Illustrated story of shuten douji in japanese folklore and. A captivating guide to japanese folklore, myths, fairy tales, yokai, heroes and heroines. Shuten doji and his gang rampaged through kyoto, capturing noble virgins, drinking their blood and eating their organs raw. She assumes readers will be familiar with japanese folklore heroes like minamoto no raiko, kintaro, and abe no semei. It is not a list of names of demons, although some are listed by more than one name. There was also a glossary in the back which really helped me and my short memory. These religious beliefs originated in india and came to japan to china and korea. Shutendoji, according to one legend, was born at ganbara, echigo.
Her growth and character development were done spectacularly. Japan takes us on a tour of the various masks the oni has worn over the story of shuten doji. Abumiguchi a furry creature formed from the stirrup of a mounted military commander who worked for yamata no orochi aburaakago an infant ghost who licks the oil out of andon lamps aburasumashi a spirit with a large head who lives on a mountain pass in kumamoto prefecture akabeko a red cow involved in the construction of enzoji in yanaizu, fukushima. The story is that of a supernatural, mystery and romcom with minor cyberpunk vibes and settings and deals heavily in japanese mythology as well as world mythology, with a love letter to classic fan favorite tropes from anime and beyond. Shuten doji will drink your blood and eat your flesh at the. It also appears in the heianperiod encyclopedia wamyo ruijusho 938 ce, and again in the heike monogatari 71 ce, a record of one of japans bloodiest civil wars and most tragic family. Oni, from ancient times to the present by noriko t. For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image. Perfect for fans of japanese folklore and manga similar to death note. Although decapitated, the demons detached head still took a bite at the hero, who avoided death by wearing multiple helmets stacked on his head.
The main shrine building stands at the foot of mount inari, with the iconic red torii gatelined path winding up to the peak behind it. The nue is one of the oldest yokai recorded, having its first appearance in the kojiki 712 ce, an account of the early histories of japan. One story says that he was a handsome young man who shook the hearts of many women, but he was cold and arrogant to all. Shutendoji lived in oeyama, and sometimes he appeared in kyoto city to kidnap the. She does not spend a lot of time on definitions of words like kami, marebito and mononoke. Shuten doji acclaim comics valiant comics database. Click here to get the japanese mythology book displayed in the video. Illustrated story of shuten douji in japanese folklore and art illustrated story of shuten douji in japanese folklore and art the biggest surprise for me in nioh 2 is that they put shouten douji as a boss, this character is very famous and is one of the most deadly oni in history. The myth of japans shuten doji today we shall travel to the wonderfully dark world of vampire myth and legend, to a japanese tale of a bloodthirsty beast named shuten doji drunken boy.
A demon from a different space and time comes to earth carrying cargo. Before shrines were built, natural spaces where kami shinto deities were believed to be present were used for worship. A captivating guide to japanese folklore, myths, fairy tales, yokai, heroes and heroines explore captivating myths of japanese deities, yokai, heroes and heroines the study of mythology and folklore is a peculiar one to the ext. This is why in japanese the twilight hour is called omagatoki. Japanese mythology gods, goddess, creatures and stories. Japan also has its own myths, and one of those typical myths would be that of the yokai, which. It was so cool seeing casual references to creatures such as yokai and shinigami, and seeing it play such a rich part in the story.
Finally, a band of heroes led by the legendary warrior minamoto no yorimitsu assaulted shuten dojis palace, and with the help of some magical poison, were able to assault the oni band during a bout of heavy drinking. Oni the traditional japanese demon the story of shuten. She consid ers the legend shuten doji set during the reign of emperor ichijo, as one of. The drama of myths are particularly wellsuited to provide the scaffolding for teenage stories, whether focused coming of age or romance and adventure. Sometimes just for fun, nurarihyon is thrown in there to make it the four most powerful yokai in all of japan. Japanese mythology refers to any number of stories involving kami deities or spirits, oni ogres, andor youkai feylike creatures. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. To gain admittance to the stronghold, yorimitsu and his companions disguised themselves as mountain priests.
But did you know that there are official top three lists for folklore. The book can be purchased here, and do support matthews yokai project on patreon. This is a list of demons that appear in religion, theology, demonology, mythology, and folklore. Then get my book, the night parade of one hundred demons from today. Shutendoji, whos name could be translated as little alcoholic, was not born an oni. Nearby by in kyoto, the capital of medieval japan, the emperor grew. Ooe, appeared in kyoto from time to time, kidnapped the daughters of noble families, cut them with swords, and ate them raw. Japanese literature has a long and illustrious history, with its most famous classic, the tale of genji, dating back to the 11th century. The list of fictional demons includes those from literary fiction with theological aspirations, such as dantes inferno. While the creature of this story isnt technically a vampire, he has a vampiric taste for blood that would rival that of any undead. They are the most notorious yokai in japanese folklore. Shadow of the fox by julie kagawa, red winter by annette marie, flame in the mist by renee ahdieh, kinslayer by jay.
