Shuten Doji: "Drunken Demon"

Abstract

The story of Shuten Doji is one of Japans most famous oni (demon/ogre) legends. By imperial command, the warrior-hero Minamoto no Raiko (948-1021) and his men conquer the cannibalistic demons, Shuten Doji and his diabolical cohorts, who have abducted and eaten young maidens from in and around the capital. "Shuten doji" belongs to a literary genre called otogi zoshi or "companion tales," short stories written from the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries for the purpose of entertainment and moral/religious edification. Despite the legend's longevity, popularity, and literary significance, to date, there has only been one English translation of the otogi zoshi "Shuten doji." Rendered more than one century ago, that translation was intended for young readers and is much abbreviated. The present translation is the first full-length annotated translation of the otogi zoshi "Shuten doji." [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]