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The Tale of Shuten Dōji
1700
- Medium
- Ink, color, gold, and silver on silk
- Classification
- Paintings
- Dimensions
- H x W (overall): 37.6 x 1880.7 cm (14 13/16 x 740 7/16 in)
- Culture
- Japanese
- Museum
- Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Asian Art
- Credit line
- Purchase — funds provided by the Friends of Asian Arts
- Rights
- CC0 (Smithsonian Open Access), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Teens profiles and older: its museum says too little about what it shows to place it for younger viewers. How works are placed
View at the Smithsonian Institution
About this work
This scroll from a set of three portrays the tale of the killing of Shuten Doji, a giant who lived in a mountain fortress and periodically kidnapped and devoured young noblewomen from Kyoto. Set in the tenth century, the story celebrates the exploits of the warrior known as Raiko. With his band of warriors disguised as Buddhist monks, Raiko locates and enters Shuten Doji’s fortress. There they kill the giant after he falls asleep from drinking a wine potion.
