源頼光

Minamoto no Yorimitsu (948–1021) was the founding patriarch of the Settsu Genji and the preeminent military figure of the mid-Heian period, serving successive regents including Fujiwara no Michinaga. He governed Settsu, Tanba, Tosa, and Iyo provinces, but his immortal legacy rests on the legend of his demon-slaying exploits. The most famous of these is the defeat of Shuten-dōji, the great oni chieftain of Mount Ōe — Yorimitsu and his Four Heavenly Kings (Sakata Kintoki, Watanabe no Tsuna, Usui Sadamitsu, and Urabe Suetake) disguised themselves as mountain priests, drugged the demon with divine sake, and severed his head. His sword Higekiri — also called Onikiri, 'demon-cutter' — was handed down as one of the Genji clan's greatest heirlooms and is preserved today at Kitano Tenmangū shrine under the name Onikiri-maru. Through these legends Yorimitsu became an archetypal figure in Japanese imagination: the supreme warrior who stands between civilization and the supernatural.