What is the legend of Hachirotaro? Introducing three episodes that even residents of the prefecture don't know much about [Akita Prefecture]

Murasakihime
2022.04.05
Last updated: 2025.04.1

table of contents

1 [Episode 1] Hachirotaro's broken heart
2 [Episode 2] The inn where Hachirotaro stayed
3 [Episode 3] “The Legend of Hachiro Taro” recorded by Masumi Sugae in “Lake Jukuma”
4 summary

In Akita, , the dragon god of Hachirogata , transforms from a human into a dragon, lives in Hachirogata, and marries Princess Tatsuko of Lake Tazawa.The legend of Hachiro Taro remains in many places in Akita.

In this article, we will introduce three stories from among the many legends of Hachiro Taro that even Akita residents are not familiar with.

[Episode 1] Hachirotaro's broken heart

The story of Hachiro Taro marrying Princess Tatsuko of Lake Tazawa is well known, but it is not well known that he was in love with another woman before that.

The Goddess of Ichinomegata and Hachirotaro

However, in the legend of Hachirotaro, Hachirotaro settles in Hachirogata, and as a result, Hachirogata would freeze in the winter, he searched for a lake that would not freeze, and he began to look after Ichinomegata, located in Kitaura, Oga, and the goddess who live there

The goddess of Ichinomegata was troubled and asked Takeuchi Yagorō Masayasu, a master archer from Kyoto, to drive Hachirotaro away.

Masayasu asked the goddess where he should aim to drive Hachirotaro away, and the goddess replied that Hachirotaro would appear riding on a black cloud from the top of Mt. Kanpū, so he should shoot an arrow at that point. .

Masayasu prepared his ancestral bow and arrows, hid himself in a Mikasa pine tree on the banks of Ichinome Lagoon, waited for Hachirotaro to appear, and fired his arrows just as the black clouds appeared.

The arrow hits Hachirotaro, so he pulls it out of his body and throws it back at Shinyasu, saying, ``This grudge will make all seven generations of my descendants have one eye.''

The arrow hit Masayasu's left eye, and it is said that his left eye was disabled from then on until his seventh generation of descendants.

After this, Hachirotaro gave up on the goddess of Ichinome-gata and started going to Tatsuko-hime at Lake Tazawa, but all the carp living in Ichinome-gata became one-eyed.

Not only does Hachirotaro lose his heart, but he is also forced to give up on Ichinomegata, where he thought he could live in the winter, so it's a bit of a pitiful development, but from the perspective of the goddess of Ichinomegata, she's courting him for a place to live. Since it looks like it has a broken shape, it can be said that it is the result of dividing pain.

[Episode 2] The inn where Hachirotaro stayed

In the legend of Hachiro Taro, there is a story about the inn where Hachiro Taro stayed when commuting to Ichinomegata and Lake Tazawa.

Illustration of the accommodation where Hachirotaro stayed

the one thing that all the legends have in common is the ``taboo of not looking.'' That's true.

``Taboo not to watch'' is a story where people are forbidden to watch someone doing something, but because they violate it, they end up facing tragic consequences and horrible consequences. It can also be found in many Japanese myths and folk tales.

In the legend of Hachiro Taro, Hachiro Taro stays overnight in the form of a monk and reminds people not to look into his room, but a person in the house accidentally sees Hachiro Taro sleeping, and from then on, Hachiro Taro Not only will Taro no longer come to stay, but other guests will no longer come, and the inn will become obsolete.

[Episode 3] “The Legend of Hachiro Taro” recorded by Masumi Sugae in “Lake Jukuma”

Sugae Masumi, a traveler and naturalist from the late Edo period, wrote about the area around Lake Towada in August 1807 , stayed at Lezan Mine, where he listened to the story of Minamisobo and Hachirotaro at his leisure.

Regarding the legend of Hachirotaro, Hachirotaro, who was a matagi, entered Mt. Okuse with his friends, and after eating as much char as his friends, he became thirsty, drank water until he felt thirsty, and lost his human form. There is a story left in Tokuma Lake where he asked his friends to hand over the minogasa he was wearing to his parents and compatriots.

``Towada no Umi'' is included in Akita Series Bessatsu 1, so if you want to read the original text, please take a look at the National Diet Digital Collection.

Reference: Cultural Heritage Online “Lake Tokuma”

Reference: National Diet Library Digital Collection “Akita Series Special Collection No. 1”

summary

In the Hachiro Taro legend, the story of Hachiro Taro taking the form of a dragon, becoming the lord of Hachiro Lagoon, and marrying Princess Tatsuko is famous, but it turns out that there are many interesting episodes in other legends passed down in Akita Prefecture. I did.