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Jiraiya Toshidama Gallery Jiraiya Play: Jiraiya Gôketsu Monogatari Jiraiya was one half of an avenging couple committed to restoring the honour of their respective clans. Their families had been persecuted by an evil snake demon in the form of Orochimaru. They were rescued as children by the magician Senso Dojin who taught Jiraiya toad magic and Tsunade slug magic… The snake magic of Orochimaru could defeat toad magic; toad magic could conquer slug magic; but slug magic could defeat snake magic… think, rock, paper, scissors During the first contest, Jiraiya was mortally wounded and only saved by the self-sacrifice of his long lost sister who used her own blood to heal him. Orochimaru was eventually exorcised by use of a magic sword and the clans were reinstated, honour satisfied. The snake demon was despatched and Orichimaru pardoned. The play was wildly successful after its premiere in 1852. The plot was loosely based upon the story of an historic Chinese bandit, later revived in a series of novels published in Japan in the 1840’s. The character of Jiraiya was the subject of countless woodblock prints in the nineteenth century. Illustrated, Sawamura Tossho as Jiraiya, by Kunisada.1862
