#滝夜叉姫

[singular-yike]

I'm kinda curious about Sese now. Have anything to say on them?

Mm Sese yes, we've not too much, but there's certainly something to say about them yes.

A Corpse in Search of Themself — Sese Kitsugai

Background

Information on Sese is a bit scattered as well, let's have a brief overview here:

Sese is a young youkai born out of a corpse, specifically, a skeleton. According to Sese themself, they think they've lived for a fairly long time, but hasn't become self-aware until recently.

Unlike most youkai, who manifest fully formed and matured, Sese is still maturing themself. This is possibly because they're separated from their original skeleton, which they're always on the search for.

To look for their bones, they excavate various locations around Mugenri, perhaps making use of their ability to "know the underground". Recently though, the act of excavation itself has started to fascinate them, and it's become a bit of a hobby itself.

The bones that we see on Sese's body are the ones that they have recovered, so in RMI they only had their right hand, but they found their right arm near the Harujion after the RMI main story as well.

Depicted below: Sese in RMI, with only their hand's bones.

Additionally, Sese is able to temporarily incorporate other creatures' bones and souls to power themself up, which would be the other bones that they wear on their body.

Name: Sese Kitsugai

In Sese's family name, Kitsugai (乞骸), "kitsu" (乞) means "beg" while "gai" (骸) means "bone/body/corpse".

When read as one term, it literally means "begging for the return of a corpse", and is what Chinese court officials would ask for when they wish to retire from serving the Emperor and return home.

Here the official is referring to themself as the corpse, as a metaphor for how they're old and no longer useful to the Emperor. Its use here is likely in reference to how Sese is literally looking for their own corpse, or rather, their scattered skeletons.

The meaning behind their given name, Sese (セセ), is completely unknown. It's written in katakana and doesn't match the pronunciation of any Japanese word either. A possible theory is that it's Latin, where "sese" means "self".

Mythological Inspiration: Gashadokuro

Sese is a bit of a spin on the youkai gashadokuro (がしゃどくろ). Here, "gasha" (がしゃ) comes from onomatopoeia for rattling (bones), "gasha gasha" (ガシャガシャ), while "dokuro" (髑髏) means "skull", so gashadokuro means "rattling skulls".

They're "traditionally" said to be large skeleton youkai born from a massive gathering of skeletons of those who died in war or by the roadside and didn't receive a proper burial, animated by their desire for vengeance.

I say "traditionally" because the gashadokuro is actually a very recent creation, dating back to the ancient, ancient times of 1968, literally not even 60 years ago.

First seen in the 1968 Japanese children's book "Complete Collection of the Word's Bizarre Thrillers 2: Monsters of the World" in an article by writer Morihiro Saitou (斎藤守弘). The gashadokuro was later adopted by manga writer Shigeru Mizuki in his famous manga GeGeGe no Kitarō and made famous.

Depicted below: A statue of a gashadokuro on Shigeru Mizuki Road.

This is a case where a youkai was basically created with no mythological basis at all, either way though, the gashadokuro has already entered the popular imagination, and it's here to stay.

The relatively modern origins of the gashadokuro may have inspired how young Sese is, and why they are still able to mature themself.

The gashadokuro was further influenced by the legend of Takiyasha-hime (滝夜叉姫), specifically a mythologized telling of her story first found in the 17th-century yomihon novel series "The Tale of Utou Yasutaka's Loyalty" (善知安方忠義伝) by Santō Kyōden.

In the story, Takiyasha-hime and her half-brother Taira no Yoshikado secluded themselves in the ruins of the old Sōma palace after Taira no Masakado's death, where they started recruiting those still loyal to Masakado's cause.

When cornered by the warrior Ooya Tarou Mitsukuni, they summoned an army of skeletons and controlled them to fight back at Mitsukuni and his men.

Based on the story, Utagawa Kuniyoshi made the following famous woodblock print (much more famous than the original story), where a single giant skeleton was summoned instead.

This print was then used as the model for an illustration of a gashadokuro in the 1972 children's book "The Most Detailed Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Japanese Youkai" (いちばんくわしい日本妖怪図鑑), firmly cementing the idea that Takiyasha-hime summoned a gashadokuro to attack her enemies.

This explains Sese's claims to belong to royalty and why they have the same green hair as Fumikado does.

Who Was Sese Kitsugai?

One of the bigger mysteries surrounding Sese Kitsugai is who they were in life, or rather, who their skeleton was in life. To understand who they might have been, let's also take a look at:

A Great Youkai Who Still Hasn't Quite Returned — Sese Kitsugai

In RMI's hidden Ex+α stage, Sese absorbs all the souls that the players have collected so far and temporarily transforms into a state closer to their original form.

