Otogi Zoshi Characters


Ibaraki, Ibaragi

anime

Ibaraki is a young woman who acts as the right-hand mistress of Shuten Doji. Ibaraki has a kind and trusting personality, and vows to forever protect Shuten Doji, even when being regularly beaten by him. Ibaraki first appears in episode four, Rashomon, when she had been sent by Shuten Doji to spy on the Capital and was noticed by Sadamitsu.

Ibaragi is later shown when Shuten Doji attacks the Capital, when she had attempted to convince to him that his actions were barbaric, and asked that he instead try negotiating with the people of the Capital. Shuten Doji responded by beating her, along with verbal abuse.

Minamoto no Hikaru and the others later battle it out with Shuten Doji, in which Ibaraki has a minor clash with Sadamitsu. After Shuten Doji then tried to pour all of his swamp-water sake over his body, Ibaragi attempted to stop him, but was fatally slashed by Shuten Doji's sword. Ibaragi, near death, delivered the final blow to Shuten Doji, and revealed Seimei's deceit to Raikou before succumbing to death.

Liner Notes – Ibaraki

In Otogi Zoshi, the character Iburake is a woman, supposedly Shuten Doji’s lover, who sometimes “haunts” Rashomon at the behest of Seimei and the Minister of the Right. The Ibaraki of folklore and the arts, is actually another “oni” (demon) from Ooeyama: Ibaraki (of Ibaragi) Doji, a subordinate of Shuten Doji.

As the story goes, Ibaraki disguises himself as a beautiful young woman, walking alone late at night. The ever-chivalrous Tsuna offers to escort her home (just as he accompanies Urabe, on her way to the Onmyo-Ryo to ask Seimei to lift Raikou’s sentence of confinement)…whereupon he is attacked. However, Tsuna manages to slice off Ibaraki’s arm with his aptly-named sword, Onikirimaru. Ibaraki flees, but not before vowing to reclaim his arm, which he indeed does not long after, this time by transforming himself into an old woman, infiltrating Tsuna’s home (where the demon’s art is kept in a box) by claiming to be his aunt.

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