Ryomen Sukuna: Demon to the Court, Hero to Hida

In the Hida region of northern Gifu Prefecture, the legend of a strange, two-faced figure named Ryomen Sukuna — “double-faced Sukuna,” a single body with two faces — is still vividly remembered today. In the Nihon Shoki, the official history compiled by the imperial court, he is recorded as a “villain” who tormented the people and was ultimately put down. Yet in Hida itself, the very opposite is true: he is honored to this day as a temple-founding hero who opened up the region, his name even lending itself to local specialty products and festivals. It’s rare for the same single person to be judged so differently depending on where the record was written.

In recent years, many people first encounter this name through the character of the same name in the manga Jujutsu Kaisen. Yet the original legend paints two completely opposite portraits of the figure, depending on whether you read the imperial court’s chronicle or listen to the people of Hida. This article traces that contradiction through the historical record and local faith.

Origins — The “Slain Monster” of the Nihon Shoki

The Nihon Shoki is one of Japan’s oldest official histories, compiled in the early 8th century by the imperial court — at the time, the Yamato court centered on what is now Nara Prefecture, the largest political power in the country. In the entry for the 65th year of Emperor Nintoku’s reign, it records a figure who appeared in Hida Province “with a single torso and two faces.” Each face looked in the opposite direction, and the tops of the heads met with no nape of the neck between them; the figure had four arms and four legs, eight limbs in total. He is said to have wielded a bow and arrow with all four arms at once, and to have carried swords at both hips. This figure defied imperial command and is described as having “taken pleasure in plundering the people.” He was ultimately killed — that is, subjugated — by a man named Naniwa no Nekotakefurukuma, ancestor of the Wani clan, according to the record.

This is the only “official” record in which the name Ryomen Sukuna appears in a national history. From the court’s point of view, it’s just one more example of a familiar pattern: a hero putting down a rebel or monster who appeared in the provinces.

Why Was He Called a “Demon”? — Hida as Seen From the Center

Some have suggested that Ryomen Sukuna’s appearance reflects conjoined twins — a real, if rare, congenital condition in which two people are born physically joined — with the physical traits exaggerated in the retelling. What we find worth focusing on, though, is the background behind why this description came to exist at all. Some historians read the Nintoku-era entry as a possible reflection of a real event around the 5th century: the Yamato court’s conquest of a powerful local clan in the Hida region. Hida is home to several 4th-century kofun (ancient burial mounds built for local ruling clans), and one reading holds that a Hida clan, once brought within the court’s sphere of influence, rose up in revolt for reasons unknown, and the process of that revolt being suppressed was later recorded in the form of a story about “the slaying of a monster.”

As we see it, this is a classic example of a pattern found throughout Japan: stories of “matsurowanu tami,” people who did not submit to the imperial court. Powers on the periphery, beyond the easy reach of the court’s authority, were often recorded in official histories as monstrous beings — “oni” (demons), “tsuchigumo” (earth spiders), or “bandits.” We suspect that Ryomen Sukuna’s exaggerated form — two faces, eight limbs — reflects less an actual physical trait than the fear and contempt the center felt toward a strange, defiant “other,” given monstrous shape in the retelling. History is written by the victors, and because the Hida clan was on the losing side against the court, it seems their leader was left in the record as a “villain.”

The Opposite in Hida — Honored as the “Hero” Who Founded Temples

Yet the image of Ryomen Sukuna handed down in Hida itself is entirely different from the Nihon Shoki. Senkoji Temple, in the Nyukawa district of Takayama City, holds that it was founded by Ryomen Sukuna himself, as an incarnation of Kuze Kannon, a bodhisattva who appears to save people. Zenkyuji Temple, also in Nyukawa, is likewise said to have been founded by him, and its grounds still hold a stone called “Gozen-ishi,” said to be where he once ate a meal. Elsewhere, hero tales of a figure who “opened up the region and protected its people” are scattered throughout Hida — including the legend of Nichiryubuji Temple, where he is said to have subdued a poisonous dragon.

Senkoji Temple still holds statues of Ryomen Sukuna — both standing and seated — carved by the Edo-period monk Enku, an itinerant ascetic said to have carved as many as 120,000 Buddhist images over the course of his travels around the country. Enku’s statues give him a distinctive form, with the second face positioned at shoulder height, and they present him less as the “monster” of the court’s record than as a powerful guardian deity. Even today, Hida keeps Ryomen Sukuna’s name alive through the local specialty “Sukuna kabocha” pumpkin, local festivals, and mascot characters — not as a slain villain, but as a source of regional pride.

