Ibaraki-doji no Ude Legend

The Arm of Ibaraki-doji is a medieval demon-quelling tale in which Watanabe no Tsuna, of the Four Heavenly Kings serving Minamoto no Yorimitsu (Raiko), cuts off the arm of the demon Ibaraki-doji at the Ichijo Modori-bashi in Kyoto. Riding home across the bridge at night, Tsuna meets a young woman who asks to be escorted for fear of the dark; she suddenly reveals her true demon form, seizes his topknot, and tries to fly off with him. Tsuna swings the famed Higekiri and slices off her arm. Later the demon, taking the shape of his foster mother, visits the Tsuna household to reclaim the sealed arm and escapes with it. Tsuna sealed the arm for seven days in keeping with mono-imi (ritual seclusion); the demon broke that seal. The Otogizoshi Rashomon (late Muromachi), the Tsurugi-no-maki of Heike Monogatari, and the Noh play Rashomon (by Kanze Kojiro Nobumitsu) carry the tale. The bridge is in Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto; the sword Higekiri is identified by tradition with the tachi Onikirimaru held at Kitano Tenmangu, an Important Cultural Property.