Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Jiro Saburo’s Wife, Demon Wife
Category: Demon
The Myth
Jiro Saburo’s wife was a cruel and intensely jealous woman who eventually transformed into a terrifying demon after her husband abandoned her. Before her transformation, she was already known for her vicious temper and unbearable jealousy, particularly toward the female servants of her household.
She became furious whenever a female servant even looked at her husband or spoke with him. Her constant abuse eventually drove all of the servants away. As the family’s wealth declined, her behavior became increasingly bitter and violent, and she refused to listen to anyone who tried to correct her.
Jiro Saburo finally warned her that if she did not change, he would leave the household. Enraged, she attacked him and choked him, declaring that even if she could not kill him while alive, she would kill him after her death. She accused him of wanting to leave her for another woman.
Jiro Saburo eventually disappeared. When his wife discovered that he had fled, she became consumed by hatred. She searched everywhere for him, repeatedly swearing that she would never allow him to escape her. During the day she wandered about looking for him, while at night she wept and repeated that she hated him for abandoning her.
After forty or fifty days, she had become almost unrecognizable. Her eyes were bloodshot, her cheekbones protruded, and she had become filthy and disheveled. She refused to wash or eat and behaved so strangely that the villagers became afraid of her.
Then her house suddenly became silent. At midnight, however, the villagers heard her speaking inside as though someone had come to visit her. The following day the house was silent again. Several brave villagers eventually looked through a hole in the wall and saw something horrifying.
Two horns had grown from the woman’s head. Her mouth had split almost to her ears, and fangs had emerged from both sides. Her eyes shone fiercely, making her indistinguishable from a demon. Terrified, the villagers abandoned the neighborhood.
People who knew where Jiro Saburo was hiding hurried to warn him. He remembered his wife’s threat that she would return from the dead to kill him and feared that she would find him.
A traveling monk named Gen’ō was staying nearby. He was the famous monk said to have destroyed the Sesshō-seki, the Killing Stone. Jiro Saburo went to him, explained everything, and begged for help.
Gen’ō told him that his wife’s obsession had transformed her into a demon. She had entered the demonic realm with nothing in her heart except the desire to kill her husband. According to Gen’ō, six days had passed since her death, and that night she would receive permission from the Sixth Heaven to travel through the three thousand worlds in a single night.
Gen’ō instructed Jiro Saburo to return home. There they found the corpse of his wife lying in the ruined house, its face already resembling that of a demon or rakshasa.
The monk stripped Jiro Saburo naked and covered his body with the Nio Hannya Sutra. He then ordered him to climb onto the demoness’s back, wrap his arms around her neck, and never let go.
Jiro Saburo obeyed despite his terror. As night fell, Gen’ō left him alone and told him that his survival depended entirely on holding on. Jiro Saburo remained clinging to the corpse and continuously recited Buddhist names.
In the middle of the night, the demoness’s cold body gradually began to grow warm. Suddenly it rose to its feet. Its eyes shone brightly, flames came from its mouth, and it spoke.
“Oh, how wonderful! Tonight I have been granted permission to kill you. Now, let’s see where you are.”
The demoness ran away, carrying Jiro Saburo on her back. She raced across mountains, rivers, and valleys like a bird flying through the night, searching everywhere for him. Jiro Saburo realized that this was his only chance to survive and held onto her neck with all his strength, determined not to release her even if his arms were torn away.
The demon searched throughout the night but never realized that Jiro Saburo was clinging to her back. When dawn approached, she returned home in frustration.
“I’ve searched so hard, but I can’t find you. I suppose you must have died before me.”
She laughed bitterly, lamenting that she had failed to find him. Immediately afterward, the demoness collapsed to the ground, and Jiro Saburo lost consciousness.
At dawn, Gen’ō returned and woke Jiro Saburo. Seeing that he had followed his instructions and survived the night, the monk told him that he no longer needed to fear his wife. Together they buried the demoness’s corpse and gave her a proper burial.
Not long afterward, Jiro Saburo cut off his topknot and became a disciple of Gen’ō.
Sources
Takahashi, Toshihiro. “次郎三郎妻 [じろうさぶろうさい] (Jirō Saburō Sai).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). June 16, 2019. https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1074775106.html