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Sōjōbō

Grouping	Legendary creatures
Sub grouping	Tengu
Other name(s)	King of the tengu, Kurama tengu, Great tengu
Country	Japan
Habitat	Mount Kurama

Sōjōbō (Japanese: 僧正坊, IPA: [soːd͡ʑoːboː]) is the mythical tengu king. In Japanese folklore and mythology, the tengu are a type of supernatural creature thought to inhabit mountains and forests. Sōjōbō is a type of tengu called daitengu. Sōjōbō has a primarily human form, with some bird-like features such as wings and claws. Other distinguishing physical characteristics of Sōjōbō include his long white hair and beard and his large size. In legend, Sōjōbō resides on Mount Kurama in Japan. As king of the tengu, Sōjōbō is the ruler of the other tengu that inhabit Mount Kurama in addition to all the other tengu in Japan. Sōjōbō is known for the legend in which he teaches martial arts to the Japanese warrior Minamoto no Yoshitsune.

Etymology

Tengu statue at Mount Kurama

Most tengu are referred to impersonally (Ashkenazi 56). Sōjōbō is an exception and is one of the tengu that are given personal names and recognised as individual personalities (Ashkenazi 56). The name Sōjōbō originated in a text called Tengu Meigikō, which dates back to the middle of the Edo period in Japan (Knutsen 95).

In Japanese, the name Sōjōbō is comprised of three kanji: 僧,正,坊. Sōjōbō is associated with a valley called Sōjōgatani, which means Bishop’s valley or Bishop’s vale (Knutsen114; de Benneville 273). The name of this valley is derived from the ascetic Sōjō Ichiyen (de Benneville 273). The first two characters of Sōjōbō’s name (僧正, sōjō) mean 'Buddhist high priest' in Japanese. The final kanji (坊, bō) of the name, M.W. de Visser says, also means “Buddhist priest” but is also commonly used to mean yamabushi (82).

The yamabushi (山伏, 'those who lie down in the mountains') are ascetics from the Shugendō tradition (Buswell et al.). Shugendō (修驗道, 'way of cultivating supernatural power') incorporates elements of many religious traditions, including Buddhism (Buswell et al.). Both tengu and yamabushi had a reputation for dwelling in the mountains. Bonnefoy suggests that this contributed to the folk belief that yamabushi and tengu were identical or at least closely connected (286).

Other names

Sōjōbō is also referred to by other names and titles that function as names. Sōjōbō is sometimes called the Kurama tengu (Ashkenazi 271,56). This name references Sōjōbō’s mountain home, Mount Kurama. Ronald Knutsen refers to Sōjōbō by the title of Tengu-san (114). Sōjōbō is also named by references to his title as the king of the tengu (Knutsen 114;Davis 41; “Or 13839”). For example, James de Benneville refers to Sōjōbō using the term goblin-king (273). Similarly, Catherina Blomberg says that the titles “Dai Tengu (Great Tengu) or Tengu Sama (Lord Tengu)” are used to name Sōjōbō (35). Sometimes, Sōjōbō is named using both a title and a reference to Mount Kurama. The Noh play Kurama-Tengu, for example, features a character named Great Tengu of Mount Kurama (“Kurama-tengu (Long-nosed Goblin in Kurama)”).

Mythology

Now is the time, to show the world

those arts of war

that for many months and years

upon the Mountain of Kurama

I have rehearsed

— Miyamasu, Eboshi-ori (qtd. in Knutsen 114)

Sōjōbō is known for his relationship with the Japanese warrior Minamoto no Yoshitsune in legend (Cali and Dougill 125).

After Yoshitsune’s father was killed in a battle with the Taira clan, the young Yoshitsune was sent to a temple on Mount Kurama (Davis 41; Ashkenazi 97). On Mount Kurama, Yoshitsune met and was taught martial arts from Sōjōbō (Ashkenazi 97). Yoshitsune became a highly skilled warrior as a result of Sōjōbō’s training (Davis 42).

