Emperor Sutoku (1119-1164), defeated in the 1156 Hogen Rebellion, was exiled to Sanuki where he died nine years later. Refused entry of his blood-written sutra to Kyoto, he reportedly cursed: "I shall become the great demon of Japan, taking the emperor and making him a commoner." He became the most feared of Japan's "three great onryo," with [Shiramine Jingu](/spot/shiramine-jingu) built in Kyoto by Emperor Meiji to appease his spirit.

Sanuki (modern Kagawa Prefecture) hosted two of Japan's most famous exiles of contrasting character: [Emperor Sutoku](/learn/article-ruzai-sutoku) (1156) who became the greatest of the three onryo, and [Honen](/character/honen) (1207) the founder of Pure Land Buddhism. The juxtaposition of vengeful spirit and salvation-by-nembutsu makes Sanuki uniquely complex.