While they still haven't recovered their old memories, on account of still not having found their cranium, they act a bit differently from their usual childish self, and seemed to have realised something about this game's incident:

RMI Shrine Team Ex+α (Sese's lines only) "Phew~. I've been revived!" "I'm far from top form, but I guess this is still a big improvement." "Oh yeah! It seems you've run into a lot of trouble because of Sese..." [...] "Nuh-uh, it was Sese's fault. Every last bit of it!"

While not outright confirmed, even only considering what we have from the original RMI, it seems to heavily imply that Sese was, in life, Taira no Masakado, the very person Fumikado was trying to revive.

Most telling is this line in the Music Room comments for Sese's Ex+α theme, Those Lurking in Unreality:

RMI Music Room: Those Lurking in Unreality When you trace the whole thing back to its source, you could say that this boss, in a way, is the main cause of the revival plot. Their true identity might not be explained in the main story, but there are some things that needn't be said, right?

For some additional evidence, there's Ex+α Sese's additional ability to "conquer the above-ground", which could possibly be a reference to Masakado's rebellious conquest of western Japan.

There's also Fumikado and Sese's conversation in BPoHC:

BPoHC New Emperor Team vs. Sese Fumi "Something feels... weird about them." Sese "Oh? One of you has the same hair color as Sese! We ma~atch!" Iyo "? Wait, what's this kid talking about...?" Fumi "I don't know, but something feels seriously disconcerting." [...] Fumi "But we won't go easy, alright? After all, I am the New Emperor." Sese "Sese's royalty too! Don't underestimate me!" [...] Fumi "[...] I wonder why this is, though? For some reason, I feel like giving my all for this little one."

It might be that Fumikado feels so disconcerted about yet oddly devoted to Sese because they're facing Masakado himself, or at least, a youkai born out of his skeleton.

Potential Inspiration: Taira no Msakado

If we indeed work under the theory that Sese was born from Masakao's skeleton, then there might actually be a basis for why Sese's skeleton is scattered all across the place:

It is historically known that when Masakado was defeated in battle, his head was chopped off and carried back to the capital at the time, Heian-kyō (Kyoto), where it was put on public display.

There are several legends where, for various reasons, Masakado's head one day flew up into the air and flew eastward toward the Kantō region, but ran out of strength midway and fell.

A number of shrines and other locations claim to be where Masakado's head landed, but the Masakado Mound (将門塚) in Tokyo is definitely the most popular one.

Depicted below: The Masakado Mound at Toyko.

Similarly, there are a number of legends as to where and how Masakado's body was buried as well.

One example is that Masakado's younger brother, Taira no Masayori (平 将頼), gave the body a secret burial at the Enmei Monastery (延命院) in modern-day Bandō City, Ibaraki Prefecture.

Depicted below: Mound of Taira no Masakado's Body (平将門の胴塚) at Enmei Monastery

Unlike his head though, there's no singular popular legend about where Maskado's body is. Nevertheless, this confusion about where Masakado's corpse is buried, if at all, may have inspired the scattering of Sese's skeleton.

And that's all I have on Sese, an interesting figure that seems to have quite the curious past. I'm quite interested in seeing where their story will take them in the future, let's hope we get to see more~ :)

[ask-the-equestrians]

Alt. Title: 忌まわしき魔術師: 滝夜叉姫 Hello Everyone. It's been a long while since my last post, too while for my liking. Welcome to an all new and a continuation of my Yokai Bijinga series. This artwork I was working on a year and a half ago, but do to my circumstances I couldn't continue working on it, so it was on delay up until now. I finally was able to finish this project and now it's here. I start this series with Takiyasha Hime. Takiyasha Hime is the daughter of Taira no Masakado and a Necromancer who raises the dead in attempt to conquer Japan. Takiyasha Hime's story was very popular among the Edo period of Japan, many woodblock prints, novels, and kabuki plays, was made of her. I will post a link if you want to go on my details of her. For now, here's my rendition of Takiyasha Hime. I have more Yokai Bijinga on the way. Takiyasha Hime My Website

[bearbench-3bun4]

「虚無への供物」中井英夫　3311

第三章

31　顔のない顔　

1955年3月1日火曜日の話からです。 木造二階建ての『黒馬荘』というアパートの説明から入ります。

本郷の都電の動坂停留所から追分へ向かって幅広いだらだら坂をのぼりつめると、 “日限地蔵（ひぎりじぞう）”が祀られていて、その角を入った裏通りにあるそうです。 わざわざ本文でも1960年10月の区画整理後、今は面影も見当たらないといっています。