For example, in the war epic Heiji monogatari (The Tale of Heiji) it is said that the training young Yoshitsune received “was the reason why he could run and jump beyond the limits of human power” (qtd. in de Visser 47).

Portrayal

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Classification

Main article: Tengu § Great and small demons

Shows the physical differences between the single figure of the more human-like daitengu and group of bird-like kotengu

Sōjōbō is a tengu, which are a type of nonhuman creature in Japanese folklore and mythology with supernatural characteristics and abilities (Ashkenazi 56). Tengu are also considered well-known example of yōkai (Foster 130). Yōkai is a term that can describe a range of different supernatural beings. According to Michael Foster, a yōkai can be characterised in a number of ways, such as “… a weird or mysterious creature, a monster or fantastic being, a spirit or a sprit” (24).

There are two main sub-categories or types of tengu (Foster 131). First, there are tengu with the primary form of a bird and second there are tengu that have the primary form of a human. Tengu of the first sub-category are generally called kotengu but can also be called karasu tengu or shōtengu (Foster 131,135; Knutsen 10). The second sub-category of tengu is called daitengu or “long-nosed tengu” (Foster 131, 135; Knutsen 10). As he is described as having a primarily human form, Sōjōbō belongs to the sub-category daitengu.

Daitengu

The daitengu or long nosed tengu represent a later stage in the development of the concept of tengu in Japan. According to de Visser, tengu were first in the form of a bird, then had a human form with the head of a bird, and finally the bird beak became a long nose (44). Similarly, Basil Hall Chamberlain says that the beak of the tengu “becomes a large and enormously long human nose, and the whole creature is conceived as human” (443). There is no mention of the tengu having long noses in Japanese tales until after the second half of the fourteenth century (de Visser 44). While the kotengu or bird type of tengu came first, the daitengu with the long human nose is more common in modern Japanese culture (Foster 131). Sōjōbō is one of the “eight great dai-tengu” and, of these, one of the three that are most well-known (Knutsen 95).

Characteristics

Sōjōbō wearing dress typical of the yamabushi, including the distinctive tokin headdress. Other notable aspects depicted are his long nose and the large feather fan.

Physical appearance

As a daitengu, Sōjōbō has a primarily human form. Frederick Hadland Davis describes Sōjōbō as having both “bird-like claws, and feathered wings” and “a long red nose and enormous glaring eyes” (Davis 41). Similarly, de Visser says Sōjōbō has “sparkling eyes and a big nose” (95). Sōjōbō is also described as having a long white beard (Ashkenazi 271). Daitengu are described as being larger in overall size than kotengu (Knutsen 10). For example, in one legend Sōjōbō appears to be a giant from the perspective of a human (Davis 41).

One characteristic that both types of tengu share is their style of dress. Tengu are depicted wearing religious clothing and accessories, especially the clothing and accessories of the yamabushi (Foster 131; Blomberg 35). As such, Sōjōbō is often described or depicted with these items and wearing these clothes.

The dress of the yamabushi includes formal robes, square-toed shoes, a sword, a scroll, a fan, and a distinctive headdress (Knutsen 128; “Kurama-tengu (Long-nosed Goblin in Kurama)”). The distinctive headdress worn by yamabushi is called a tokin. A common style of tokin, worn from the start of the Edo period, is a small hat that resembles a black box (Absolon 98). Yves Bonnefoy says that the feather fan carried by tengu may signify or be a remnant of the original bird form and features of the tengu (286). Similarly, Davis says that in the development of the concept of tengu from bird to more human-like tengu, “nothing bird-like” was left except for “the fan of feathers with which it fans itself” (Davis 352).

