A Tale of Lord Haseo ( Haseo zōshi ): Literati, Demons, and
Creators of Human Life
111
A Tale of the Lord Haseo Picture Scroll
112
Plot Summary of A Tale of Lord Haseo 112
The Scroll’s Sources and Prototypes
113
Literati as Main Characters
114
Seeing an Oni: Literati and Gates
114
Ki no Haseo, a Scholar-Poet-Bureaucrat
116
Kitano Tenjin: Benevolent and Vengeful Spirit of
Sugawara no Michizane 118
Belief in Oni’s Secret Recipe to Create Humans
119
From Senjūshō 120
From Yin-Yang Scriptures 121
From Buddhist Writings
121
Role of the Beautiful Woman
123
Influence on Modern Literature and Media
124
Translation of Haseo zōshi 125
Contents
ix
PART III: WoMEN
5 Tale of Amewakahiko ( Amewakahiko sōshi ): A Demon in the
Sky, a Maiden in Search of Her Husband
135
Plot Summary of the Tale of Amewakahiko Picture Scrolls 136
The Tale of Amewakahiko Picture Scrolls
137
origins of the Tale of Amewakahiko 138
The Quian Luwei Tale and Kojiki 138
Cupid and Psyche
142
Translation of Amewakahiko sōshi 148
6 Blossom Princess ( Hanayo no hime): Japanese Stepdaughter
Story and Provincial Customs
156
Texts of Blossom Princess 156
Plot Summary of Blossom Princess 157
Yamauba and Kannon 158
Blossom Princess and Mukashibanashi 161
“Ubakawa” and “Komebuku Awabuku” 161
Legends of “Obasute” (Deserted old Woman)
162
Summary of Comparisons and Contrasts of Four Stories 164
The Great Bodhisattva of Mt. Fuji
167
Contemporary Beliefs and Customs Reflected
in Blossom Princess 168
Shūto-iri (The Bride’s Father Enters His Son-in-Law’s
House for the First Time)
168
Blossom Princess’s Right to Inheritance
170
Translation of Hanayo no hime 171
PART IV: IT
7 The Record of Tool Specters ( Tsukumogami ki ): Vengeance of
Animated objects and the Illustratio
n of Shingon Truth
209
Tsukumogami ki Texts and Plot Summary
210
The Date of the Texts
212
Tsukumogami ki: Entertainment and Edification
212
Word Play on ki 器 212
Parody on Shuten Dōji
215
Wordplay on the Title Tsukumogami ki 218
Edification, Memorial Services, and Financial Profits
220
The Appellation “Tsukumogami” 221
Etymology of Tsukumogami 221
x
Contents
Longevity and Special Power: From Aging Demonic
Animals to Demonic Tool Specters
222
Belief in Animate objects before and during the
Medieval Period
225
Translation of Tsukumogami ki 228
Conclusion 245
Japanese and Chinese Names and Terms 251
Bibliography 261
About the Author 284
Index 285
Acknowledgments
again, dEMons. JapanEsE dEMons and ogrEs in folklorE, literature,
and art. Not simply pernicious, but transformative and sometimes posi-
tive, formidable in their ability to express the human experience, they have
become my academic lifework. During my journey, I have met many won-
derful people, and this book has benefited greatly from them. I am espe-
cially grateful to Shelley Fenno Quinn, Peter Knecht, and Mark Bender,
who have been gracious in their assistance and encouragement from the
beginning of my academic endeavor.
Roger Thomas of Illinois State University, a genuine scholar, and Keiko
Wells of the Ritsumeikan University were immensely generous and kind to
read the whole manuscript and to give valuable comments.
The draft chapters were read by Benjamin Dorman, Paul Swanson,
and David White of Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture; Cristina
Bacchilega, Anne E. Duggan, and Hellen Callow of Marvels & Tales: Journal
of Fairy-Tale Studies; and Carolyn Stevens, Rebecca Suter, and David Kelly of
Japanese Studies. My book would have been inferior without their comments
and suggestions.
Special acknowledgments are due R. Keller Kimbrough, Hank Glassman,
Charlotte Eubanks, Scott Schnell, and Elizabeth oyler for their helpful
advice and comments in the process. I would also like to thank Rebecca
Copeland, Michael Bathgate, Ethan Segal, Mariko Kakehi, Michael Mitchell,
Richard Torrance, Clark Chilson, Gergana Ivanova, Mikiko Hirayama, and
Ann Wicks for their kind support and suggestions on various stages of this
project. Thomas Kasulis and the late David Chen, experts on Buddhism
and classical Chinese, respectively, were very generous in helping me trans-
late Tsukumogami ki (The Record of Tool Specters).
Also I have to thank Komatsu Kazuhiko, Tokuda Kazuo, Michael Dylan
Foster, Raluca Nikolae, Nakano Yōhei, Kobayashi Kenji, Nagahara Junko,
and Saitō Maori, whom I met at International Conference on Tradition
and Creation in the Culture of Yokai and the Strange. The conference was
xii
Acknowledgments
one of the most memorable and fruitful conferences I have ever attended.
