Utsunomiko

In the chaos of the JinshinnoRan civil war of 762 a child with a small horn in his forehead was born The childs mother condemned him as an oni and cast him away An elderly shūgenja woman claimed the child and named him Utsunomiko or Divine Child of the Heavens telling Miko that his horn smybolizes the union of heaven and earth Miko matured in the wilderness learning the ways of Shugendō and soon started venturing into villages out of curiosity He found that the common people of the villages live in poverty and suffering and began using his spiritual powers to help them But his anger at the selfserving rulers and their petty powerstruggles grew until he came into open conflict with the Imperial Court setting Miko down a long path as a champion of the oppressed