"Kurama-Tengu" was on the other day. The hero with his white hood gallantly appearing on a horse, beating the villains one by one. The catharsis that later developed into "Gekko-kamen" and "Kamen-rider" is just splendid! Well done! Kurama-Tengu, is of course, fiction. But there existed a model on which the story was based on. As you may know, Kurama is Mt. Kurama, situated on the northern outskirts of Kyoto. There Kurama-Temple guards the northern part of Kyoto. It originated as a Tendai sect temple but came to enshrine an independent religious sect called Kurama-Kokyo.

Generally speaking, the local name of Kurama reminds us of Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune. It was here in Kurama that he, called Ushiwakamaru back then, practiced asceticism. According to the historical narrative, there he met Benkei, the man with superhuman strength. Furthermore, the very person who taught him martial arts and tactics was the Kurama-Tengu. Since such "tengu" was not known as a particular being but a group of beings, such existence may have been some kind of secret organization of that time.

But when we say Tengu in relation with Kurama, it means the principal image of Kurama-temple to which the temple is dedicated. Temples usually enshrine some grateful image like Buddha, but here unlike such knowledge, it enshrines the prince of darkness, a figure diametrically opposing with such merciful figure like the Buddha. This figure, which is rarely open to public, was nothing but a Tengu with a red face covered with white beard, wings on his back and a fan in his hand.

According to the temple's history, the formal name of Kurama-Tengu, the prince of Darkness, was Sanat Kumara. It descended from Venus to Earth in Kurama some 4.5 million years ago, and dominated the earth as the spiritual king. There is a theory that says it he was the king of the underworld empire Shambhala which is depicted in the Holy Book of Tibet Buddhism "Kala Chakura Tantra". Such theory even states that the name Kurama derived from the corrupted form of Kumara from Sanat Kumara.

A story on a grand scale, isn't it. Descending from Venus reminds us of the banished angel Lucifer who appears in Christian theology. The banished angel Lucifer was also known as the morning star who organized a rebellion in the heavens. Lucifer lost to the absolute God and was thrown down onto Earth. There, Lucifer became the prince of Darkness, Satan. The very Devil itself. Could Kurama-Tengu be the great prince of darkness who may have been the banished angel Lucifer? If so, it will certainly fascinate us. Somewhere in Kurama, there may be an entrance to the underground world.

Translated by Rie Ishida