正確な場所を書くことがためらわれたのでしょうか？ まあ、現在の地図に当てはめると、駒込病院あたりでしょうか？

ただ、その辺りには、“日限地蔵”は無いようです。 昔あって今はもう無いとも考えられますが、 昭和20年4月の空襲を境に様相を変えとありますから、無くなったとは考えられません。 これも、後から何らかの形で絡んでくるのでしょうか？

さて、『黒馬荘』というアパートの説明から入ります。 六畳一間で、押し入れと洋服ダンスが造り付け、ガス水道を備え小さな台所もついている。

このアパートの持ち主は、職業を問わないがきれい好きの独身男性にのみ貸していた。 二階には、夜の職業の者のもの（寄席（よせ）芸人、ペット吹き、バーテンなど） 階下には、昼の勤めの者のもの（仕立下職、図���家、セールスマンなど） ただ、玄関にはいつも『貸間あり』と板片がぶら下がっている。 それをみても、このアパートの持ち主は、かなり変わり者なんでしょうね。

新聞は部屋ごとに配るようになったが、郵便は、配達員が面倒がって、廊下へまとめて放り出していく。 ということは、それまでは新聞も昔は、まとめて放り出していってたのでしょうか。

さて、この郵便物ですが、気の付いた住居者が受付の窓へ立てかけることになっていて、 最近は、階下の右端の部屋に住む仕立下職の伊豆金造（いずきんぞう）がやっています。 この時間、金造以外に階下に誰もいないからというのもあるけど、他人宛の手紙を見るのをひそかな楽しみにしていたんですね。 封書は、裏表を丹念にひっくり返して差出人の名前を記憶してしまう、葉書は、素早く文面に眼を通し読み上げたりするのが癖です。

3月1日の朝、金造は袖振りの将棋をしています。 この将棋は、特定の手を指すと相手が必ず特定の手を指すルールがある変則的なものですが、一人でやってたのですかね？ で、投げ込まれた郵便物にきがついた金造がそれを熱心に調べ始めますが、背後に冷たい視線を感じます。

金造が感じた視線は、去年の10月頃に越してきた三十がらみの眼の鋭い男で、 時々、マスクに眼鼻を描き入れては返している人形絵師です。 その男は、区役所へ行くのが面倒だと米穀通帳の登録もしていないそうです。

ところで、昭和30年は豊作で内地米の供給は配給米、ヤミ米ともに増加していて２割以上の低落となっていたようです。 配給米を手に入れなくても、ヤミ米で何とかなったのでしょう。

やはり感じた視線は、例の人形絵師でした。 その男、赤い靴下に明るいフラノのズボン、煉瓦いろの派手なシャツという格好で、 冷たい眼で威圧するように金造を見下ろしています。 その風体に、殺気めいたものさえ感じてしまいます。

その男、金造を自分の部屋に誘います。 金造は、体が小刻みに顫（ふる）えのを感じながら、部屋へ入ろうとすると、 たまたま、管理人のとろ婆さん（この前まで大分の山の中で牛を追い回していた）が、 預かっている新聞が有ると声をかけるのですが、後で取りに行くと、強引に、金造を部屋に押し込むと鍵をかけてしまいます。 これは、金造でなくても、びびりそうですね。

ところで、理由は書かれていませんが、金造は、例の男の背中には刺青があると、思い込んでいます。 これは、金造が臆病者であることを単にあらわしているのでしょう��� で、倶利伽羅とか滝夜叉とかです。 倶利加羅は、「倶梨迦羅」「古力迦羅」「倶力迦羅」などとも言われて、黒色の龍で不動明王の化身です。この龍が燃え盛る炎に包まれながらも岩上の利剣に巻き付き剣を飲み込まんとする像が倶利加羅不動明王です。 滝夜叉は、平将門の娘で、元の名を五月姫（皐月姫）といいます。自らを新皇と称し、関東を制した父・将門が天慶の乱で討たれると、娘の五月姫は恨みを募らせ、やがて妖術使い「滝夜叉姫」と化します。

無理やり押し込められた状態の金造は、金造は例の男にかけるように勧められ、改めて部屋の中を見ます。 万一の時のために窓の様子をみますが、閉じて鍵がされています。 男世帯にしては片付いていて、薄赤い敷物が敷き詰められ、左手の壁沿いに整理ダンスと本棚、窓際にはテーブルと椅子があり、 右手の狭い台所もきちんと整いガス台にはやかんが湯気を噴きながら煮立っています。

