gongen of Mt. Nikkō
deity mountain Japanese single tradition · 1
A mountain deity associated with Mt. Nikkō in Shimotsuke Province during the reign of Emperor Seiwa (858–876). When losing a battle against the spirit of Mt. Akagi, this gongen disguised itself as a white stag and sought help from the archer Banji Banzaburō. In gratitude for Banji's aid in defeating its enemy, the gongen granted him a yamadachi license authorizing him to hunt on any mountain in Japan.
When
- First attested
- 858 CE
- Attested period
- 1193 – 2020
- Historical notes
- Story documented in the Yamadachi konpon no maki scroll written in 1193, events set during Emperor Seiwa's reign (858–876).
Relationships
- enemy of
- spirit of Mt. Akagi
- manifests as
- white stag
Sources
wikipedia (1)
Source passages
“the gongen of Mt. Nikkō in Shimotsuke Province was clashing fiercely with the spirit of Mt. Akagi which had taken the shape of a monstrous giant snake or centipede. Losing the battle, the gongen of Mt. Nikkō disguised itself as a white stag”
#8272 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5