Matsumura Kaoruko at International Research Center for Japanese Studies,
Kyoto, was very helpful for my obtaining the illustrations used for this
book. Apart from International Research Center for Japanese Studies, the
following institutions kindly supplied me with illustrations for this book:
Itsuō Art Museum, The Senshū University Library, Hiroshima University
Library, DNP ART Communications, and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
The guidance of Michael Spooner, associate director and acquisi-
tions editor at University Press of Colorado/Utah State University Press,
has always been helpful and encouraging. Anne Morris Hooke, my neigh-
bor and friend; Cheryl Carnahan, copyeditor; and Laura Furney, assistant
director and managing editor at the press, were professional and patient in
proofreading my English. I am grateful to the staff at museums and his-
torical sites in Japan and the United States. Stacy Brinkman, Asian Studies
librarian, the staff at the Interlibrary Loan office, and the Special Collection
office of Miami University Libraries have been invaluable in obtaining the
many books and articles I requested for research. My colleagues in the
Department of German, Russian, Asian, and Middle Eastern Languages
and Cultures, especially Margaret Ziolkowski, John Jeep, and Shi Liang,
director of Interactive Language Resource Center Daniel Meyers, and the
East Asian Studies Program have been always supportive and are exemplars
of collegiality. Likewise, comments, friendship, and encouragement from
the members of Midwest Japan Seminar are much appreciated. Discussions
at Midwest Japan Seminar have been critical for my publications.
I would like to thank Miami University for awarding me an Assigned
Research Appointment in the spring of 2013 that made it possible for me to
research in Japan and the financial support from the Committee of Faculty
Research in obtaining permission for the illustrations in this book.
The second essay and translation of this book appeared as “‘Tsuchigumo
sōshi’: The Emergence of a Shape-Shifting Killer Female Spider” in Asian
Ethnology 72, no. 1 (2013). The fourth essay appeared as “Haseo soshi: A
Medieval Scholar’s Muse” in Japanese Studies 35, no. 2 (2015), and its short
Japanese version appeared in The Tradition and Creation of Yokai Culture: From
the Viewpoint of Inside and Outside, edited by Komatsu Kazuhiko, The 45th
International Research Symposium (Kyoto: International Research Institute
for Japanese Studies, 2015). The fifth essay has been published as “The Tale
of Amewakahiko: A Japanese Medieval Story” in Marvels & Tales: Journal of
Fairy-Tale Studies 29, no. 2 (2015), published by Wayne State University. The
sixth essay and translation appeared as “‘Hanayo no hime,’ or ‘Blossom
Princess’: A Late-Medieval Japanese Stepdaughter Story and Provincial
Acknowledgments
xiii
Customs” in Asian Ethnology 70, no. 1 (2011), and the seventh essay and
translation was published as “Animating objects: Tsukumogami ki and the
Medieval Illustration of Shingon Truth,” which appeared in Japanese Journal
of Religious Studies 36, no. 2 (2009). I am grateful to the journals for permis-
sion to use the articles in the revised form.
Finally, but not least, the love and encouragement of my family—my
husband Brent Reider, daughter MaryEllen, and son Warwick—are, as
always, my driving engines.
Seven Demon Stories
from Medieval Japan
Introduction
oni (dEMons, ogrEs) arE ubiquiTous supErnaTural crEaTurEs ThaT
have played important roles in Japanese society and culture for centuries. In
my previous book, Japanese Demon Lore: oni , from Ancient Times to the Present
(Utah State University Press, 2010), I situated the oni as the other and exam-
ined what oni have been and what they have meant throughout Japan’s his-
tory, including their vicissitudes and transformations. While working on
oni, I encountered a number of fantastic stories that have interesting cul-
tural and societal perspectives and that would be of great value to scholars
and students of Japanese culture. This book, comprising seven introductory
research essays, each accompanied by a full translation, builds upon Japanese
Demon Lore while focusing on the medieval time period for which oni were
particularly important, as they were perceived to be living entities.
OtOgizōshi as a Genre
Many of these fascinating tales are otogizōshi (Muromachi-period fiction, lit-
erally “companion tales”),1 short stories written from the fourteenth to the
seventeenth centuries for the purpose of both entertainment and moral or
religious edification (Tokuda, Otogi-zōshi hyakka ryōran 2–9).
The term otogizōshi was coined in the eighteenth century when an
osaka publisher, Shibukawa Seiemon, published an anthology of twenty-
three short medieval stories under the title Goshūgen otogi bunko (Auspicious
Companion Library). Individual stories in this collection were called otogizōshi
(“companion tales”); later, short stories written from the Muromachi period
(1336–1573) to the early Edo period (1600–1867), of which there are well
over 400 extant, came to be called otogizōshi as an umbrella term .
Otogizōshi fuse written text and illustrations, taking a variety of forms
such as emaki (picture scrolls), nara ehon (illustrated woodblock-printed books
of a certain size), and woodblock-printed books. According to Chieko Irie
Mulhern, otogizōshi are literary works “distinguished from transcribed folk
tales by their substantial length and scope; sophistication in plot structure,
characterization, and style; gorgeous appearance in binding and illustration;
DOI: 10.7330/9781607324904.c000
3
4
Introduction
and wide circulation. The origin, date, authorship, readership, means of
circulation, and geographic distribution of the otogizōshi tales . . . remain
largely nebulous” (Mulhern, “Analysis of Cinderella Motifs, Italian and
Japanese” 1).2 Nevertheless, otogizōshi ’s anonymous authorship, brevity, and
context indicate an oral-derived literature (Steven 303–31). An “indicator of
otogizōshi ’s origin in oral tradition is the emphasis on events and comparative
lack of concern for details typical of auditory literature3 . . . Standardized
expressions and the mnemonic repetition of keywords and phrases often
typify this oral-derived literature” (Steven 305).
There are a number of ways to categorize otogizōshi. According to Ichiko