Maki-jo is a female oni said to dwell on Makiyama in Ishinomaki, Miyagi. She is described as one of the wives or concubines of the demon lord Ōtakemaru of Mount Nogakuzan. Her tale became tied to legends of the general Sakanoue no Tamuramaro’s oni-slaying campaign. On his return, the general is said to have enshrined a Kannon image in thanks, and Makiyama was once called “Maki-yama” (Demon Mountain). While temple-origin legends vary by source, the name Maki-jo appears in local records.
Folklore & Legends
Stories tell that General Tamuramaro prayed to Kannon for success in subduing oni and, in gratitude for divine aid, enshrined Kannon at each mountain where demons had dwelt. At Makiyama, Maki-jo’s cut hair was placed within a Kannon statue, and a temple known as Makiyama-dera (of Demon Mountain) was founded. The place-name Makiyama is said to derive from “Maki-yama.” Devotion later continued as Makiyama Kannon. In some lines of the Ōshū Three Kannon origin tales, the sealing of Ōtakemaru is told but Maki-jo herself is not mentioned.
Yokai Cards1
Maki-jo (Demon Woman) across multiple art-style decks
Maki-onna is a demon-woman figure found in temple chronicles and local histories around Ishinomaki, paired with the ogre Ōtakemaru of Mt. Nōgatake. While the slaying tales center on Ōtakemaru, she appears as his consort and later becomes an object of memorial rites and pacification. In the legend where General Tamura subdues various demons with a Kannon image attributed to Enchin and installs Kannon statues on each mountain, Makiyama preserves a tale of dedicating Maki-onna’s cut hair. Place-name and temple-name origin lore (Magiyama to Makiyama) and the transfer of Kannon images are recounted as religious history. Her concrete figure remains understated, yet she stands as a symbol of mountain dread fused with Kannon devotion. Anecdotes with strong fictional color are avoided, and some sources omit her entirely, showing the range of the tradition.
Character Profile
This section is our own creative profile for storytelling. It is not historical fact or scholarship.
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