'Because you are so involved in evil karma with the world of demons,' I replied, 'and ten thousand billion leagues separates you from Buddha Land, I have nothing more to say to you,' and I faced him in silence.
Thereupon a tremor shook the mountains and valleys. The wind rose, as if to fell the forest trees. Sand and pebbles flew in a vortex toward the sky, and as I watched, dumbstruck, a ball of flame flare up where his highness stood, illuminating the mountains and valleys, as if it were day. In the light I could clearly see his highness's features. His face flushed crimson. His hair hung down to his knees as tangled as if a thorn bush. The pupils of his eyes were turned up, leaving only the whites exposed, and his hot breath came in painful gasps. His persimmon-coloured robes were filthy with soot. His fingernails and toenails had grown as long as beast's claws. Every detail betrayed the terrifying and frightful form of a demon king.
His voice reverberated from the hills and valleys with an eerie and indescribable echo, and as I witnessed the debased nature of such witchcraft, I could no longer repress my tears.
'Ruler and ruled meet a common fate,' I chanted loudly with all my heart.
Ugetsu Monogatari - Tales of Moonlight and Rain
Prints - Itō Jakuchū
