Hayataro, the loyal hound of Kōzen-ji. Seven hundred years ago, an Akita breed mountain dog came to Kozen-ji temple. The head priest looked on as the dog gave birth to three puppies. The priest cared for the dogs, allowing the mother to rest and recover. After the mother had fully healed she took two of her three pups and returned to the mountains, leaving one pup as thanks to the priest. The priest dutifully raised the dog with tender care, but when a child in a nearby village was attacked by a feral beast the dog leapt in and saved the child, earning him the name Hayatarō. However in the neighboring Tōtōmi province, trouble brewed. Three giant monkey gods had commandeered the village and forced its residents to provide their children for an annual sacrifice. A wandering Monk happened upon the village and learned of this custom and the villagers plight, disturbing the monk. The Monk eavesdropped on the Monkey gods and overheard their truths. The Monkeys weren’t gods at all, but demonic Yokai who feared Hayataro. The Monk hurried to Kozen-ji and asked the priest to lend Hayataro and save the village. The priest agreed and sent Hayataro with the Monk, who later hid him in the box used for sacrifices. Once the yokai came to retrieve their tribute, Hayataro sprung into action. Throughout the night the sounds of the great battle roared across the village, but when the sun rose the victims saw the dead bodies of their tormentors, three dead yokai. And a few days later, the priest watched as Hayataro returned to their temple. But Hayataro was mortally wounded during the fight, with not much energy left Hayataro passed away in his master’s arms. The priest buried him within the shrine, dedicating the temple and his grave to his brave pup.
The name Hayataro means “fast and brave”. Kōzen-ji temple states that originally they held extensive records of the temple’s history, including the historicity of the Hayataro myth. However these records were allegedly destroyed during the Sengoku period from the conflict between Oda Nobutada and Takeda Katsuyori. Hayataro is referred to as Shippeitaro in the surrounding area of Totomi province, the name translates to “swift wind taro”. However the stories circulated outside of Kozen-ji differ, according to the Yanahime shrine Shippeitaro was born there instead, sometimes the Monkey demons are Tanuki, and in other myths Shippeitaro survives his battle with the demonic spirits. The myth of Shippeitaro was introduced to the wider world in the form of a fairytale gathered by Andrew Lang, one notable deviation in his account was the change of Monkey demons to cat demons, but the rest of the plot stays the same. Hayataro was referred to by many other names such as Suppeitaro, Shipputaro, Heibotaro, Hayatetaro, and Yazaemon. The myth itself is apart of a dragon slayer archetype of stories, likely being influenced by Susanoo’s battle against Orochi which in turn was descended from the many Okikurumi myths from the Ainu. Hayataro’s likeness to the dragon slayer archetype has connected him with many other religious events like Saint George’s fight against the dragon and even Baal’s battle against Yam.
