An Essay on "Nio-mon-no-tsuna" : The Deva and Ogres in Kaiken 1:1

Abstract

the first tale of Kaiken 1 entitled "Nio-mon-no-tsuna" has been regarded merely as an adaptation of Tsurezure-gusa and Hyaku-monogatari. But it is not a moral story about human nature and its absurdities like the source-books are. Instead, it depicts vividly the atmosphere of the time - the broken Buddhist statue, the Deva image of the Chomeiji Temple, the scene of Sichijo-dori-zaimoku-cho-and so on - in which the legend of the famous ogre-buster Watanabe-no-Tsuna puts the characters to action. With such livey description, the folklorish world of the old joruri play unfolds there.