消息通を自負している金造ですが、いずれはこういう破目にだろうと思っていたのか、すっかり観念しているようですね。 というのも、 来客がきた日に、いつも鍵のかかっていない隣の空室から盗み聞きしていたのがバレて、 その後も口をきく機会があっても口も聞かずに済んでいたからです。 さて、例の男は、コップにウィスキーを注ぎ金造のところに持ってきて、話し出します。 上等な洋服地を一巻き取り出し、金造に買い取ってくれないかと持ちかけます。

洋服地は、舶来のウーステッドで、仲間相場でヤール五千円だと金造は見立てます。 ウーステッドは、「梳毛」のことで、原毛の段階で梳られた長くて細いなめらかな感触をもつ糸で織られビジネススーツのもっとも一般的な生地です。 仲間相場は、問屋を通さない取引です。 この当時は、木綿（１反）が250円だそうですから、 ヤール（並幅のことで、1ヤード(91.4cm)である）が五千円だから、かなり高額だという事になすます。

例の男は、急に金がいるからと下手に出ていますが、金造が煮えきらないので、 態度をかえて金造がこの部屋にかってに入ったことを問い詰めます。 なんと、金造はこの部屋に黙って入っていたのですね。 しかも、部屋に転がっていた凹凸だけの白い小さな顔に驚いて、飛び出してしまっています。 白い小さな顔は、人形絵師の仕事に使う材料ですね。 しどろもどろで、怯（おび）えきった金造に、例の男は、また丁寧な口調に戻って、勘違いかもしれないと、無礼を侘びます。 そんなことより金造は、眼��前にあるレモン入りのウィスキーに釘付けです。 それは、ウィスキーにたっぷりレモンを絞って青酸カリの臭いを消すのだと新聞記事で読んでいたからです。 と、金造の妄想はどんどん膨らんで、とうとう泣き出してします。 その様子に例の男は、たじろいで取引の話はやめてウィスキーを勧めます。 そう言われてもウィスキーからまぎれもない青酸カリの匂いがして、金造はますます困惑してます。 まさか、青酸カリなんか入っているわけないですよね。

ちょうどその時、鴻巣玄次を訊ねてくる人がいました。 その人物は、八田皓吉でした。 ここでやっと、例の男は、鴻巣玄次だとわかります。 しかも、八田皓吉を兄さんと呼んでいます。 びっくりな展開ですね。

つづく

[774]

『元亨釈書』に記されている平将門の娘・如蔵尼をモデルに、山東京伝が読本『善知安方忠義伝』で最初に語ったものと考えられている。福島県磐梯町の恵日寺にある如蔵尼の墓碑に『滝夜叉姫が将門の死後に再興を図ったが失敗し出家した』と記されている。 天慶の乱にて父将門が討たれ、一族郎党は滅ぼされるが、生き残った五月姫は怨念を募らせ、貴船明神の社に丑三つ時に参るようになった。満願の二十一夜目には貴船明神の荒御霊の声が聞こえ、五月姫は妖術を授けられ、滝夜叉姫となった。 滝夜叉姫は下総国へ戻り、相馬の城にて夜叉丸や蜘蛛丸ら手下を集め、朝廷転覆の反乱を起こそうとするが、先手を打った朝廷が滝夜叉姫成敗の勅命を大宅中将光圀（通称太郎）と山城光成に下していた。相馬の城の内裏に追い詰められた滝夜叉姫はドクロの化け物を呼び出し応戦するが、激闘の末に敗れる。敗れた滝夜叉姫は死して平将門のもとに昇天したとも、尼寺に入り生涯をすごしたとも言われる。

滝夜叉姫 - Wikipedia

[aizumin]

ムー旅 平将門巡り「胴と首をつなぐ」崇敬の旅 ・その１

6月18日(日)参加して参りました。ローソントラベルと月刊ムー編集部のコラボツアー第2段です。実は昨年の第1段も気になってはいたのですが、コロナ下ということと1泊ツアーだったこともあって断念😢

今回は元々が大好きな平将門さんなのと、パンフレットに作家の加門七海女史が寄稿されているということで、読んでみたい意欲も重なりまして。6月過ぎているというのに申し込みをポチってしまいました💦

集合場所は新宿センタービル。Twitter等の情報を見てなかったんですが、何か集合時間ギリギリになって最後に現れた方が松原タニシ氏のコスプレ？すごい似てるけどまさかな～😅

