It is often said that Shuten Doji is Japan's strongest oni, and he came to be counted as one of Japan's Trio of Heinous Specters, the other two being Tamamonomae, a women of incredible beauty who is in fact a white-faced fox with nine golden tails and Emperor Sutoku who, out of bitterness, turned into a great Tengu, a legendary supernatural creature.
酒呑童子は日本最強の鬼と言ってよく、玉藻前で有名な白面金毛九尾の狐と、恨みによって大天狗と化した崇徳天皇と並んで、日本三大悪妖怪と謳われるようになった。