Kidomaru
Kidomaru is an oni who first appeared in Kokon chomonju (“A Collection of Tales Old and New”), a Kamakura Period complication of myths and legends of the Heian Period. He was a member of Shuten doji’s clan, and is said to be Shuten doji’s son. He is known for his attempts to take revenge on the samurai who defeated his father.
According to myth he was born after the Minamoto no Yorimitsu (also known as Raiko) after his party of heroes had defeated Shuten doji and freed all of the women captured by his gang of oni.
The women were grateful to the samurai for rescuing them, and returned home to their villages. One of the women, however, didn’t return to her home. Instead, she traveled to the village of Kumohara, where she gave birth to a baby oni— Shuten doji’s son!
The boy was named Kidomaru. He was born with a full set of teeth, and an oni’s strength. By the time he was 7 or 8 years old,
he could slay a deer or a boar by throwing a single rock at it. He was apprenticed as a temple servant to Mt. Hiei, just like his father was.And just like his father, he was eventually expelled from the temple for being a wicked individual .
He fled into the mountains and lived in a cave, and eventually started robbing people to survive. He also studied magic and honed his powers in his secret hideout.
Many years later, Raiko was visiting his younger brother Yorinobu. Yorinobu had captured the oni bandit Kidomaru and locked him in his bathroom. Raiko scolded his brother for being so careless and not properly subduing the oni with ropes and chains. Raiko showed Yorinobu how to tie up an oni, and made sure Kidomaru couldn’t escape. Then Raiko spent the night just to make sure nothing bad would happen.
That night, Kidomaru easily broke the bonds that were holding him. He wanted revenge, so he snuck up to Raiko’s room and spied on him.
Raiko noticed the oni spying on him and decided to lay a trap. In a loud voice he told his attendants that the following morning they would ride to Mount Kurama to make a pilgrimage. Hearing this, Kidomaru ran ahead to Kurama to plan an ambush for Raiko. On the road outside of Ichiharano,
Kidomaru slaughtered a cow and climbed inside of its body to hide and wait.
When Raiko and his companions arrived at Ichiharano, they easily saw through Kidomaru’s disguise. Raiko’s best archer, Watanabe no Tsuna, shot an arrow through the cow’s body, injuring the oni. Kidomaru emerged from the cow’s corpse and charged at Raiko with all of his might.
However, Raiko was too fast: he cut Kidomaru down with a single stroke of his blade.
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