Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: King of Venereal Disease, Bai Doku Daiō, Golden-Haired Nine-Tailed White-Faced Fox
Category: Fox
The Myth
Baidoku Daiō, the King of Venereal Disease, is a terrifying supernatural being born from the accumulated yin energy of the world since the beginning of creation. In his original form, he is a golden-haired, nine-tailed, white-faced fox capable of flying freely through the cosmos and transforming into different shapes. His ultimate ambition is to exterminate humanity and turn every land into a realm of demons. Throughout the ages, he has repeatedly assumed the identities of infamous women to spread destruction. He first appeared as Daji, the consort of King Zhou of Shang, encouraging the tyrant’s cruelty and plunging his kingdom into disorder. He later became the wife of King Ban足 in India, disguised as a peasant’s daughter near Mount Huayang, where he once again committed atrocities, attacked Buddhism, and sought to slaughter the population. Finally, he travelled to Japan and became Tamamo-no-Mae, the beloved courtesan of Emperor Toba. His true nature was exposed once more, and he was hunted down and killed in the plains of Nasu. Although his immense lifespan finally appeared to end, his spirit continued to haunt the world by possessing a stone that harmed both people and animals. The monk Genno eventually shattered the stone with his staff, apparently destroying the fox’s remaining spirit.
However, the fox’s scattered spiritual remnants gathered again in the Lingnan region of China, where they took human form and acquired new supernatural powers. The resurrected demon transformed into Baidoku, a terrible and difficult-to-cure disease, and gathered eighty-four thousand followers to launch another campaign of slaughter against humanity. As Baidoku Daiō, he appears as an imposing ruler dressed in mould-coloured robes and ceremonial headwear. His army consists of horrifying disease generals, including Fistula, Poisonous Infection, Residual Poison, and Wax-Candle Chancre, whose monstrous bodies reflect the diseases they represent. Together, the King and his vast army seek to spread sickness throughout the human body, imagined as a kingdom under siege.
Baidoku Daiō eventually appears before Junjoku, a physician devoted to treating venereal disease, disguised as a woman. He warns the physician to abandon his medical research, but when Junjoku recognizes his true identity, the demon reveals his fox form and attacks him with foul-smelling poisonous vapours. The physician is saved by Raishin, a divine general who is the son of King Wen’s descendant Jichang and now guards the heavenly imperial palace. Raishin drives the fox away, beginning a great supernatural war between the forces of disease and the defenders of the human body. Junjoku and Raishin are aided by medicinal generals, including Enjumaru, Chisōmaru, and Baikōsan, whose powers represent the healing effects of different remedies. In the final battle, Enjumaru defeats the disease general Rōreki, after which Baidoku Daiō himself is beheaded. With their leader destroyed, the army of disease collapses. Junjoku then awakens in his study, realizing that the entire battle was a dream. Inspired by the vision, he prepares a medicine to treat venereal disease and rejoices that his long-standing ambition to develop an effective remedy has finally been fulfilled.
Sources
“黴毒大王 [ばいどくだいおう] (Baidoku Daiō).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1010655118.html