……そのまさかで、ご本人様でした💦💦

※後から松原タニシ氏の参加が、公式Twitterで告知されてるのを確認して脱力しました。何だよー、ちゃんと把握しとけよ😂>自分

さて、1時過ぎに定刻通り出発した🚍が向かった先は、茨城県の國王神社でした。

将門さんが討ち死にされた跡地？に創建された神社です。ここがめっちゃ居心地がいい😊💕空気が違うと言うか、清々しいんですね。糺の森クラス。

駐車場から境内に入ったのですが、ちょうど狛犬さん辺りからになるので、改めて⛩️をくぐって入ろうと思い、⛩️は何処だと見渡したら遥か彼方！！

参道長っ😳

急いで⛩️まで行って、改めて参道を歩いてから本殿に二礼二拍一礼しましたが、端から見たら多分変な人でしかなかったと思うの😰

ここから、郷土史家の方の簡単な将門さんの生涯と神社の縁起の説明がありまして、将門さんの三女の如蔵尼－ー歌舞伎の滝夜叉姫のモデルになった方ですねーーによる建立とのこと。御神体は如蔵尼自らが将門さんの三十三回忌に彫られた坐像だそうですが、盗難にあった関係で現在は本体は蔵に安置してあり写真のみパネルで公開。

余談ではありますが、私の家の氏神様というか守護神様？が谷保天神(ウチは神道なんで、祭礼関係をお願いしています)なんですが、由来がほぼ同じ💦💦

あちらも菅原道真さんの三男にあたる道武公が、配流先で薨去の知らせを聞いて刻んだ道真さんの坐像を鎮座したのが縁起なんですよねー。3番目の子供と坐像……ちなみに、将門さんが新皇と名乗るきっかけになった神託は道真さんが下したものなので、これも深い因縁があるように思えます。

境内には数々��石碑や、建立当時から植わっていた樹木があり、歴史が感じられました。

こちらの拝殿の屋根は茅葺きなんですが、所々傷みが……💦💦本来だと茅は数十年おきに葺き替えるのが常識です。京都のみやまのかやぶきの里でも岐���の白川郷や五箇山でも、保存会の方々が総出で葺き替えている映像を見かけたことがあります。傷みがあれば、茅を継ぎ足します。こちらもそろそろ葺き替えの時期が来てると思うのですが、資金不足だそうで😰お詣りしたご縁もあるからと、些少ではありますが授与所で寄付をさせて頂きました。もっと早くに知っていれば、💴を下ろしていったのにーー😩

参拝を済ませ境内を散策した後、再び🚍に乗り込み次の目的地の神田山延命院へ。こちらには将門さんの胴塚があります。大体15分くらいで到着。🚍の前には畑と竹林が拡がり、こちらも落ち着いた雰囲気の場所。

でもってですね。☝️を見て仰天。こちらの宗派は真言宗智山派ですと！？

何を隠そう、将門さんの調伏をしたとされる成田山新勝寺が同門なんですよ！！そういうこともあって、将門さんを信仰される方は新勝寺には行かないそうなんですが、よりによって何で同じ宗派に葬った！！

朝廷は調伏を全国の仏門に命じたそうなので、新勝寺がしたということはその宗派全体に命令が下っている筈なんですね。にも拘らず、胴塚が築かれている。何じゃそれ。

ともかく、境内に入ります。

将門さんの胴は、最初このカヤの巨木の根元に埋葬されたそうです。かなり存在感がある。胴塚にはペットボトルがたくさん置かれておりまして、信仰の篤さが伺えます。

神田明神もそうですが、神田山は元々はからだ山がなまってかど山⇒かんだ山となり、現在の山��になったそうです。将門山とも称するそうなので、かど山＝将門さんの「かど」から来てるのかと思ってた😅その身体は何かと言えば、当然のことながら胴塚の胴ですね。

ちなみにこちらの石碑。

右の「南無阿弥陀仏」と書かれたものは、元々大手町の将門塚(首塚)にあったもので、それが盗難に遭い将門塚の方は新しく造り直して設置した後に戻ってきたそうで。既に設置し直したものを破棄する訳にもいかず、それならこちらの胴塚に奉納しようということで、将門塚保存会から寄贈されたとのこと。それはいいとして、何で浄土宗もしくは浄土真宗なんだろう🤔(南無阿弥陀仏は“阿弥陀仏に帰依する”ということで、浄土宗&浄土真宗の所謂「念仏」なんですよ)

旗の上にある九曜紋は、毘沙門天(多聞天)＝大日如来を表すそうで……そういや、境内にちゃんと毘沙門天を祀ったお堂があったじゃん😭(画像撮らんかったんです)