Reflection — What It Means to Enshrine Someone Who Was Made a “Demon”

What makes the Ryomen Sukuna story interesting isn’t simply the novelty of “a legend judged differently at the center and in the provinces.” What carries real weight, in our view, is the fact that the people of Hida went out of their way to keep enshrining, as temple founders and guardian deities, a figure the imperial court had branded “a monster to be destroyed.” If the people of Hida had simply accepted the court’s record as it stood, Ryomen Sukuna would likely have been forgotten as nothing more than a defeated villain. Instead, statues carved generations later by a master craftsman like Enku still stand today in places of worship such as Senkoji and Zenkyuji, and the story has been carried forward for well over a thousand years. We wonder whether this amounts to a kind of record of quiet resistance: the conquered refusing to let the memory of their own leaders and ancestors end simply as the “monster” story the victors imposed on them.

This is only our speculation, but we suspect that it was precisely because Hida was surrounded by such rugged mountains, and beyond the easy reach of the center’s authority, that its people were able to keep telling this story in their own words, apart from the official record. Many of those branded “oni” or “tsuchigumo” survive in history only through the words of those who recorded them, without ever getting the chance to retell their own story afterward. Ryomen Sukuna is one of the rare exceptions. The name of someone who was hunted down is still spoken today, not in the language of those who hunted him, but in the language of the land where he was hunted. We’d like to see, in this, a story that reaches beyond a simple ghost tale — a long story about memory and pride.

This, too, is nothing more than our own imagining, but picture actually encountering, deep in the mountains, a being with two faces front and back and four arms and four legs, exactly as described. There’s a fear here that goes beyond a mere legend. Whichever way you turn, forward or back, you can’t avoid meeting one of those two faces — there’s no way to look away from that inescapable, alien form. It’s not hard to imagine that even the imperial soldiers sent to hunt him down must have felt a bottomless dread before they ever set out. If that power is still sleeping somewhere deep in the mountains of Hida, perhaps those two faces are still watching, somewhere, even now.

Everyday Face — A Mountain Temple of Enku Statues and Cedar Groves

Senkoji Temple, connected to the Ryomen Sukuna the court branded a demon, is a quiet old temple tucked into the mountains of Hida, and it’s also known for the many Buddhist statues carved there by the Edo-period monk Enku. Ancient cedar trees line its grounds, and simply walking through the dappled sunlight beneath them brings a sense of calm. Behind a legend split between hero and demon, Senkoji continues, quietly, to protect prayer and nature, keeping alive something of the atmosphere of Japan’s mountain-worship tradition.

A Note of Respect for This Place of Worship

Senkoji and Zenkyuji are both active religious institutions today, and their Ryomen Sukuna statues are cared for as objects of genuine faith. Please don’t treat them as sightseeing curiosities or a test of nerve; check with each temple beforehand about visiting hours and etiquette, and visit with respect. This article is published to record the history, faith, and regional pride passed down in the Hida region, and it carries no intention whatsoever of mocking the faith itself.

Related reading
Momiji: Demon in Togakushi, Saint in Kinasa
Onikōbe — The Legend of a Place Name Born When a Slain Demon’s Head Flew There

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Is it pronounced “Ryanmen Sukuna”?

A. No. The correct reading is “Ryomen Sukuna” (りょうめんすくな in Japanese kana). “Ryanmen Sukuna” is a widely repeated misreading that spreads on social media, but the Nihon Shoki and Japan’s major reference sources consistently use the “Ryomen Sukuna” reading.

Q. Was Ryomen Sukuna a real person?

A. It can’t be said for certain. Few scholars take the Nihon Shoki’s account at face value as historical fact; a more widely held view is that it reflects a legend about a Hida clan that clashed with the Yamato court around the 5th century, but no settled conclusion has been reached.

Q. Where can I see a statue of Ryomen Sukuna?

A. Senkoji Temple, in the Nyukawa district of Takayama City, holds standing and seated statues of Ryomen Sukuna said to have been carved by Enku. Visiting hours and availability can change, so we recommend confirming directly with the temple before visiting.

Q. Has KARASU CHANNEL filmed on location at Senkoji or Zenkyuji?

A. No, we have not filmed there yet; a visit is currently under consideration. Location footage for other haunted spots and kaidan stories can be viewed on KARASU CHANNEL (YouTube).