Ibuki, where in literature like the nihon shoki, in the legend of the defeat of the giant snake yamata no orochi to susanoo in a battle, it fled from izumo to omi, had a child with a wealthy persons. The dreaded king of the oni, shuten doji, is one of them. Oni is a scholarly book, and reider assumes readers will have a functional background in japanese folklore. It is thoroughly researched and gives generous insight into medieval characters still in the spotlight in japan today. Shuten doji is an evil artificial intelligence from the 22nd century hellbent on destroying the legacy of the creators who abandoned him, as well as conquering the world. There are three monsters who are considered the greatest and most evil yokai in all of japanese folklore. The demon of rashomon ibarakidoji this story has the potential to go off on so many interesting tangents that i have to be careful how i tell it this summer i visited the kyoto history museum, which puts a lot of this legend into a very tangible perspective, making it all the more interesting because of the connections.
The story of shuten d6ji is one of japans most famous oni demonogre legends. The study of mythology and folklore is a peculiar one to the extent that we are looking into things which are generally regarded as untrue yet critically important to a culture. The classic stories of mythology have been repeatedly mined for inspiration and reinterpreted for modern times, and have been an ongoing trend in young adult literature. It seems to me the whole section called as yokai was set up in a pov way to give disproportionately weight to the characterization that shutendoji is an important. Shutendoji, who came to kyoto, had many subordinates with ibarakidoji as his first, and based on mt.
Handbook of japanese mythology makes it easy to travel this vast yet littleknown mythological landscape. Since komatsu is an important commentator on shutendoji who closely studied it, wrote a book on it, it does somewhat increase the chance of it winding up on his best 3 list. Japanese mythology dates back to more than two centuries and is an intricate system of beliefs that also incorporates the agriculturalbased folk religion as well as traditional buddhist and shinto beliefs. Manga commonly include ideas based on the creation myth, featuring amaterasu, susanoo, izanagi and izanami. See more ideas about japanese folklore, japanese art and japanese mythology. It has also been theorized that the original mountain was mtoe on the south edge of the city of kyoto. A new exhibition looks at a legend that has gripped the japanese imagination. This encyclopedia contains over 125 illustrated entries detailing the monsters of japanese folklore and the myths and magic surrounding them. Shutendoji is a mythical oni or demon leader of japan, who according to legend was killed by the hero minamoto raiko. The book reveals the origins of japans myths in the very different realms of buddhism, shinto, and folklore, and explores related mythologies of the ainu and okinawan cultures and recent myths arising from japans encounters with.
There are few monsters who are considered among the greatest and most evil yokai in all of japanese folklore. Before he became a legendary monster, shuten doji was a. What are the best books in english about japanese mythology. Seven demon stories from medieval japan by noriko reider. Fushimi inaritaisha is an ancient shrine, founded in 711, making it one of kyotos oldest and most significant places. Ive done a few pieces on japanese gods and early mythology, and i hope to do a lot. As a dark and twisted cult begins preying on jiro and his family, his true identity and destiny unfolds, for he is. Booklist many cool monsters and some suspense keep the pages turning, with a bit of romance and banter. Explore captivating myths of japanese deities, yokai, heroes and heroines. Shuten doji belongs to a literary genre called otogi zoshi vfplj t or companion tales, which are short stories written from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century for the purpose of entertainment and moralreligious edification.
Japanese folklore encompasses the informally learned folk traditions of japan and the japanese people as expressed in its oral traditions, customs, and material culture in japanese, the term minkan densho. The academic study of folklore is known as minzokugaku. Japanese demon lore todays free book is japanese demon lore. Because numerous lists of legendary creatures concern mythology, folklore, and folk fairy. Japanese folklore have their origins in two major religions of japan, buddhism and shinto. We take a look at 10 japanese books you need to read, from the words of haruki murakami to. There are many legends about how he came to be, but most of them say that he was originally a human boy who was born over a thousand years ago either in presentday shiga or toyama. Its been a while since we last took a look a japanese folklore, so today we explore the origins of one of the most iconic demons in japanese folklore, the oni.
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