Tawara Tōda Monogatari

This was later followed by Yei Theodora Ozaki's translation "My Lord Bag of Rice" (1903) based on Iwaya Sazanami [ja]'s retelling.

The story is set in Ōmi Province (Shiga Prefecture), and begins with a large serpent lying on Seta Bridge [ja] on the brink of Lake Biwa.

It was the nickname given to the historical Fujiwara no Hidesato who flourished in the first half of the 10th century and participated in the suppression of the rebel usurper Taira no Masakado.

[10] The above summary is not the entirety of Tawara Tōda monogatari, which contains a second part where the hero triumphs over Taira no Masakado, despite the latter having an iron body which was invulnerable except at the temples on his head, and having six ghostly doubles of himself.

[24][25] Although not an attestation of the entire story, a sword named Mukadegiri [ja] (蚣切) "Centepede-cutter" purportedly owned by Hidesato according to the inscription borne on its tang was bequeathed to the Ise Shrine.

It happened centuries later, when Musashibō Benkei captured and dragged it up the mountain to Eizan (Enryaku-ji), but the bell failed to toll properly.

[31][32] An otogibanashi (Japanese fairy tale) version entitled "Tawara Tōda" (「俵藤太」), retold by Iwaya Sazanami [ja] appeared in the 1890s.

[33] Subsequently, "My Lord Bag of Rice" was included in Japanese Fairy Tales (1903) anthologized by Yei Theodora Ozaki.