この左の石碑、ん？と思う方もあるんじゃないかと。「大威徳将門明王」なのに、梵字がキリークではなく不動明王を表すカーンなんですよ(その辺りの考察は、高田崇史氏がQ.E.Dシリーズの御霊将門で書かれています😊)

ちなみにこちらの金堂は1964年(東京オリンピックの年ですね)に不審火で焼失してそのままだとか。胴塚のすぐ横の↓がその跡地になります。

こちらも信仰を集めている割にちょっと荒れているというか。國王神社と延命院、どちらも常駐の神主さん&住職さんが居られない😥正直うちの近所の村社とあまり変わりがなくて驚きました。

取りあえず前半戦はこの辺までで。

[coolmika745]

Takiyasha Hime Onmyoji Manga Summary Volume 1 Chapter 1 Part 1

"Taiyasha Hime Onmyoji" is a webcomic by Comic-Walker. Here is the link to the first chapter of the comic.

I will provide a summary based on what I interpreted on my translator app. If someone who is fluent in Japanese what to provide a better summary or a translation, they are welcome to do so.

I am going to divide the chapter into two parts in order to prevent my post from being too long.

The scene started with young Abe no Seimei who is known as Shinodamaru at the time instead of Dojimaru and young Kamo no Yasunori. Shinodamaru used his fox senses and told Yasunori that he sensed oni coming from the Rajomon Gate. At first Yasunori dismissed it and say this was not the season for oni, but realized it is.

More information on the Rajomon Gate can be found here.

Yasunori told his father to wake up whom is presumably Kamo no Tadayuki. He said that the Night Parade of Hundred Demons are coming. Tadayuki asked his son "What's is the big fuss?" And wondered if he was sleep derived and said, "Even on the day the azimuth gods move places, there will be a smile."

More information on the definition of azimuth can be found here.

Tadayuki sensed the oni and tells Yasunori and Shinodamaru that he will put up a barrier and ushered them to go hide in the cart.

Tadayuki recited a spell to summon a shikigami, "The heavenly position is determined, the thunder and wind come together, and the water and fire strike each other. Eight Divinatory Trigrams cross each other. Mistakes are not the same as humanity."

Meanwhile one of the oni said there appears to be humans in the area. The other inquires about them and they started searching.

Yasunori and Shinodamaru noticed that the oni has a corpse that was stolen from the wild and wonder why they have not eaten it yet.

The shikigami Tadayuki summoned happened to be the Kamo Clan's ancestral god, Kamo Taketsunumi/Kamo Takekaku/Yatagarasu the three-legged crow. The oni knew who the shikigami was and were in shocked. Yatagarasu used his three legs to carry Shinodamaru, Yasunori, and Tadayuki to safety.

After Yatagarasu disappeared the oni were still in shock and decided to retreat presumably because they did not want to deal with Yatagarasu.

Tadayuki told Shinodamaru and Yasunori that he did something dangerous and is relieved that the oni are gone. Tadayuki compared Yasunori to a jinroku (compassionate) person to be able to tell him about the Night Parade of Hundred Demons coming, but Yasunori said that it was Shinodamaru who first notice. Tadayuki looked at Shinodamaru in astonishment.

The scene switched to a mysterious unknown figure who is about go to where the Night Parade of Hundred Demons are located. The figure noticed a "human arm" or so it is assumed to be and wondered if one of the oni dropped it and left. The figure said that it was a strange thing for a human arm and laughed and said, "Ok, ok cute. That's right, I'm hungry..."

I will finish summarizing the rest of the chapter when get a chance. The next part I will summarize takes place 19 years later.

I am wondering if this is the Takiyashahime that the title is referring to.

These are all the chapters that were released online.

The comic is not just a webcomic, but also a paperback and e-book comic though the paperback and e-book seems to only be available in Japan.

[soryuju]

"To protect the ones you hold dear, you sometimes have to make tough decisions."

