Live Your Myths

Japanese Folktale | The Ogre of Rashomon

By: thesongist

Folktale Origins: Japan

Retold in Yei Theodora Ozaki's 1908 book, Japanese Fairy Tales, The Ogre of Rashomon is a folktale regarding a mighty warrior's encounter with an ogre, who causes mayhem in Kyoto. After the warrior defeats him, the ogre seeks to retrieve his missing arm. By the end of the story, the ogre learns his lesson and vows not to attack the village again. 

The story starts with city-goers spreading rumors about a ferocious ogre haunting the Gate of Rashomon at twilight every night. Apparently, the ogre snatched anyone who passed by the Gate and was never seen again. Due to these disappearances, everyone avoided the area.

During this time, there lived a great general, Raiko, who was renowned for ogre slaying. In Oeyama, Raiko struck down an entire band of ogres along with their chief. It was rumored that the chief drank human blood which was enough for Raiko to strike them down as punishment.

Along with Raiko, there were five knights who served him. At this very moment, they sat feasting on fish and drinking sake around a fire. Hojo, one of these Knights, asked the others if they had heard the peculiar rumor of the lone ogre attacking civilians at the Gate.

Watanabe, one of the other Knights, refuted Hojo's claim, stating that Hojo was repeating a lie to the group, as any living ogre would've quivered in fear of Raiko's presence in Kyoto and departed. Hojo called out Watanabe for suspecting him, to which Watanabe stated that the whole thing was an old wives' tale. Taking it upon himself, Watanabe went out to prove to his comrades that all the ogres were gone for good.

Watanabe packed his belongings and readied himself for a fight. He put on his armor and asked his comrades to give him a way to prove that he went to the Gate of Rashomon. One of the Knights pulled out a piece of paper, ink, and brushes, and made the four Knights sign the paper.

Taking the signed paper with him, Watanabe rode off on his horse toward the Gate. He vowed to stick the piece of paper onto the Gate itself as proof that the ogre doesn't exist. On his way, however, he realized that he was riding in complete darkness.

Although he could barely see anything in front of him, Watanabe rode onward. After all, he was a brave warrior with a steady heart. Eventually, Watanabe arrived, but he couldn't see even the slightest hint of an ogre's presence near the Gate. As such, Watanabe laughed about how his comrades would react when he told them the ogre didn't exist.

Watanabe stuck the piece of paper onto the Gate and then returned to his horse. Once he was ready to leave, he felt a strange presence lingering behind him. An ominous voice spoke to him, and he was grabbed suddenly by his helmet backward. Instinctively, he reached out his hand, and his fingers wrapped around a trunk-like arm.

Since Watanabe was quick on his feet, he slashed off the ogre's arm immediately. For Watanabe knew from the arm alone that it was indeed an ogre. The ogre cried out in pain, and Watanabe looked toward the monster, who stood taller than the Gate itself with a fiery breath.

The ogre sought to terrify the warrior; however, Watanabe wasn't phased. The ogre and the warrior fought for a long time. Once the ogre discovered that Watanabe would win the fight, he retreated. Watanabe tried to chase the ogre on horseback, though, the ogre was too speedy and successfully managed to escape.

After the fight concluded, Watanabe returned to the Gate and discovered the ogre's cut-off arm. He gladly took the arm as a prize to show off to his comrades. He was given a grand feast upon return to his fellow Knights and was praised by the city-goers of Kyoto.

In order to protect the arm, Watanabe sealed it in a box with a heavy lid. He knew that the ogre would seek to retrieve his missing arm, so Watanabe kept watch daily of the locked box. One night, an old woman claiming to be his childhood nurse appeared at his front door. His maid relayed the nurse's arrival, and Watanabe thought it was weird for her to show up at this hour.

Although he held those suspicions, he still allowed his nurse to enter his house. The old woman praised Watanabe for his valiant achievement, asking to see the arm for herself. Watanabe protested many times; however, the old woman played the guilt card about how she raised him, and he eventually conceded to her wish.

Upon retrieving the box from its guarded spot, Watanabe opened it for his "nurse." Coming close to the box, the old woman suddenly grabbed the arm and exclaimed happily that she finally regained her missing arm. The old woman was in fact the ogre itself, who came to steal back his missing arm. After retrieving the arm, the old woman transformed back into an ogre.

Watanabe was shocked at the appearance of the ogre that he fought at the Gate of Rashomon. Being the brave warrior he was, however, Watanabe grabbed his sword, vowing to defeat the ogre. Unfortunately, the ogre escaped his grasp by a mere hair, bursting through the roof and disappearing into the night.

Although Watanabe vowed to strike the ogre down at his next opportunity, the ogre never appeared in Kyoto again. Knowing of Watanabe's strength, the ogre was too fearful to return. Thus, the story of Watanabe was told across all of Kyoto, and his brave deeds still live on!