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Description
Watanabe no Tsuna, a Heian retainer of Minamoto no Yorimitsu, accepted a dare to keep vigil at the Rasho Gate, reputed to be haunted by demons. He took up a post at the gate, and in the darkness, he was attacked by the demon--an oni. Drawing his sword, he slashed off the oni's arm. Watanabe took the arm and placed it in a strongbox, refusing to show it to anyone. Some days later he received a visit from his elderly aunt -- some versions say his old nurse--and yielding to her requests to see the arm he opened the chest. At this the old woman--actually the oni in disguise--grabbed its arm and escaped.(Henri Joly, Legend in Japanese Art) Diptych.
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