A story about Eiyo Gongen.

The plants are sprouting.

The buds of the plants are beginning to sprout, the cold is easing, and it is that time of year when you can truly feel that spring is approaching.

However, it seems that there are still some people who are not distracted by the spring atmosphere and are still attentive and studying diligently.

It would be great if everyone who is working hard to get into the academic school of their choice could achieve the results they desire, but the sad thing about life is that this is not always the case.

If you don't stand out from the crowd, your wishes won't come true. Stand out from the crowd, stand out from the crowd... Tanuki... Raccoon dog... Oops, excuse me.

However, this is not just a pun.

Yes, it's no secret that raccoons have the power to "surpass others."

One of the shrines I visit often is the Tanuki-sama at Ueno Toshogu Shrine in Tokyo.

Today I would like to tell you about a raccoon named Eiyō Gongen.

There is a small shrine called Eiyo Gongensha next to the main shrine of Ueno Toshogu Shrine, and Eiyo Gongen is enshrined there.

He is said to have originally been the leader of the 808 tanuki in Shikoku, and was probably dedicated to the Ooku by the Hachisuka family during the Edo period, but he is said to have wreaked havoc even within the Ooku, bringing about disaster.

She was later banished from the Ooku, but it is said that she brought misfortune wherever she went, and even drove the hatamoto families of daimyo families to the point of extinction.

However, in the Taisho era, it was enshrined in Ueno Toshogu Shrine, and finally ceased to bring about disasters.

Nowadays, as mentioned earlier, Tanuki-sama, who means "outdoing others," is believed to outdo others and bring about victory, and is believed to bring blessings in competitions, prosperity in business, passing exams, and so on.

Even so, it is an almost too-good-to-be-true story that Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was mocked as a "daddy raccoon dog" for outdoing others, was enshrined at Ueno Toshogu Shrine, where he is enshrined, as a god of the raccoon dog with the power to outdo others.

Now, when I introduced Eiiyo Gongen I said that he was "originally the leader of the 808 raccoon dogs in Shikoku."

Those of you who are familiar with the subject may have guessed that it is Inugami Gyoubu.

In fact, some people believe that this Eiyo Gongen was actually the same raccoon dog as Inugami Gyobu.

However, in reality, there are large tanuki all over Shikoku who claim to be the leaders of the Shikoku tanuki, so the truth is unknown.

It may be beyond our ability to grasp the tail of Eiyo Gongen, who is worshiped by people as they look up at the ceiling in the small shrine next to the main shrine, surrounded by the lush branches and leaves of Okusu, the sacred tree said to be the ancestor of Ueno.

If you are interested this time, please be careful not to pry too much and cause the raccoon dog to be in a bad mood.

After all, even though he may be docile now, originally he was an evil raccoon dog unlike any other in the world...

...Well, that's all for today.

See you again soon.