Supernatural abilities

Another characteristic that Sōjōbō shares with yamabushi is a reputation for having supernatural abilities. Yamabushi often performed various practises in the mountains to try an attain supernatural abilities (Bonnefoy 286). According to folk belief, yamabushi had the abilities of flight and invisibility (Knusten 113). Tengu were thought to be able to spiritually possess human beings, similar to foxes ( Bonnefoy 285). Other abilities attributed to tengu include invisibility, shapeshifting, flight, and the ability to tell the future (Bonnefoy 285, 287). Sōjōbō is portrayed as having a reputation for being more powerful than other tengu or being a “match for a thousand” (Kimbrough 4). However, in one version of a war epic called Heike monogatari (The Tale of the Heike) a tengu named Tarōbō is described as the greatest tengu in Japan (Kimbrough 531).

Roles

A short animation called Kobutori (The Stolen Lump). The hierarchical structure of a tengu clan can be seen by the behaviour and depiction of the different characters. Numerous smaller tengu act as subordinates to the tengu chieftain.

Mount Kurama chieftain

Foster says that the different types of tengu were often depicted as being in a hierarchical relationship to one another, with the daitengu “flanked by a posse” of the kotengu who are “portrayed as lieutenants” to the daitengu (Foster 135). The daitengu subcategory of tengu is superior to the kotengu in rank (Knutsen 10). The higher rank of the daitengu is also shown by the hierarchical structure on the tengu mountains.

In general, tengu of both types are thought to inhabit mountainous areas in Japan (Blomberg 35).

Some individual daitengu are linked with specific mountains in Japan and are considered to be the chieftains of the other tengu on that mountain (Knutsen 95; Blomberg 35).

The mountain that Sōjōbō is said to inhabit is Mount Kurama. According to Knutsen, Mount Kurama is “associated in the popular mind with the tengu” (113). Mount Kurama is located north of the city of Kyōto in Japan. On Mount Kurama there is a famous shrine and temple called Kuramadera, which dates back to 770AD (Cali and Dougill 124). The mountain has connections to the history of both reiki and aikido (Cali and Dougill 124). According to Joseph Cali and John Dougill, Mount Kurama is known as a “new-age power spot” in modern times (Cali and Dougill 125).

Sōjōbō is considered to be the chieftain of Mount Kurama (Blomberg 35). Catharina Blomberg describes Sōjōbō as having “retainers” who “have the form of a karasu tengu” (35). Another example of the hierarchy of the two sub-categories of tengu is exhibited in the Noh play Kurama-Tengu. In the play, there are tengu characters who are described as menial and are given orders by Sōjōbō or the Great Tengu character (“Kurama-tengu (Long-nosed Goblin in Kurama)”).

King of the tengu

In addition to role of chieftain of Mount Kurama, Sōjōbō is considered to be the chieftain or king of all the other tengu mountains in Japan (Blomberg 35).

Sōjōbō’s role as king of the tengu is demonstrated in the Noh play Kurama-Tengu. In the play, the Great Tengu lists his large number of tengu servants, which are not just tengu from Mount Kurama but tengu from other areas as well (“Kurama-tengu (Long-nosed Goblin in Kurama)”). This demonstrates his authority over both the tengu on Mount Kurama and all the other tengu in Japan. This authority is also shown in a story called The Palace of the Tengu. In the story, the figure of Sōjōbō is called Great Tengu. He orders one of his tengu servants to send a message to summon the tengu chieftains of other mountains on his behalf (Kimbrough and Shirane). These tengu chieftains include “Tarōbō of Mount Atago, Jirōbō of Mount Hira, Saburōbō of Mount Kōya, Shirōbo of Mount Nachi, and Buzenbō of Mount Kannokura” (Kimbrough and Shirane).

Sōjōbō is specifically associated with a place on Mount Kurama called Sōjōgatani or Bishop’s valley (Knutsen 114; de Benneville 273). According to de Benneville, this area was thought to be “the haunt of tengu, even … the seat of the court of their goblin-king” (de Benneville 273). Similarly, de Visser says that some tengu live in “brilliant palaces” and Sōjōbō or the “Great Tengu” was “the Lord of such a palace” (95). Sōjōbō’s tengu palace features in the story The Palace of the Tengu. A character in this story, Minamoto no Yoshitsune, reaches the tengu palace by starting at the bottom of the slope of the temple on Mount Kurama, climbing a path up the mountainside until he reaches coloured walls that lead him to the gates of the palace (Kimbrough and Shirane). He finds the palace to be very large, elaborate, and decorated with different jewels (Kimbrough and Shirane). According to the story, the palace contains “hundreds of tengu” (Kimbrough and Shirane).

