Momiji (oni)
Japanese folk story
Momiji (紅葉; "Maple Leaves") is a prominent kijo (female demon) in Japanese folklore. Her story, known as the Legend of Momiji (紅葉伝説, Momiji Densetsu), is primarily associated with the regions of Kinasa, Togakushi (both now part of Nagano City), and Bessho Onsen in Nagano Prefecture. The central narrative involves the hero Taira no Koremochi battling and ultimately defeating the kijo named Momiji, who resided on Mount Togakushi.
Origins and Development
The common element across most versions is a female demon named Momiji dwelling on Mount Togakushi in Shinano Province, who is eventually slain by the warrior Taira no Koremochi.
The legend gained significant prominence through adaptations in traditional performing arts. The Noh play Momijigari (Maple Viewing), likely composed by Kanze Nobumitsu in the latter half of the Muromachi period (1336–1573), is a cornerstone. This play depicts Koremochi encountering a group of noblewomen enjoying autumn maple viewing on Mount Togakushi, only to discover their leader is the disguised demon Momiji. While it's widely believed the Noh play drew upon pre-existing local legends of demons on Mount Togakushi, some scholars consider the specific narrative featuring Momiji as possibly originating with Nobumitsu. Numerous legendary sites related to Momiji around Togakushi are thought to have been established *after* the popularization of the story through Noh and other media.
Following the Noh play, the story was adapted into Jōruri puppet theatre and Kabuki.
“Momiji (oni)” enters the record as japanese folk story. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Momiji, Japanese and folk can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q11605264. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1336 and 1573.
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This entry incorporates text from “Momiji (oni)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.