[ryugendo]

#滝夜叉姫 #takiyashahime #刺青 #traditionaljapanesetattoo #japanesetattoo #和彫り #wabori #彫り物 #彫物 #手彫り #龍元 #ryugen #horimono #Tebori (Traditional Japanese Tattoo Art Studio Ryugendo) https://www.instagram.com/p/CByvQHPlTsx/?igshid=iqukislzixy9

[chi9wa]

#滝夜叉姫 #瀧夜叉姫 #takiyashahime #japanesetattoo #japanesestyle #japanesetraditional

[some-shika-blog]

滝夜叉姫 [あさひが丘神楽団/滝夜叉姫]

白ベースの着物に紫のグラデーションが綺麗な衣装です。 目力のある舞子さんなので、意思の強さを感じられるような表情を意識しました。

[horitsugu-tattoo]

#滝夜叉姫 #takiyashahime #legsleeve @strictlytattoostudio #tattoo #tattoos #irezumi #刺青 #wabori #和彫 #strictlytattoostudio #prahran #melbourne #melbournetattoo #australia #3181 #strictlytattoogallery #vancouver #canada #horiryutattoofamily #japan #japanese #japaneseart #japanesetattoo #japanesetattooist #horitsugu #fusionink (at Strictly Tattoo Studio)

[singular-yike]

K-Kunimitsu

B-but of course~! There's not much I can say about them from an in-universe perspective, I'll be honest, we just don't know enough about them personally, but there's actually quite a lot to say about their inspirations.

So! Let's look at our commoner youkai exterminator:

Royal Court's Youkai Exterminator — Kunimitsu Ooya

To really understand Kunimitsu's basis, we have to understand the very poorly documented (in English anyways) "The Tale of Yasutaka Utou's Loyalty" (善知安方忠義伝) by Santō Kyōden.

Disclaimer

Since I could find literally nothing on the book in English. Everything here's gonna be based on my own translations of the Japanese/Chinese sources I found, so take it with a grain of salt.

(The English equivalent of its wikipedia page is on a woodblock print based on the story, and not on the actual book, so uh, make sure to read carefully folks)

(Normally I'd be more confident but I'm not reading an entire 17th-century novel written in pre-modern Japanese so y'all are gonna have to deal with a third-hand account)

The Tale of Yasutaka Utou's Loyalty

"The Tale of Yasutaka Utou's Loyalty" (善知安方忠義伝) is an Edo period yomihon novel series by Santō Kyōden. Its story was never actually completed, but was published anyways in 1806.

It is said to be based on the Noh play "Utoh" (善知鳥 Lit. "Auklets", also translated as "Birds of Sorrow") as well as the Masakado legends.

The story follows Taira no Masakado's children, Taira no Yoshikado (平良門) and Takiyasha-hime (滝夜叉姫), and their attempt in continuing their father's uprising; as well as the trials and tribulations underwent by Yasutaka Utou (善知安方) and his wife, as well as Yasutaka's loyalty (to what or whom I'm honestly unsure).

For the part of the story we actually care about, we start with the toad spirit Nikushisen (肉芝仙), who resides on Mount Tsukuba (筑波山). It saved up so much spiritual power over its 3000-year life, that it awakened to potent "toad magic" (yes toad magic).

After Masakado's defeat as an enemy of the imperial court, Nikushisen appeared before Yoshikado, who Masakado had kept a secret and thus saved, told him his origins, taught him toad magic and persuaded him to continue the rebellion.

(Note: Yoshikado is entirely fictitious, and never existed, although tales about him have existed for a while, hence his use in this tale)

Depicted below: An illustration showing Yoshikado (right) learning toad magic from Nikushisen, true form inside the frog (left)

In addition, Nikushisen possessed Yoshikado's sister, the Buddhist nun Kisaragi-ni (如月尼), transforming her into Takiyasha-hime. Together, they are the masterminds behind most of the misfourtunes in the book, and the main antagonists to Yasutaka and co.

(Note: Takiyasha-hime was a historical figure, but nothing was known about her other than the fact that she existed. These books are believed to be the origin of fiction using her as a character.)

Depicted below: Takiyasha-hime in one of the books (left), Nikushisen (as a toad) and Yoshikado on the right

Inspiration: Ooya Tarou Mitsukuni

With all this established, we can finally get into the pivotal scene and character Kunimitsu is based on: Ooya Tarou Mitsukuni.

In the story, Ooya Tarou Mitsukuni (大宅太郎光圀) is a fictitious retainer of the historical Minamoto no Yorinobu (源 頼信), who put down another rebellion attempt by one of Masakado's grandsons.

Mitsukuni was sent to the Soma clan's old imperial palace, an abandoned palace originally built for Masakado imitating the one in the imperial capital where the Emperor lives, to arrest conspirators of Yoshikado and Takiyasha-hime, who were gathering there.

To fight back, the siblings summoned and controlled the skeletons of countless fallen warriors to fight back against their enemies, chief amongst them Ooya Tarou Mitsukuni.

