is a character in

Japanese folklore Japanese folklore encompasses the informally learned folk traditions of Japan and the Japanese people as expressed in its oral traditions, Tradition, customs, and material culture. In Japanese, the term is used to describe folklore. The Folklor ...

associated with the Suwa region.

Summary

Many variants on the basic story exist; the following summary is based on the earliest literary version of the tale found in the '' Shintōshū''.諏訪縁起の事 (''Suwa engi-no-koto'') in Kanai (1982). p. 17. The third son of a local

landlord A landlord is the owner of property such as a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate that is rented or leased to an individual or business, known as a tenant (also called a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). The term landlord appli ...

of Kōka District in

Ōmi Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan, which today comprises Shiga Prefecture. It was one of the provinces that made up the Tōsandō Circuit (subnational entity), circuit. Its nickname is . Under the ''Engishiki'' classification system, ...

, a distinguished warrior named Kōga Saburō Yorikata (甲賀三郎諏方) was searching for his lost wife, Princess Kasuga (春日姫 ''Kasuga-hime'') in a cave in

Mount Tateshina also Suwa Fuji is a complex volcano located on the border of the municipalities of Chino and Tateshina in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. It has an elevation of . This mountain is one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains. Outline Mount Tateshina ...

in Shinano, with his two elder brothers. The second brother, who was jealous of Saburō's prowess and fame and who coveted Kasuga, traps the latter inside the cave after they had rescued the princess. With no way out, Saburō has no choice but to go deeper into the cave, which was actually an entrance to various underground realms filled with many wonders. After travelling through these subterranean lands for a long period of time, he finally finds his way back to the surface, only to find himself transformed into a giant snake or dragon. With the help of Buddhist monks (who turn out to be gods in disguise), Saburō regains his human form and is finally reunited with his wife. Saburō eventually becomes Suwa Myōjin, the god of the Upper Shrine of Suwa, while his wife becomes the goddess of the Lower Shrine. This version of the legend explains the origin of the name 'Suwa' (諏訪 or 諏方) via

folk etymology Folk etymology – also known as (generative) popular etymology, analogical reformation, (morphological) reanalysis and etymological reinterpretation – is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a mo ...

as being derived from Saburō's personal name, Yorikata (諏方).

Origins

It has been proposed that the Kōga Saburō legend arose as a result of the collapse of the Kamakura shogunate and the downfall of the

Hōjō clan The was a Japanese samurai family who controlled the hereditary title of '' shikken'' (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate between 1203 and 1333. Despite the title, in practice the family wielded actual political power in Japan during this perio ...

, which the

Suwa clan The , also known as the Jin or Miwa clan (神氏, ''Miwa Uji (clan), uji / Miwa-shi'' or ''Jinshi'') was a Japanese ''Shake (social class), shake'' and samurai family. Originating from the area encompassing Lake Suwa in Shinano Province (modern- ...

, the high priestly house of the Upper Suwa Shrine, had faithfully served as

retainers Retainer may refer to: * Retainer (orthodontics), devices for teeth * RFA ''Retainer'' (A329), a ship * Retainers in early China, a social group in early China Employment * Retainer agreement, a contract in which an employer pays in advance for ...

. The status and prestige of the clan and the shrine's high priest, the ''Ōhōri'' (大祝), revered as a living god, having been diminished in the aftermath of these events, localized stories about the shrine's deity such as that of Kōga Saburō began to be favored and circulate in various areas.

Variants

Japanese scholar Hiroko Ikeda classified the tale, in the Japanese tale index, as type 301A, "Kooga Saburoo's Journey" (''Kooga Saburoo''). There are a number of variants on the basic tale; some see Kōga reunited with his wife (and suggest that they had a son together in the underworld), some involve his two brothers joining him on the search, others include him fighting against a resident serpent god before becoming one himself. The story of Kōga Saburō was adapted into a ''

kabuki is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...

'' play, ''Kōga Saburō in the Cave'' in around 1808.

References

Bibliography

* * Suwa faith Japanese legends Japanese dragons {{Suwa Faith