Tōdaiki

Tōdaiki

Tōdaiki (灯台鬼 – Candle Stick Demon) is a type of yōkai depicted in the Konjaku Hyakki Shūi.

This tale can be found in the Wakan Sansai Zue. This creature was made after Minister Karu (軽大臣) was sent to China as an envoy. Once he was there he was poisoned by one of the Ministers there. This minister then colours Karu’s body and puts a candlestick on his head causing him to be transformed into this creature.

Later his son Chancellor Hitsu (弼宰相) goes to China to see him. The candlestick cries out when he sees his son, bites his finger and composes a poem which goes as follows:¹

I am from Japan; we share the same family name.
我元日本華京客　汝是一家同姓人
(私は元々日本より来た。同じ姓を持つおまえとは同族の者である）

A vow from a previous life made us father and child. Across the sea and mountains, my life has changed terribly.
為子為爺前世契　隔山隔海変生辛
(子となり親となった前世の契りは、海山を隔てても変わることはない）

For years have I cried in this weed-choked place; all I can think about are my previous parents.
経年流涙蓬蒿宿　遂日馳思蘭菊親
(こんな粗末な家で涙を流しながら年月過ごし、立派な家に住む日本の親に思いを馳せる日々）

I have been transformed into a candle-stick demon in this foreign village, but I only want to return home.
形破他郷作灯鬼　争帰旧里寄斯身
(他郷でこの姿を燈台鬼に変えられてしまったが、どうにかして故郷へ帰り身を寄せたい)¹²

His son is said to have then tried to bring him home, however, his father dies before reaching the island of Iwo Jima. And so he is buried on a island called Kikaigashima (Demon Realm Island).

There is a shrine to the memory of Minister Karu at the base of Mt. Inamuradake on Iwo Jima.¹

The inclusion of the Go board in the depiction of Tōdaiki by Sekien may refer to Minister Kibi, another envoy who became trapped in China.¹

External Links

• View the book online here: Konjaku Hyakki Shūi Online.

Footnotes

1. Yoda, H. and Alt, M. (2016) “Japandemonium: Illustrated: The Yokai Encyclopaedia of Toriyama Sekien.”. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.
2. Excite Blog, Japanese translation of the poem by Oshiragami.

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