Asaina’s “Wrecking of Hell”: Exploring the Formation of a Literary Character

This paper explores the question of how characters with superhuman powers are portrayed in pre-modern Japanese literature. Although various superhuman warriors appear in war tales and legendary stories, when comparing the episodes and expressions associated with them, it is often found that, even if they are about different warriors, the narratives are often very similar. The same episodes have been reused for various warriors, and since this recycling of stories has continued across the ages and even into modern-day animation, influencing a wide range of works, it is important to trace the history of these episodes and expressions by a comparative analysis. Focusing on two stories that highlight the superhuman nature of Asaina Yoshihide, a famous warrior who lived in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, this paper attempts to analyse and organise these stories in chronological order, taking into account the influence of the Chinese story of Fán Kuài, which has not been fully considered in previous research.