The Long Arm and the Long Leg of it...
I first came across Ashinaga and Tenaga sitting upon a bridge in one of my favourite towns in Japan – Takayama. The two bronze statues are each perched on either
side of the bridge facing one another. I was curious, as you could imagine, and dug a little deeper about their meaning. The legends vary. Here are some I found in my research.
Ashinaga-Tenaga are a pair of Yōkai found in ancient Japanese folklore in many areas across Japan. Yōkai are types of Japanese demons and monsters with many of them adapted still today in modern stories and films. Whilst Ashinaga-Tenaga stories are not as well-known, they are one of the stranger, more curious of the yokai.
These two so-called ‘giants’ have very unique qualities (or in this case, extremities) that enables them to work together as one unit. Ashinaga has extremely long legs disproportionate to the rest of his body, while Tenaga has extremely long arms in much the same way.
Tales From Ōshima
In Ōshima, the stories about Ashinaga-Tenaga depicted them as the first inhabitants of the Echizen Province, and that they used their supernatural ways to be fishermen of the ocean. To combat the size of the seas and reach fish out in the deep, Tenaga would climb onto Ashinaga’s back, and with his long legs, Ashinaga would wade out into the ocean keeping well above the waterline, while Tenaga used his freakishly longs arms to reach down and scoop fish out of the water.
Akita Legend
In Akita, it is believed that Ashinaga and Tenaga resided upon Mount Chōkai, hunting travellers and ships that came into the Sea of Japan. The god of Mount Chōkai, Ōmonoimi no kami, who had had enough of this monstrous duo, stepped in to help, and released a three-legged crow that would warn the travellers when the Yōkai were on the mountain and when they were absent. However, despite this great effort, Ashinaga-Tenaga continued to wreak havoc on the ships and villagers.
It wasn’t until a monk by the name of Jikaku Daishi built a statue of Buddha at Fukura Shrine (now called Chōkaisan Ōmonoimi Shrine) and prayed for 100 days, that the villagers finally had peace. As the monk prayed, the heavens opened and a red beam shone from the great Buddha statue’s eyes, blasting a chunk out of the top of Mount Chōkai where the two Yōkai lay (which is the myth behind how Mount Chokai can still be seen today with a chunk missing from its peak).
Jikaku Daishu then spread Tabunoki seeds around for them to eat and the trees that blossomed from those seeds still grace the area around Misaki today.
Fukushima Fables
In Fukushima, Ashinaga and Tenaga were said to inhabit the top of the ancient Mount Byōnōzan (later named Bandai) where they collected all the clouds, causing torrential rain to flood the lands. A monk once again, this time Kobo Daishi, heard of this and tricked the Yōkai into a box where they remained banished at the shrine Bandai Myōjin.
Sightings Beware
It is said that any sighting of the real Ashinaga and Tenaga will bring bad weather. A fisherman once saw a figure in the ocean with extremely long legs. Shortly after this sighting, a huge storm came down and he learnt of the bad luck this sighting brought.
Some say that Ashinaga-Tenaga were anthropomorphic, perhaps because of their monkey-like limbs, while others say they came from two different countries, one where people had extremely long arms, and the other where people had extremely long legs. Depictions of this duo will often be seen in bronze statues or illustration work, with the noticeable common theme of crazy hairdos, and sometimes using their super-human strengths to carry large objects.
If you get a chance to check these guys out, make sure you do. Their quirky energy and representation of combining individual strengths towards a common goal is sure to make you smile and wonder…. Why didn’t they open a fish market?
If you want to check out the bronze statues of Tenaga-Ashinaga in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, check out this link! -
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