6/24/2023 0 Comments Go zen meaning![]() They did battle, and once again Tamuramaro cut Ōtakemaru’s head clean off. When Ōtakemaru returned, Tamuramaro was waiting for him. ![]() While Ōtakemaru was away from his castle, Tamuramaro snuck in through a secret back door that Suzuka Gozen had revealed to him in Ōtakemaru’s first demon castle. Tamuramaro and Suzuka Gozen traveled to Mutsu to meet their nemesis one more time and defeat him once and for all. He rebuilt his impregnable demon castle on Mount Iwate in Mutsu Province and once again he began to terrorize Japan. He was able to reform his body and once again became a kijin. His spirit traveled to India for a time, and eventually returned to Japan and haunted Kenmyōren. Ōtakemaru’s reign of terror, however, was not over. Tamuramaro returned to Iga, married Suzuka Gozen, and the two of them lived happily together for many years. The emperor was so pleased with the shōgun that he granted him Iga Province as a reward. Tamuramaro brough the oni’s head back to Kyoto for the emperor to inspect. But the shōgun was faster, and he swung his blade Sohaya at the oni’s head, lopping it off. Just then, Ōtakemaru made a ferocious lunge at Tamuramaro. Tamuramaro took from his quiver a single holy arrow and fire it, The arrow split into one thousand arrows which in turn split into ten thousand more and impaled the oni in their faces, killing them. Heaven and earth shook with the fury of their battle. Ōtakemaru attacked Tamuramaro with sword and spear, but the shōgun was a holy warrior, protected by the thousand-armed Kannon, bodhisattva of mercy, and Bishamonten, god of war. Ōtakemaru split his body into thousands of oni, who charged at Tamuramaro. Tamuramaro was waiting for him there. Ōtakemaru revealed his true form to the shōgun, transforming into a massive demon who stood over 10 meters tall, with eyes that shined like the sun and the moon. The following night Ōtakemaru came once again to Suzuka Gozen’s palace. Please, lend me the Sanmyō no ken so that I may defend myself.” The oni gave her Daitōren, and Shōtōren to defend herself with, but kept Kenmyōren for himself. Suzuka Gozen invited him inside, and said to him: “A warrior named Tamuramaro is coming here to kill me. The night, Ōtakemaru came to her again, disguised as usual as handsome young man to ask for her love. Then they traveled back to her palace, where she laid her trap for the oni. She instructed him that Ōtakemaru could be defeated while he possesses the Sanmyō no ken (Kenmyōren, Daitōren, and Shōtōren: three holy swords of great power). Suzuka Gozen led Tamuramaro through the mountains to show him the Ōtakemaru’s demon castle. I will capture him for you.” Tamuramaro realized that this beautiful woman must be Suzuka Gozen. The woman told Tamuramaro, “I came down from heaven to help you defeat the demon who haunts these mountains. She invited him inside, and he spent the night with her. Deep in the mountains, he came upon a palace in which lived a beautiful woman. Tamuramaro sent his army of 30,000 horsemen back to Kyōto and climbed the Suzuka Mountains by himself. “To defeat Ōtakemaru you must gain the help of Suzuka Gozen,” the old man told him. That night, as he dozed off, he had a vision of an old man. ![]() But every time, his solicitations were denied by the goddess.įrustrated by his inability to find the Ōtakemaru’s whereabouts, Tamuramaro prayed to the gods and the buddhas to help him. He transformed himself into a beautiful young man, a noble of the court, and other disguises, and night after night traveled to Suzuka Gozen’s palace. When Ōtakemaru saw her, he was enchanted by her beauty and became determined to spend a night in her company. The Suzuka Mountains were home to a tennyo-a beautiful goddess named Suzuka Gozen. For seven long years Tamuramaro and his men roamed the mountains in search of Ōtakemaru, but could not catch him. Lightning crashed and fire rained down from the sky onto the army. He covered the mountains in black clouds, making it impossible to see. ![]() However, Ōtakemaru was powerful, and using his black magic he summoned a great storm. Tamuramaro raised an army of 30,000 horsemen and entered the Suzuka Mountains. The emperor commanded his shōgun, Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, to exterminate the demon. Long ago an oni named Ōtakemaru terrorized travelers in the Suzuka Mountains and stole tributes intended for the emperor in Kyōto. ![]()
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