Inugami Gyōbu (隠神刑部) orGyōbu-danuki (刑部狸) is abake-danuki (a monstertanuki) told about in legends passed down inMatsuyama,Iyo Province (nowEhime Prefecture). He is known due to appearing in the "Tale of the Matsuyama Disturbance and the Eight Hundred and Eight Tanuki" (松山騒動八百八狸物語, Matsuyama Sōdō Happyakuya-danuki Monogatari), which is considered one of the big three tanuki tales along with theShojoji no Tanuki-bayashi andBunbuku Chagama.[1]
The "Tale of the Matsuyama Disturbance and the Eight Hundred and Eight Tanuki" was based on the historical record "Iyo Nagusa" (伊予名草) that told of theO-Ie Sōdō, which occurred during theGreat Gyōhō Famine in 1805, and in the Edo period, and according to thekōshaku storyteller Nanryū Tanabe, it was a ghost story that added elements of tanuki and yōkai to it and became known throughkōdan. For this reason, there are several variations depending on which particular kōdan storyteller told it,[2][3] but the story mainly went as follows.
InShikoku, there are many folk tales and legends about tanuki, but the tanuki of Matsuyama in particular has a history of them that goes back to the beginning of history in the ages ofEmperor Tenji, and as a result of tanuki giving birth to tanuki, there were 808 of them. Its leader was Inugami Gyōbu. He lived in an old cave inKumayama, and was a bake-danuki that continued to protect theMatsuyama Castle, and from his household of 808 tanuki, was also called "Eight Hundred and Eight Tanuki (八百八狸, Happyakuya-danuki)."[4] He was said to have the greatest divine power in Shikoku.[5]
The part of his name "Gyōbu"(刑部: lit. penal affairs) was a title awarded by an ancestor of the lords of the Matsuyama Castle, and he received faith from the vassals in the castle, and had a deep connection with the local people.[6] In the era of Matsuyama Oki no Kami (松山隠岐守), the O-Ie Sōdō occurred, and Inugami Gyōbu was used by the rebel side, and he gave commands to his follower tanuki to cause strange occurrences to support the insurrection.
However, in the ghost storyInōmono no Roku, the feudal warrior Inō Budayū (稲生武太夫) punished Inugami Gyōbu with a divine rod that he received fromUsa Hachiman Dai-bosatsu, and as a result, Inugami Gyōbu and the 808 of his household was sealed in Kumayama.[7][8] The cave remains even today in Kutaninagumi (久谷中組), Matsuyama city, and is known as Yamaguchi Reishin (山口霊神).[4][5]
As stated previously, the "Tale of the Matsuyama Disturbance and the Eight Hundred and Eight Tanuki" has several variations, and because Inugami Gyōbu, who was supposed to have been the protector of the castle, supported the O-Ie Sōdō, there are various tales about the particulars of how Inugami Gyōbu was defeated by Budayū.
Just the opposite of Inugami Gyōbu being defeated by Budayuu, there are also stories where Inugami Gyōbu stood with the righteous side, but since he was not able to make a dent to the forces of the rebel side, he called Budayuu for help.[6] There are also other variations, including stories where Budayuu does not play a part.[10]