Ibaraki Doji

Kanji: 茨木童子
Kana: いばらきどうじ
Pronunciation: ibaraki dōji

TRANSLATION: Ibaraki child (demon offspring)
ALTERNATE NAMES: Ibaraki-dōji; Demon of Rashomon
ORIGIN: Heian period folklore; recorded in the Taiheiki, Genpei Jōsuiki, and Tale of the Heike

HABITAT: Mount Ōe; Rashōmon gate in Kyoto
DIET: Humans, sake, blood

ABILITIES:

• Superhuman strength
• Shapeshifting into women and elders
• Flight
• Skilled combat against trained samurai
• Cunning disguise and trickery

WEAKNESSES:

• Sacred swords like the tachi Higekiri
• Buddhist sutras and talismans
• Cannot resist returning for its severed arm

OVERVIEW: Ibaraki Doji is a fearsome oni from Heian period folklore and the chief lieutenant of Shuten Doji. The demon is known for the famous arm-cutting battle with the samurai Watanabe no Tsuna at the Rashōmon gate in Kyoto.

APPEARANCE: Ibaraki Doji is a giant oni with wild hair and sharp horns. The demon has long fangs, a fierce face, and a body far larger than any human. Old prints show Ibaraki Doji with one severed arm after the battle at Rashōmon. The oni can transform into a beautiful young woman to trick travelers. It can also become an old aunt or a wetnurse when it needs to enter a guarded home. Ukiyo-e masters like Tsukioka Yoshitoshi and Utagawa Kuniyoshi drew the demon in many of their prints.

BEHAVIOR: Ibaraki Doji raids the capital with Shuten Doji's gang and snatches young women from their homes. The oni drinks sake and loves wild mischief like the other oni of Mount Ōe. It is patient and cunning and waits for the right moment to attack. When the demon survived the Ōeyama raid, it fled and later returned to attack Kyoto from the Rashōmon gate.

INTERACTIONS: Watanabe no Tsuna met Ibaraki Doji at the Rashōmon gate and cut off its arm with the sacred tachi Higekiri. The oni fled and left the arm behind, then later returned in disguise to steal it back. Humans fear Ibaraki Doji as a symbol of violent oni power and the danger of the old capital at night. Travelers warded the demon away with the Humane King Sutra, talismans, and a seven-day seclusion inside the home.

OTHER FORMS: In the Modoribashi Bridge version of the legend, Ibaraki Doji appeared as a beautiful young girl who needed help from a passing samurai. The oni also disguised itself as Watanabe no Tsuna's aunt Mashiba to enter his estate and steal back the severed arm. An Echigo origin tale tells of a page boy at Yahiko-jinja shrine who became Ibaraki Doji after drinking blood. Each form lets the demon move close to its target before it reveals its true oni shape.