Usagi Yojimbo DojoBoard

Hi! I've got a questionn regarding the previous "Sumi-e" story. I was wondering if the character of Katsushige no Kyogoku, the Heian noble, was a real historical figure? You asterisked his birth-death dates (794-585 AD) in the story, so I have to assume he really lived. If so, was the story of his trading his soul to the kami of evil and being turned into a sumi-e set an actual legend or folktale from Japanese tradition? Or did you choose an historical character and create the legend about him? Just curious, as always. Thanks for your time!

There was a Katsushige during the Heian Era (which is where I got part of the name from), but the dates refer to the Heian Period rather than the life of that particular noble.