Appearances

Depiction of a scene from Kurama-tengu that shows the elaborate costume of the Great Tengu character.

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi,The king of the Tengus teaching martial arts to Yoshitsune. 1886. 35.5 × 46.7 cm. Colour woodblock. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.

Utagawa Hiroshige, No. 2: Ushiwakamaru Learns Swordsplay from the Tengu at Sojogatani on Mount Kurama.1832/34. 24 x 35.9 cm. Colour woodblock. Clarence Buckingham Collection, Art Institute of Chicago.

In performing arts

Main articles: Noh and Kōwakamai

The Noh play Kurama-Tengu features an interpretation of the legend about Sōjōbō and Yoshitsune. Noh (能, nō, ‘skills or artistry’) is a genre of traditional Japanese theatre (Kagaya and Hiroko 24; Salz 51). Shinko Kagaya and Miura Hiroko say Noh is comparable to opera because of its focus on dance and music (24).

In Kurama-Tengu, Sōjōbō is initially disguised as a mountain priest and befriends the young Yoshitsune (called Ushiwakamaru at this age) at a celebration of the cherry blossoms on Mount Kurama. Then the following exchange between the two characters occurs:

USHIWAKAMURU. By the way, you, the gentleman who comforts me, who

are you? Please give me your name.

MOUNTAIN PRIEST. There is nothing to hide now, I am the Great Tengu of

Mount Kurama, who has lived in this mountain for hundreds of years.

— Kurama-tengu (Long-nosed Goblin in Kurama)

After his true identity is revealed, the Great Tengu says he will “hand down the secret of the art of war” to Ushiwakamaru (“Kurama-tengu (Long-nosed Goblin in Kurama)”). The Great Tengu instructs the menial tengu to practice with Ushiwakamaru. Ushiwakamaru then becomes extremely skilled, as demonstrated by the words of the reciters who say that “even the monsters in the heavens and the demons in the underworld will be unable to beat his elegance with braveness” (“Kurama-tengu (Long-nosed Goblin in Kurama)”). The play ends with the Great Tengu predicting that Ushiwakamaru will defeat his enemies and avenge his father. He then promises to protect Ushiwakamaru before disappearing into the trees of Mount Kurama.

The legend of Yoshitsune learning martial arts from the tengu is also featured in another genre of Japanese drama called kōwakamai. The main element of kōwakamai is performance, but the texts associated with the performances are also significant to the genre (Kimbrough, Cambridge History of Japanese Literature 362). The kōwakamai work featuring the legend is called Miraiki (Chronicle of the Future). This work has a similar plot to the literary work Tengu no dairi (The Palace of the Tengu) (Kimbrough, Cambridge History of Japanese Literature 359).

In literary arts

Main article: Otogi-zōshi

An example from the literary arts of the legend of Sōjōbō and Yoshitsune is the otogi-zōshi story called Tengu no dairi (The Palace of the Tengu). Otogi-zōshi is a genre of Japanese fiction that was prominent from the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries (Kimbrough and Shirane). Sōjōbō also independently features in an otogi-zōshi story called The Tale of the Handcart Priest.

In Tengu no dairi (The Palace of the Tengu),

In The Tale of the Handcart Priest, one of the tengu characters describes “Sōjōbō as "a match for a thousand” (Kimbrough 4). Soon after, the character Sōjōbō says he has been nearly fatally wounded by another tengu and “may not survive” (Kimbrough 5). The other tengu say that they will never succeed on their mission without the aid of Sōjōbō and that this tengu must be remarkable if he was able to wound “the likes of our Sōjōbō” (Kimbrough 5).

