Sōjōbō - 僧正坊 - [Yokai]

Sōjōbō - 僧正坊 - [ Yokai | Tengu ] - aka: Kurama sōjōbō.

• About this yokai: The fearsome & wise 'Tengu King' that lives in and guards the deepest reaches of Mount Kurama. (Northwest of Kyoto.) Sōjōbō is said to be an extremely powerful Dai-Tengu, with powers that "rival that of a thousand normal tengu." - Sōjōbō & his clan are often listed at the top of the 48 most powerful Dai-Tengu found in mountains across Japan, He commands an army of kōtengu who act as his retainers, messengers & warriors. Notably, Sōjōbō carries a Hauchiwa fan made with seven feathers, a sign of his position at the top of tengu society; with it, he can whip up gusts of wind, with the strength of a typhoon.

Like most Dai-Tengu; Sōjōbō dresses proudly like an aesthetic yamabushi monk, complete with a tokin hat and a fabulous white beard. However, he also wears the High collared kimono of a Buddhist high priest: proof of his pride & arrogance. - According to legend, Sōjōbō in life was human training as a yamabushi, but in the middle of his ascetic practices he mistakenly believed that he had reached Enlightenment, thereby failing to become a Buddha after his death. Because he was a buddhist, he wouldn't go to hell, but because he had a bad mindset, he also couldn't reach Nirvana; and so, rather than becoming a buddha, he became a Dai-Tengu. (a punishment for his vain & arrogant mindset.) Even so, he continued to wear the high priest's robes, persisting in his dignity as a priest. [Sōjōbō's pride is said to be so powerful, that his robes occasionally become animate, as a type of Tsukumogami. (see also: Eritategoromo (襟立衣) ]

[Incidentally, i based the robes & beard I drew him in off of these Edo period prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi. (1798-1861) image sources: [1.] [2.]

Sōjōbō himself is a master swordsman, magician, martial artist & tactician, he trained quite a few of Japan's most legendary heroes, though he's best known for training the legendary warrior Minamoto Yoshitsune in sword fighting and magic. - Legend has it that from the age of 7 to 16, Yoshitsune practised Buddhist asceticism during the day at Kurama-dera temple, and then at night, he was taught the art of war by the tengu in the valley of Sōjōgatani. - In the "Tale of Heike", Yoshitsune helps his brother Yoritomo defeat the Taira Clan to establish the Kamakura Shogunate. It's often said that Yoshitsune was able to learn magic tricks for combat, such as leaping extra far, as well as wielding his blade with an extra swift edge, because of his training on Mt.Kurama with Sōjōbō.

In some villages, parents would spread the myths that Sōjōbō would eat naughty children, to scare them from going into the forest alone at night.

• See also: Kotengu, Daitengu, Eritategoromo.