Watanabe no Tsuna and the Demon of Rashomon

The Tsurugi-no-maki of the Heike Monogatari records that Watanabe no Tsuna, head of the four lieutenants of Minamoto no Yorimitsu, met a beautiful woman at the Ichijō Modori Bridge and offered her his horse. As they crossed the bridge the woman revealed herself as a demon, seized Tsuna by the topknot, and tried to fly with him to Mount Atago. Tsuna drew the Minamoto sword Higekiri and cut off the demon's arm in mid-air, escaping the abduction. The Muromachi-period Noh play "Rashomon," attributed to Kanze Nobumitsu, relocates the encounter to Rashomon Gate, where Tsuna goes alone to confirm the rumor of a demon and severs the arm there. The later Kabuki play "Ibaraki" tells of the demon returning in the guise of an old woman to reclaim the severed arm.

The episode runs as the encounter, the demon's transformation, the cutting of the arm with Higekiri, the establishment of Higekiri as a famed sword, and the later episode of the demon's return.

The Ichijō Modori Bridge in Kamigyō-ku, Kyoto, is the setting in the Heike Monogatari. The Rashomon Gate site in Minami-ku, Kyoto, is the setting in the Noh play. The Higekiri sword is preserved at Kitano Tenmangū and designated an Important Cultural Property.

Heike Monogatari Tsurugi-no-maki (Edo mid-period Nara-ehon manuscript, NDL pid/1288443). The Noh chant book "Chōryō / Rashōmon / Susuki / Ochiba / Hachi-no-ki" (early Edo manuscript, NDL pid/2607063). The Noh play "Rashomon" attributed to Kanze Nobumitsu (late Muromachi).