The Institute for Japanese Studies (IJS) presents the 2017 IJS Lecture Series:
Noriko T. Reider
Professor of Japanese
Department of German, Russian, Asian & Middle Eastern Languages & Cultures
Miami University
"Warrior Demon Conquerors"
Flyer: 
Noriko Reider Flyer.pdf
Abstract: From her recent book titled Seven Demon Stories from Medieval Japan, Noriko T. Reider will talk about famous warrior demon conquerors, Minamoto no Raikō (or Yorimitsu, 948–1021), Fujiwara no Hōshō (or Yasumasa, 958–1036), and Raikō’s shitennō (Four Guardian Kings) who subjugated the monstrous Shuten Dōji (Drunken Demon) and his cohorts on Mt. Ōe. In Shuten Dōji (Drunken Demon), one of Japan’s most celebrated oni legends, the oni kidnaps people from all walks of life to eat and/or enslave young women. The imperial court dispatches renowned courageous warriors to conquer the oni.
Although Minamoto no Raikō, his shitennō, and Fujiwara no Hōshō are widely recognized as the preeminent supernatural warriors in Japanese culture, historical records are minimal. The presentation will discuss who these oni conquerors were and why they were chosen to conquer the oni.
Bio: Noriko T. Reider is Professor of Japanese at Miami University of Ohio in the Department of German, Russian, Asian, and Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures. She received an M.A. in Japanese history from Sophia University in Tokyo, and earned a second M.A. and her Ph.D., both in Japanese Literature, from The Ohio State University. Her research interest is the supernatural in Japanese literature. Her recent works include Seven Demon Stories from Medieval Japan (Utah State UP, 2016) and Japanese Demon Lore: Oni, from Ancient Times to the Present (Utah State UP, 2010). She is currently working on a book manuscript on yamauba, mountain witches.
Free and open to the public
This event is made possible in part by OSU’s Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures and by a U.S. Department of Education Title VI grant to The Ohio State University East Asian Studies Center.