This scene is famously (even moreso than the original story) depicted in a woodblock print by the famed ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi, simply titled "The Soma's Old Imperial Palace" (相馬の古内裏). (This by the way is what the English version of the books' wikipedia page is actually on, ugh)

In Utagawa's depiction, only Takiyasha-hime (left panel) is present, while the many skeletons are instead one giant skeleton (centre & right). In the middle, fighting against it, is Mitsukuni (left) and fellow warrior Araimaru (荒井丸) (he's unimportant to us though).

SO! Now we can finally look into how Mitsukuni inspired Kunimitsu.

First off, name: Obviously, they share the same family name, Ooya (大宅), a fairly common surname that means "large mansion". The given name Kunimitsu (都光) is just the name Mitsukuni (光圀) sliced in half and swapped in order.

However, while "mitsu" is still written with the same character, 光 (light); "kuni" is written with a different one: 都 (capital city) in Kunimitsu and 圀 (country) in Mitsukuni. This swap was likely to distance Kunimitsu from Mitsukuni, as well as to strengthen their ties to the imperial capital of Devanagara.

Kunimitsu's occupation as a youkai exterminator is likely based on Mitsukuni repelling the skeleton army/giant skeleton that Takiyasha-hime (and Yoshikado) sends after him.

Finally, the pose Kunimitsu is in is actually nearly identical to that of Mitsukuni in the following woodblock print by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, often considered "the last great master of ukiyo-e". Interestingly this version keeps the skeleton army.

Tying Things Up

While I could've certainly just drawn the parallels between Mitsukuni and Kunimitsu and called it a day, "The Tale of Yasutaka Utou's Loyalty" is actually quite influential to Len'en in general.

In fact, it ties together Chouki, Fumikado, Sese and Kunimitsu, perhaps you've noticed them as well? So think of it as laying the groundwork for analysing all of them, and thanks for bearing with me.

In any case, here are some other curious points that I'll point out about Kunimitsu:

The symbols on their crown (the Fujiwara dynasty's crown) are likely Sanskrit, I can't read Sanskrit though so I've no idea what it says, and I can't identify them with any characters just from what I have online either

Kunimitsu seems to have a personal grudge against the Senri Shrine, having "a score to settle with them", although it's unclear why

They extermination youkai to demonstrate that people no longer need the Senri priests

They're apparently talented in the kitchen as well as with a sword

So, that concludes all I have, let's look forward to learning more soon, hopefully~

[towardstomorrow]

Thoughts on Hanyô no Yashahime

Just thought a litte bit about the title “Hanyô no Yashahime. Sengoku Otogi Zôshi” ( 半妖の夜叉姫  戦国御伽草子 )

Everywhere it is written like: “Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon”, but I don’t like this or think it’s correct... There is no official English translation yet! Han’ yô 半妖 means half-demon Yashahime 夜叉姫 can mean demon princess

So it is bascially “The feudal fairytale of half-demon demon princess” when you translate it literally. In Japanese you don’t know, if its singular or plural. So maybe all three daughters are meant by this and not just InuKags Moroha (what I read before somewhere). And all of them have “human” ears...so this would make sense to me? Plus, we know Rumiko Takahashi-sensei likes mythology and all this stuff (obviously) and I’m asking myself, if she or the animation team got their inspiration from the actual tales of “Takiyashahime” 滝夜叉姫（たきやしゃひめ）. Which is a demon fighting princess in Japanese art and mythology...(quick source: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%BB%9D%E5%A4%9C%E5%8F%89%E5%A7%AB)

So it could be meant as “The feudal fairytale of demon fighting half demon princess/es”

I hope you could follow my thoughts. thanks for reading and I’m curious what you think!

[dailykikou]

神楽の演技見ることに興味があった。10月にクラブのリーダーの近所は祭りをかけた、そして神楽団は演じた。リーダーの息子の友は団の楽人だ。演奏者の皆は上手かった。とっても面白かったな。

中国地方の（特に広島のと島根の）神楽有名。この地方に神楽団が多い。衣装も舞は精巧で、音楽は印象的だ。広島市のYMCAで毎週演技が見える。その日に私はいつも忙しかったから、惜しくそこで来たことない。

いろんな物語を演じたけど、民話の名前をぜんぜんわからない。途中に老いの人物は観ている子にお菓子を投げて、大人に新米をくれた。新米は最初の刈った米穀で、一番美味しいという。翌週中に食べても、違ったら、わからなかった。

写真：津浪神楽団の滝夜叉姫　2019.10

[6zo2]

滝夜叉姫

[kitahara-kouji]

滝夜叉姫　TAKIYASYAHIME

「令和怪奇画報 妖怪編Ⅰ」に掲載したイラストです。

https://www.kaikigahou.com/

https://kaikigaho.booth.pm/