Suzuka Gozen (鈴鹿御前) is a figure 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 ...

. She is described in the

Muromachi era The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

traveler's journal "Kouunkikou" (耕雲紀行), the fairytale "Tamura no Soushi" and the Hobutsushu written by Tairano Yasuyori in 1179, among others. She is also referred to as Tate Eboshi (立烏帽子), Suzuka Gongen (鈴鹿権現) and Princess Suzuka (鈴鹿姫). In folklore, she is a female thief, a celestial maiden (天女), or even a female

oni An ( ) is a kind of ''yōkai'', demon, orc, ogre, or troll in Japanese folklore. They are believed to live in caves or deep in the mountains or in hell. Oni are known for their superhuman strength and have been associated with powers like th ...

, and her true form, depictions, and other information are varied, but from the Muromachi era onward, the legend was mostly connected to the story of Sakanoue no Tamuramaro's oni extermination. She is often assiocated with Ootakemaru.

In fiction

Suzuka Gozen appears in the Type-Moon's Fate franchise, a principal character in the Japanese

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

'' Fate/Extra CCC FoxTail'', and also features in their mobile game

Fate/Grand Order is a free-to-play Japanese gacha game, gacha mobile game, developed by Lasengle (formerly Delightworks) using Unity (game engine), Unity, and published by Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The game is based on Type-Moon' ...

. She appears in the manga ''

Ogre Slayer is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kei Kusunoki. It was published in Shogakukan's manga magazine '' Shōnen Sunday Zōkan'' (later ''Shōnen Sunday Super'') from 1992 to 2001, with its chapters collected in 20 volumes ...

''.Kusunoki, Kei (1997). ''Ogre Slayer'', Volume 1. VIZ Media. Suzuka Gozen appears as a playable character in turn-based fantasy strategy game Onmyoji, developed and published by internet company NetEase, as well as its accompanying games Onmyoji Arena and Onmyoji: The Card Game. Suzuka Gozen makes an appearance in ''

Nioh 2 is a 2020 action role-playing game developed by Team Ninja and published by Koei Tecmo for the PlayStation 4. It was released by Sony Interactive Entertainment outside Japan on PlayStation consoles. It is a prequel to '' Nioh'' (2017). Versions ...

'', serving as the protagonist's mother under the name "Miyoshino". In the third DLC, "The First Samurai", Miyoshino is revealed to have gone by the name Suzuka in the distant past, with her appearance and nature as an oni samurai implying that she is Suzuka Gozen. An entirely separate character based on Suzuka Gozen, named Tate Eboshi, also appears in "The First Samurai", portrayed as a bandit turned scythe-wielding yokai by the main antagonist of the game, Otakemaru, and serves as a boss. Suzuka Gongen appears in the video game ''

Persona 4 is a 2008 role-playing video game by Atlus. It is chronologically the fifth installment in the ''Persona (series), Persona'' series, itself a part of the larger ''Megami Tensei'' franchise, and was released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan in Ju ...

'' as Chie's 2nd tier persona. Suzuka Gozen appears as a playable survivor in ''

Zombicide ''Zombicide'', is a collaborative adventure board game with a modern zombie theme, created by Guillotine Games. It was launched on Kickstarter by publisher CoolMiniOrNot and raised $781,597 from 5,258 backers. In the game, each player contr ...

: White Death''. The character was unlocked as the $1.06 million stretch goal and was a

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

exclusive.

References

{{reflist Japanese folklore Oni Yōkai