Taira no Koremochi and the Demon of Mt. Togakushi, from an untitled series of historical subjects

In this famous tale of a shapeshifting demon, popularized in kabuki and nō plays, the 11th century nobleman Taira no Koremochi 平維茂 is hunting in the forests on Mount Togakushi 戸隠山 in central Japan. There, he encounters a beautiful woman and her attendants having an elegant picnic. She offers him food and sake to drink, and he soon falls asleep. In his dreams a god warns him that the woman is actually a demon in disguise. He awakes just in time to see her true form, and he kills her with his sword.