Tesso
Tesso is the Iron Rat Demon, or the Iron Rat Monk. Like several other Yokai, he is the undead spirit of a holy man – but it’s not what you think! His name was Raigo, and he is based on real historical events (up to a point. EVerything before the rats, really). Once upon a time (in the Heian era), Emperor Shirakawa desperately needed a son, and so he asked Raigo the monk to pray for him – if the emperor had a son, then he would grant any one thing Raigo asked for, no matter what. So, Raigo fervently prayed and meditated day and night, and the day came when the emperor’s son was born, and he was overjoyed! So he approached Raigo and told him to name his wish, and it would be granted. Raigo wished for a monastery – his own monastery so he could train new monks and spread holiness.
However, there were three things in the world that the emperor could not control: The winds, the roll of the dice, and those evil, rebellions Enriyaku-ji monks in the mountains! The Enriyaku-ji monks are another story entirely – their history includes everything from burning down rival monasteries to working for the Yakuza – but anyway! The Enriyaku-ji hated Raigo, and did not want him to build his monastery. So they plotted, schemed, bribed, lied, and did everything in their power to stop him, and succeeded so well that not even the Emperor could build that monastery!
Raigo was understandably angry, but also powerless, and even though the emperor tried to help him as much as he could, Raigo was so enraged that he went on a hunger strike until his monastery could be built! The Enriyaku-ji were quite pleased with this, of course, and continued to block it until poor old Raigo starved to death. But because he had been so angry and vengeful when he died, and because he had been wronged so badly, he was immediately reborn as Tesso, a rat-shaped demon the size of a man, with iron fangs and claws. Tesso gathered his army of rats and invaded the Enriyaku-ji temple, wrecking the place, killing monks, and destroying all their books, scrolls, artifacts, and relics, thoroughly punishing those wicked monks for what they did. And you know, they say that Tesso still haunts the area to this day, taking out his centuries-old rage on travellers and holy men.
I guess the moral of this story is that church building fundraisers have never changed.
Featured on Life In Plastic: nerditis.com/2014/06/20/life-in-plastic-special-the-night...
Tesso
Tesso is the Iron Rat Demon, or the Iron Rat Monk. Like several other Yokai, he is the undead spirit of a holy man – but it’s not what you think! His name was Raigo, and he is based on real historical events (up to a point. EVerything before the rats, really). Once upon a time (in the Heian era), Emperor Shirakawa desperately needed a son, and so he asked Raigo the monk to pray for him – if the emperor had a son, then he would grant any one thing Raigo asked for, no matter what. So, Raigo fervently prayed and meditated day and night, and the day came when the emperor’s son was born, and he was overjoyed! So he approached Raigo and told him to name his wish, and it would be granted. Raigo wished for a monastery – his own monastery so he could train new monks and spread holiness.
However, there were three things in the world that the emperor could not control: The winds, the roll of the dice, and those evil, rebellions Enriyaku-ji monks in the mountains! The Enriyaku-ji monks are another story entirely – their history includes everything from burning down rival monasteries to working for the Yakuza – but anyway! The Enriyaku-ji hated Raigo, and did not want him to build his monastery. So they plotted, schemed, bribed, lied, and did everything in their power to stop him, and succeeded so well that not even the Emperor could build that monastery!
Raigo was understandably angry, but also powerless, and even though the emperor tried to help him as much as he could, Raigo was so enraged that he went on a hunger strike until his monastery could be built! The Enriyaku-ji were quite pleased with this, of course, and continued to block it until poor old Raigo starved to death. But because he had been so angry and vengeful when he died, and because he had been wronged so badly, he was immediately reborn as Tesso, a rat-shaped demon the size of a man, with iron fangs and claws. Tesso gathered his army of rats and invaded the Enriyaku-ji temple, wrecking the place, killing monks, and destroying all their books, scrolls, artifacts, and relics, thoroughly punishing those wicked monks for what they did. And you know, they say that Tesso still haunts the area to this day, taking out his centuries-old rage on travellers and holy men.
I guess the moral of this story is that church building fundraisers have never changed.
Featured on Life In Plastic: nerditis.com/2014/06/20/life-in-plastic-special-the-night...