Hello everyone,
I am Yasuhiko Takano, Director of the Toyama Prefectural Tateyama Museum.The sacred mountain Tateyama is believed to have been opened as a Buddhist mountain, a story that has been handed down as the Legend of the Founding of Tateyama. In this installment, I would like to introduce the essence of this legend as recorded in the Edo-period text Tateyama Ryaku Engi (Sōshinbō manuscript of Ashikuraji).

Chasing the Hawk

In 701 (the first year of the Taihō era), Saeki Ariwaka, acting under the orders of Emperor Monmu, was appointed provincial governor of Etchū Province. He established his residence at Fuse Castle along the Fuse River.

The following year, Ariwaka’s son Arayori took his father’s treasured white hawk and went out hunting. During the hunt, however, he lost the hawk. Enraged by the news, Ariwaka scolded his son harshly. Hoping to atone for his mistake, Arayori set out alone in search of the missing hawk.

When he finally found it and rang a bell to call it back, a bear suddenly appeared and frightened the hawk, causing it to fly away once more. As the bear then charged at him, Arayori shot an arrow, striking the bear in the chest.

Chasing the Bear

The bear did not die. With the arrow still lodged in its body and blood flowing, it fled into the mountains. The white hawk also flew off in the same direction. Following the trail of blood, Arayori pursued the bear.

Along the way, an old man appeared to him in a dream and told him that the bear had entered the mountains of Tateyama. Venturing deep into the mountains, Arayori eventually saw both the bear and the hawk disappear into a cave known as Tamadenokutsu.

Inside the cave, Arayori encountered a golden image of Amida Buddha, accompanied by Fudō Myōō. To his astonishment, the arrow he had shot was embedded in the chest of Amida Buddha, from which blood was flowing. The bear was in fact Amida Buddha, and the white hawk was Fudō Myōō. Amida Buddha had been guiding Arayori in order to have Tateyama opened as a sacred mountain.Overcome with guilt at having wounded the Buddha, Arayori attempted to take his own life. At that moment, Yakusei Sennin, an immortal sage, appeared and stopped him. Arayori then renounced the secular world, took the Buddhist name Jikō, and devoted himself to rigorous ascetic practice. He opened mountain paths, built halls and lodgings, and established Tateyama as a Buddhist sacred mountain.

The Changing Forms of the Founding Legend

In Edo-period versions of the founding legend, the young Saeki Arayori appears as the founder of Tateyama. However, earlier sources tell different stories.

In one of the oldest texts, the Iroha Jiruishō (ten-volume edition), the section titled The Original Account of the Manifestation of Tateyama Great Bodhisattva names Saeki Ariwaka, Arayori’s father, as the founder.
In the Kamakura-period collection Ruijū Kigen Shō, in an entry on the Tateyama Gongen of Etchū Province, an unnamed hunter shoots a bear that transforms into Amida Buddha—making the founder a nameless hunter. This is likely the most primitive form of the legend.Later, in the Edo-period encyclopedia Wakan Sansai Zue, the founder is identified as Saeki Arayori.
In this way, the founding legend appears to have evolved from a simple tale of a hunter, to one incorporating Saeki Ariwaka, who served as governor of Etchū in the early 10th century, and finally to the completed parent–child narrative centered on Arayori.

A Two-Part Legend: Chasing the Hawk and the Bear

The simple motif of a hunter pursuing a bear closely resembles the founding legends of Kumano Gongen. In the Sangoku Denki, the story of Kumano Gongen recounts how a hunter named Chikakane shot a bear, followed its blood trail, and encountered a golden Amida Buddha in a cave—an episode marking the beginning of Kumano faith.

Similar legends that feature hunters as founders can be found at other sacred mountains, including Mount Kōya, Mount Daisen in Hōki Province, and Mount Hikosan.

What distinguishes the Tateyama founding legend, however, is its two-part structure: first the pursuit of the hawk, followed by the pursuit of the bear. This distinctive composition may provide an important clue for understanding forms of Tateyama faith that predate its opening as a Buddhist mountain.

In the next installment, we will explore stories of Tateyama Hell as they appear in Heian-period Buddhist tales. I hope you will continue to follow this series.Written by Yasuhiko Takano
Director, Toyama Prefectural Tateyama Museum

Editorial Note

At the Toyama Prefectural Tateyama Museum, the story of Saeki Arayori is presented in detail through digital signage. The museum also features a full-scale diorama of Tamadenokutsu Cave, allowing visitors to experience the legendary encounter with Amida Buddha. We invite you to explore the world of the Tateyama founding legend firsthand.

＃https://www.yamanohi.net
＃Toyama Prefectural Tateyama Museum
＃Mountain Faith
＃Mt Tateyama 
# Falconry
# Amida Buddha
＃ Fudō Myōō