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Utsunomiko
Utsu no Miko ／ Utsunomiko: Earth Chapter ／ 宇宙皇子
Description
During the turmoil of the Jinshin-no-Ran civil war in 762, a child bearing a small horn on his forehead was born. His mother condemned him as an oni and cast him away. An elderly shugenja woman took the child in, naming him Utsunomiko, meaning “Divine Child of the Heavens”, and told him that his horn symbolized the union of heaven and earth. Growing up in the wilderness, Utsunomiko learned the ways of Shugendō and soon began venturing into nearby villages out of curiosity. There he found that ordinary people lived in poverty and suffering, and he used his spiritual powers to aid them. Yet his anger toward the self‑serving rulers and their petty power struggles grew until he came into open conflict with the Imperial...
