Ryomen-sukuna

◆ The legend

The Nihon Shoki, one of Japan's oldest chronicles, says that in the reign of Emperor Nintoku there was someone called Sukuna in Hida. One body had two faces set back to back, each with its own arms and legs, and it was strong and quick on its feet. Wielding swords and a bow with its four hands, it refused the court's orders and robbed the people, so a commander was sent and struck it down. In the capital's record, Sukuna is a fearsome monster.

But back home in Hida, a very different face has been passed down. Senko-ji, a temple in Nyukawa, Takayama City, is said to have been founded by Ryomen-sukuna. There are also stories of it slaying an evil dragon to save the people, and Sukuna has long been honored as a hero who protected the land and an ancestor tied to the temple's beginnings. One name, two opposite faces: that is the deepest mystery of Ryomen-sukuna.