Shuten-Doji (Demon King)

According to legend he was 50 ft tall, had a red body, five horns, fifteen eyes and multi-colored limbs. Typically though he is depicted as an oversized ogre with a red body and limbs and only two horns and eyes.

The main legend consists of the story of Minamoto no Raiko (aka Minamoto no Yorimitsu) slaying the Oni.

During the reign of Emperor Ichijo there were a large number of missing people being reported in the capital of Kyoto, most of which were young women. It was discovered that it was the work of Shuten-Doji. The Emperor commanded Raiko and his men to exterminate the demon.

On their journey they encountered four deities that recommended they disguise themselves as priests. When they travelled through a cave-tunnel and came to a river they discovered an old lady doing laundry who told them that the ogres had kidnapped the young women to be servants but that they were slaughtering the young girls, eating their flesh and drinking their blood.

Upon finding the Demon King’s lair he convince the ogre to give him and his men who were pretending to be priests, lodging. The Oni treated them to sake and began talking about himself and how he was called Shuten-Doji or The Sake Drinking Lad by his underlings because of his love of sake. Raiko then offered the sake given to him by one of the deities which rendered the beast incapacitated.

After Shuten had retired the warriors stormed his sleeping quarters and while four of them held the ogre down Raiko cut off his head with a single stroke of his sword. However, the severed head still lived and snapped its jaws at Raiko’s head, but the warrior had prepared by wearing two of his men’s helmets on top of his own. The group triumphant returned to Kyoto with his head and buried it at the Treasure House of Uji Temple.