Related figures

Sōjōbō

Sarutahiko Ōkami

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Modern legacy

A person dressed in a tengu costume at a Japanese festival

See also

• Buddhism in Japan
• Sacred mountains
• Japanese martial arts
• Japanese festivals

Works Cited

• Absolon, Trevor, and David Thatcher. The Watanabe Art Musuem Samurai Armour Collection: Volume I ~ Kabuto & Mengu. Toraba, 2011. Google Books, https://books.google.com.au/books?id=8APyY3eIONcC&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false
• Ashkenazi, Michael. Handbook of Japanese Mythology. ABC-CLIO, 2003. Google Books, https://books.google.com.au/books?id=gqs-y9R2AekC&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false
• Blomberg, Catharina. The Heart of the Warrior: Origins and Religious Background of the Samurai System in Feudal Japan. Routledge, 1994.
• Cali, Joseph, and John Dougill, Shinto Shrines: A Guide to the Sacred Sites of Japan’s Ancient Religion. U of Hawai’i P, 2013.
• Chamberlain, Basil Hall. Things Japanese, Kelly & Walsh, 1905. Wikisource, https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Things_Japanese
• Davis, Frederick Hadland. Myths & Legends of Japan. T.Y. Crowell co, 1912. HathiTrust Digital Library, https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.$b233536
• de Benneville, James Seguin. Saito Musashi-Bo Benkei: Tales of the Wars of the Gempei, Being the Story of the Lives and Adventures of Iyo-No-Kami Minamoto Kuro Yoshitsune and Saito Musashi-Bo Benkei. J.S. De Benneville, 1910. Internet Archive Books, https://archive.org/stream/saitomusashibobe01debe/saitomusashibobe01debe
• de Visser, Marinus Willem. The Tengu. Asiatic Society of Japan, 1908. HathiTrust Digital Library, https://hdl.handle.net/2027/coo.31924066003868?urlappend=%3Bseq=769
• Foster, Michael Dylan. The Book of Yokai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese folklore. U of California P, 2015.
• Kagaya, Shinko, and Miura Hiroko. “Noh and Muromachi Culture.” A History of Japanese Theatre, edited by Jonah Salz, Cambridge University Press, 2016, pp. 24–61.
• Kimbrough, R. Keller. “The Tale of the Handcart Priest.” Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, vol. 39, no. 2, 2012, pp. 1-7. ProQuest, https://search.proquest.com/docview/1285490921
• ---. “Late Medieval Popular Fiction and Narrated Genres: Otogizōshi, Kōwakamai, Sekkyō, and Ko-Jōruri.” The Cambridge History of Japanese Literature, edited by Haruo Shirane et al., Cambridge University Press, 2015, pp. 355–370. https://doi.org/10.1017/CHO9781139245869
• Kimbrough, Keller, and Haruo Shirane, editors. Monsters, Animals, and Other Worlds: A Collection of Short Medieval Japanese Tales. Columbia UP, 2018.
• Knutsen, Ronald. Tengu: The Shamanic and Esoteric Origins of the Japanese Martial Arts. Global Oriental, 2011.
• “Kurama-tengu (Long-nosed Goblin in Kurama).” the-Noh.com, https://www.the-noh.com/en/plays/data/program_025.html
• "Or 13839." British Library, https://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Or_13839
• Salz, Jonah. "Traditional Japanese theatre." Routledge Handbook of Asian Theatre, edited by Siyuan Liu, Routledge, 2016. Routledge Handbooks Online, doi:10.4324/9781315641058.

External links

• Sōjōbō Entry from an online database featuring information and original illustrations of the Japanese legendary creatures known as yōkai.
• Kurama-tengu (Long-nosed Goblin in Kurama): PhotoStory Photographs from a performance of the Noh play Kurama-tengu.
• Tengu Part of a digital exhibition, Yōkai Senjafuda, by the University of Oregon.
• Ushiwakamaru and the Giant Tengu Photograph of a float depicting Sōjōbō and Ushiwakamaru, at a traditional Japanese festival called the Aomori Nebuta Matsuri.