A Tale of Expelling the Demon: The Shutendoji Picture Scroll

The Shutendoji picture scrolls (one of which is pictured above) depict the tale of a demon who repeatedly abducted the daughters of aristocratic families. The story is as follows: A group of demons had their palace in the deep recesses of Mt Oe (or Mt Ibuki, as some scholars believe). Led by Shutendoji, the group would travel to Kyoto and abduct the women of the royal families. Wanting to stop the demon, the emperor sent a general called Minamoto no Yorimitsu (Raiko), along with Fujiwara no Yasumasa and Yorimitsu’s four Shitenno (or Paladins), to expel the demons. Three sets of Shutendoji picture scrolls in the Mt Ibuki tradition will be shown at the Nezu Museum. Among them, the museum will be showing for the first time ever an eight- scroll version painted in the 19th century, with four of these dedicated to Shutendoji’s birth and upbringing. This is a unique experience as you can explore the stylistic differences between them.