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was, according to legend, a Japanese hunter and the first ''
Another manuscript with a similar title, , splits the character of Banji Banzaburō into the elder and the younger — two brothers who lived on the overlooking Futakuchi Canyon in Mutsu Province. One night, a heavily pregnant woman appeared at the door of Banji's cabin. Banji took her in cared for her. She said that she had asked for shelter at Banzaburō's cabin, but he had harshly turned her away in accordance with the code of the ''matagi'', which considered childbirth unclean. Banji respected Banzaburō's dedication to the code, but felt that he had also done the right thing in showing kindness.
The next morning, the woman safely delivered her baby. In thanks, she taught Banji a hunters' prayer — to say "Banji" three times when entering the mountains for a good catch of game. Then the woman revealed that she was a and disappeared. Thereafter, Banji always had more success on his hunts than did Banzaburō.
Some versions of this story have the mysterious woman received by Banji Banzaburō himself. Banji, who is said to have ruled the land around the Banji-iwa as either the lord of a manorial estate or as a , is said to have cooperated with
matagi
The are traditional winter hunters of the Tōhoku region of northern Japan, most famously today in the Ani area in Akita Prefecture, which is known for the Akita dogs. Afterwards, they spread to the Shirakami-Sanchi forest between Akita and ...
''.
Banji Banzaburō
The story of Banji Banzaburō is primarily known from the , a scroll written in 1193 and preserved in Ani village. During the reign ofEmperor Seiwa
was the 56th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 清和天皇 (56)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession.
Seiwa's reign spanned the years from 858 through 876.
Traditional narrative
Seiwa was the fourth ...
(858–876), the ''gongen
A , literally "incarnation", was believed to be the manifestation of a buddha in the form of an indigenous kami, an entity who had come to guide the people to salvation, during the era of shinbutsu-shūgō in premodern Japan.Encyclopedia of Shin ...
'' of was clashing fiercely with the spirit of Mt. Akagi
is a stratovolcano in Gunma Prefecture, Japan.
The broad, low dominantly andesite, andesitic stratovolcano rises above the northern end of the Kanto Plain. It contains an elliptical, summit caldera with post-caldera lava domes arranged along ...
which had taken the shape of a monstrous giant snake
Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...
or centipede
Centipedes (from Neo-Latin , "hundred", and Latin , "foot") are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda (Ancient Greek , ''kheilos'', "lip", and Neo-Latin suffix , "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphylum Myriapoda, ...
. Losing the battle, the ''gongen'' of Mt. Nikko disguised itself as a white deer
A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...
and fled, seeking the aid of a master of archery
Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...
named Banji Banzaburō who lived at the base of the mountain. Taking up his bow, Banji slew the spirit of Mt. Akagi with only two arrows.
In gratitude, the ''gongen'' of Mt. Nikko gave Banji a , authorizing him to "hunt beasts on any mountain in Japan".
Thereafter, Banji moved north to Dewa Province
was a province of Japan comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka. Dewa bordered on Mutsu and Echigō Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was .
History
Early per ...
, where he found plentiful animals to hunt. He finally settled in the vicinity of what is today Ani village. Because of this, the , especially those from the nearby villages of , , and , are said to be direct descendants of Banji.
Banji and Banzaburō
Another manuscript with a similar title, , splits the character of Banji Banzaburō into the elder and the younger — two brothers who lived on the overlooking Futakuchi Canyon in Mutsu Province. One night, a heavily pregnant woman appeared at the door of Banji's cabin. Banji took her in cared for her. She said that she had asked for shelter at Banzaburō's cabin, but he had harshly turned her away in accordance with the code of the ''matagi'', which considered childbirth unclean. Banji respected Banzaburō's dedication to the code, but felt that he had also done the right thing in showing kindness.
The next morning, the woman safely delivered her baby. In thanks, she taught Banji a hunters' prayer — to say "Banji" three times when entering the mountains for a good catch of game. Then the woman revealed that she was a and disappeared. Thereafter, Banji always had more success on his hunts than did Banzaburō.
Some versions of this story have the mysterious woman received by Banji Banzaburō himself. Banji, who is said to have ruled the land around the Banji-iwa as either the lord of a manorial estate or as a , is said to have cooperated with Ennin
, better known in Japan by his posthumous name, Jikaku Daishi (), was a priest of the Tendai school of Buddhism in Japan, and its third .
Ennin was instrumental in expanding the Tendai Order's influence, and bringing back crucial training and ...
to found the Risshaku-ji
: ''You may also be looking for the voice actor Kōichi Yamadera.''
(山号 宝珠山; ''Sangō Hōshu-zan'') is the popular name for the Buddhist temple of located northeast of Yamagata, in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. Its main image is a ' ...
.
Yanagita Kunio
was a Japanese author, scholar, and folklorist. He began his career as a bureaucrat, but developed an interest in rural Japan and its folk traditions. This led to a change in his career. His pursuit of this led to his eventual establishment of J ...
suggested that the name "Banji" was actually a corruption of .
See also
*Fujiwara no Hidesato
was a Japanese aristocrat, courtier, folk hero and samurai lord of the tenth century in the Heian period. He is famous for his military exploits and courage, and is regarded as the common ancestor of numerous clans, including the Ōshū branch ...
, credited in the ''Tawara Tōda Monogatari
is a Japanese heroic tale recounting the legendary exploits of Fujiwara no Hidesato. It is part of the ''otogi-zōshi'' genre of tales dating to the Edo Period or earlier. Some of the fabulous accounts are also told in the military pseudo-ch ...
'' with slaying a giant centipede
Further reading
*References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banji, Banzaburo 9th-century Japanese people Mythological hunters Japanese hunters Legendary Japanese people People of the Heian period Japanese folklore