, or , was a counsellor of the state in pre-feudal

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. In Japanese mythology, he was the source for Ban no Yoshio, god of pestilence.

Arson

On the tenth day of the third month of 866, Tomo no Yoshio

set fire Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...

to the Ōtenmon gate with the intent of placing blame on the

minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

of the left, the sadajin Minamoto no Makoto. Arson has always been a serious crime in Japan, and the punishment throughout most of history has typically been execution. Yoshio was able to convince the minister on the right, udajin Fujiwara no Yoshimi, that Makoto was behind the arson. As a result, Yoshimi attempted to get the counsellor Fujiwara no Mototsune to arrest Makoto. However, instead of making the arrest, Mototsune informed his father, the Daijō Daijin, Fujiwara no Yoshifusa, of the situation. Yoshifusa was unconvinced that Makoto could do such a heinous crime and called for the emperor in an attempt to vouch for Makoto's innocence and straighten out the matter at hand. As a result, Makoto was left unpunished and a consolation was sent to him. It wasn't until the eight month of that year, that the burning of Ōtenmon gate was attributed to Tomo no Yoshio and his allies due to a report made by Ōyake no Takatori. A thorough investigation was carried out and on the twenty-second day of the ninth month, Tomo no Yoshio was exiled to

Izu Province was a province of Japan in the area of Shizuoka Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Izu''" in . Izu bordered on Sagami and Suruga Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . The mainland portion of Izu Province, comprising the ...

. This story appears to have been passed down through story telling for many generations, becoming widely known. The historical account can be found in '' Sandai Jitsuroku''.

Cultural references

“The story of a cook who saw the ghost of counsellor Tomo” is the eleventh story of the twenty-seventh volume of ''

Konjaku Monogatarishū , also known as the , is a Japanese collection of over one thousand tales written during the late Heian period (794–1185). The entire collection was originally contained in 31 volumes, of which 28 remain today. The volumes cover various tales fr ...

''. In the story, Ban no Yoshio appears in front of a cook after a late night of work and describes himself as a god of pestilence and disease. He goes on to relay his life's story, admitting that he committed a serious crime. Although the crime is not detailed there, it clearly refers to the burning of Ōtenmon gate and his exile to Izu as punishment. The story portrays Ban no Yoshio's knowledge of the seriousness of his act and the justice of his punishment. He pronounces his debt, owed to the country for being so well treated during his service at court, and goes on to describe his hand in turning an epidemic that would kill all into a mere cough; which suggests some form of reciprocity. {{DEFAULTSORT:Yoshio, Tomo No Japanese mythology