Atago Mountain Tengu Legend

The Atago tengu tradition centers on Taro-bo, the great tengu of Mount Atago in western Kyoto, counted first among the Eight Great Tengu of Japan and paired with Soshobo of Kurama as the western pillar of Kinki Shugendo. From the medieval period Mount Atago was venerated as the sacred mountain of Atago Gongen, deity of fire prevention. Pilgrims and ascetics carried tales linking Taro-bo with the training of Minamoto no Yoshitsune (parallel with Kurama) and the secluded training of swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. Kurama's Soshobo to the north and Atago's Taro-bo to the west are read as paired sacred peaks bounding Heian-kyo. The medieval tengu picture-scroll Tengu Zoshi (late Kamakura), Zegaibo Emaki, and the war chronicle Taiheiki preserve related material; early-modern Atago-san Engi, Inoue Enryo's Tengu-ron, and Chigiri Kosai's Tengu-ko organized the tradition. Atago Shrine on the summit (924 m) in Saga Atago-cho, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, is the central site, with Tsukinowa-dera in Saga Kiyotaki preserving an associated Tendai-Shugen lineage.