Ooishi Hyoroku Monogatari picture scroll
August 25, 2008The Ooishi Hyoroku Monogatari, a largely fictional story featured in picture scrolls in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, tells of a young warrior and his encounters with trickster foxes posing as yokai. According to the National Museum of Japanese History, the story takes place in 1624 in Kagoshima, where a group of notorious young warriors have assembled. When a rumor circulates about shape-shifting foxes that have hoodwinked some people in the area and shaved their heads, the men decide to test the courage of one of the young warriors, Ooishi Hyoroku, by sending him on a mission to capture the mischievous creatures.
When the foxes hear about this mission, they transform into eight different yokai to frighten the young warrior:
Uja
Minobajo
Mitsume Koen
Nurarihyon
Hobeni Taro
Teremenchippei
Konotsukitokko
Nuppeppo
Hyoroku flees in fear each time he encounters one of the monsters. After he finally catches a pair of foxes, his father suddenly appears and urges him to let them go. Hyoroku then finds that his “father” is actually a fox in disguise — but only after he is tricked into eating sweet dumplings made of horse droppings.
Later, the foxes appear as Buddhist monks and trick him into shaving his head. In the end, though, Hyoroku successfully captures two more foxes, and his comrades honor his achievement by making him breakfast.
Several versions of the Ooishi Hyoroku Monogatari scroll remain in existence today. A scan of an entire scroll, dated 1801 (author/illustrator unknown), is viewable online at Waseda University Library.
