Origin: Japan
Classification: Tengu
Sojobo is the King of the Tengu. His abode is Mount Kurama, birthplace of reiki healing, north of Kyoto. Sojobo is especially famous because of his tutelage of the hero Yoshitsune of Minamoto. Yoshitsune’s life was spared by rival clan leader Kiyomori of Taira following the Heiji rebellion of 1159 on the condition that he become a Buddhist priest at Kuramadera Temple in the mountains north of Kyoto. This condition was met, resulting in Yoshitsune’s encounter with Sojobo, in residence nearby.
Sojobo took Yoshitsune under his wing, teaching him martial arts including swordsmanship, and tactical and military strategies as well as magical skills. Yoshitsune fulfilled his priestly duties during the day but spent his nights engaged in practice bouts with Sojobo and his tengu friends. Yoshitsune’s exile had been intended to weakenhim and the Minamoto clan. Instead, Yoshitsune emerged as one of Japan’s greatest warriors. He attributed his success and skills to Sojobo.
Manifestation: Sojobo has the long nose characteristic of tengu. He is an elderly white-haired yamabushi-tengu (“mountain priest-tengu”) with a long white beard and dark wings.
Iconography: Sojobo is a favored subject of Japanese woodblock prints
Attribute: Seven-feather fan
See also: Tengu