Kiyohime

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009)

The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject. Please help improve the article with a good introductory style. (March 2009)

Kiyohime Changes from a Serpent by Yoshitoshi Tsukioka

According to Japanese folklore,^[1]Kiyohime (清姫^?) (or just Kiyo) was the daughter (or in some versions, the widow) of a village headman or landlord named Shōji, on the Hidaka riverbank. The family was wealthy enough to entertain and provide lodging for traveling priests, who often passed by on their way to a shrine famous for ascetic practices.

Background

One day, a handsome visiting priest named Anjin fell in love with her but after a time he overcame his passions and refrained from further meetings. Kiyo became furious at the sudden change of heart and pursued him in rage. The priest and Kiyohime met at the edge of the Hidaka river, where the priest asked a boatman to help him to cross the river, but told him not to let her cross with his boat. When Kiyo saw that Anjin was escaping her, she jumped into the river started to swim after him. While swimming in the torrent of the Hidaka river, she transformed into a large serpent because of her rage. When Anjin saw her coming after him in the form of a huge serpent, he ran into the temple called Dōjōji. He asked the priests of Dōjōji for help and they hid him under the bell of temple. However, the serpent smelled him hiding inside the bell and started to coil around it. It banged the bell loudly several times with its tail, then gave a great belch of fire that melted the bell, killing the priest.^{[citation needed]}

References in popular culture

• Kihachirō Kawamoto's 1976 film Dōjōji, though named after the Nō play, is rather an interpretation of the basic Kiyohime story.^[2]
• One of Akari Ichijō's special moves in The Last Blade fighting game series causes a bell to fall on the opponent; a demonic serpent then crushes the bell with the opponent inside. The move itself is titled Gaiki: Kiyohime (劾鬼・清姫^?, "Impeach Demon: Kiyohime").^{[citation needed]}
• The character Shizuru Fujino from My-HiME has a guardian beast (called a Child in the series) named Kiyohime, who takes the form of a huge purple serpent with multiple heads. Like in the legend, Shizuru becomes psychotic when the object of her affections, Natsuki Kuga, rejects her romantic advances. The struggle culminates in a battle, which takes place in a church. During the fight, Natsuki is trapped under a bell in an allusion to the original myth.^{[citation needed]}

See also

Dōjōji

References

This article relating to Japanese mythology is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.