清姫 きよひめ Princess Kiyo is a true demon, one of the three most powerful types of demons, who can turn into a serpent and breathe fire.
Kiyo hime is one of the most famous antagonists in Japanese literature, and an example of a honnari hannya—a demon woman who has attained the maximum level of power. She appears in The Legend of Anchin and Kiyo hime, or Princess Kiyo, an ancient tale from Wakayama prefecture. Versions of the story appear in a number of ancient books. Her tale is retold in the famous noh play Dōjō-ji.
Kind of spooky looking!
Sing along!
ントンお寺の道成寺
釣鐘下（お）ろいて 身を隠し
安珍清姫 蛇（じゃ）に化けて
七重（ななよ）に巻かれて 一廻（まわ）り 一廻り
Knock, knock, knock, under the bell of the Dojoji temple, Anchin and Kiyohime
hide themselves,
disguised as a snake, coiled
seven times, round and round
That song is but a taste of the story. Be sure to click the link far above for the lengthy tale that I shan't copy here.
When you have a problem with Demons, who do you call? Hint: you may need to say his name three times.
If you guessed this guy, you'd be right.
The movie was okay, way too many subplots to carry out properly, but it kept me amused and that's good enough for me.
Here are a couple of Post Cards and a Clear File.
I am disappointed in the complete lack of Gatcha Goods related to Betelgeuse. Here's another snake instead.
I wasted much of the day today watching some classic anime that I'd never seen before, such as:
Vampire Hunter D (1985),
A Dirty Pair Halloween episode.
and Wicked City (1987) which is rather naughty in parts.
For an actual Junji Ito tale involving a snake, you should check out Souichi's Beloved Pet. I haven't had a chance to watch this video yet, though since it features the author critiquing his story, it probably does spoil at times.
Here Brother Voodoo battles a serpent:
And I like this issue of Chamber of Chills.
I caught up on some tv shows today and I finished this blog early, so I'm going to treat myself to a few beers and a movie. (Details about what I watched tomorrow...)
Speaking of movies, this fellow blogger shows off a few cinematic masterpieces, Cinema Crazed.
