was a warrior of the mid-

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

. His official name was .

Stories featuring Sadamitsu

According to Otogizōshi stories compiled several centuries later, Sadamitsu was a

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

of the Japanese legendary hero

Minamoto no Raikō , also known as Minamoto no Raikō, was a Japanese samurai of the Heian period, who served the regents of the Fujiwara clan along with his brother Yorinobu, taking the violent measures the Fujiwara were themselves unable to take. He is one of t ...

. Sadamitsu is known as one of

The Four Guardian Kings ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...

under Raikō. Alternatively, in

Konjaku Monogatari ''Amorphophallus konjac'', also known as konnyaku, and konjac, is a species of flowering plant in the family ''Araceae''. It is native to Yunnan in southwestern China, and has an edible corm. It is sometimes referred to as devil's tongue, voodoo ...

he is listed as one of three retainers to Raikō. Following the

Tale of the Ground Spider Tale may refer to: * Narrative, or story, a report of real or imaginary connected events * TAL effector (TALE), a type of DNA binding protein * Tale, Albania, a resort town * Tale, Iran, a village * Tale, Maharashtra, a village in Ratnagiri distr ...

within the tale of Raikō, Sadamitsu personally protected Raikō when he was suffering a mysterious ailment. Sadamitsu is also depicted in artwork and

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 ...

plays. At times Sadamitsu is depicted as female. On the way from Echigo to Ueno, Sadamitsu was sleeping outdoors while chanting sutras. He received a prophecy saying, "I am touched by the sincerity of your chanting and will grant you a sacred spring that will cure the illnesses of 40,000 people. I am the divine spirit of this mountain." Sadamitsu then investigated the surrounding area and found a hot spring, which he called "Omusou no Yu" (the hot spring of dreams), and this is how Shima Onsen came to be. On another occasion, when Sadamitsu returned home, he found a giant poisonous snake living in Usui Pass, tormenting the people. With the protection of the Eleven-Headed Kannon Bodhisattva

Ekādaśamukha In Buddhism, Ekādaśamukha (, , lit. "Eleven-Faced"; Chinese (Traditional): 十一面觀音; Simplified: 十一面观音; pinyin: ''Shíyīmiàn Guānyīn''; Japanese: 十一面観音, ''Jūichimen Kannon'') is a bodhisattva and a manifestation ...

, Sadamitsu swung his scythe and defeated the snake. He then built the Usui-san Joko-in Kongo-ji Temple and enshrined the

Kannon Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as m ...

Bodhisattva and the snake's skull there. In the fairy story Kintaro, he was given the role to find Kintaro on Ashigarayama (Mt. Ashigara) by disguising himself as a logger and took him to meet Minamoto no Yorimitsu.

References

Samurai Taira clan {{samurai-stub