I’ve said before how I love when yokai “interact” with each other—that is, when one yokai legend references another. It shows the ongoing continuity in folklore; folklore is not just created and then archived; it lives and breathes, it changes, and it builds off of itself. Tonight’s yokai is one of those. He is connected to a number of local myths around the place where he supposedly lives, but he is also strongly connected to another yokai which is featured in The Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits: eritategoromo. The little connections and interactions like this add an air of credibility and authenticity to the stories; they feel like they exist in a living, breathing canon rather than as static legends.

Sōjōbō is especially interesting because his legend continues to grow and evolve even in recent memory. In 1949 the temple to which he is strongly connected split away from Tendai Buddhism to form a new esoteric sect. In this branch of Buddhism, a holy trinity is worshiped as a central force, and part of that trinity is Mao-son, a demon king who came to earth from planet Venus 6,500,000 years ago to live at Mount Kurama. According to the priests, Sōjōbō and Mao-son are one and the same… so a tengu from Venus? I suppose it wouldn’t be the strangest story to come out of Kurama Temple, as it is also the place where reiki was invented!

Sōjōbō was selected for today by my Patreon backers. I think they picked a great one, don’t you? If you have a favorite yokai you’d like to see, consider joining my project!

As always, click below to read about Sōjōbō on yokai.com:

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