The Tengu of Mount Kurama
On a forested mountain north of Kyoto, legend says a tengu king taught a young warrior the art of the sword.
What was reported
In Japanese folklore, tengu are mountain spirits, first imagined as bird-like and later as red-faced, long-nosed beings in the robes of mountain monks. They could be dangerous tricksters or protectors of the mountains and forests.
The most famous tengu, Sōjōbō, is said to live on Mount Kurama near Kyoto. Legend tells that he trained the young Minamoto no Yoshitsune, who became one of Japan's greatest warriors, in swordsmanship deep in the forest.
Explanations offered
Tengu are figures of folklore, linked to the ascetic monks who trained in Japan's mountains. Mount Kurama remains a place of pilgrimage, and tengu masks are a common sight at festivals.
- When
- Told for centuries
- Where
- Mount Kurama, north of Kyoto, Japan
- Witnesses
- Japanese tradition
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.