Local legends about Minamoto-no Yoritomo in the system of Japanese folk tales

The article is devoted to the folklore cycle about the life of Minamoto-no Yoritomo from the Izu Peninsula. It is worth noting that folk legends hold a special place in Japan's narrative folklore, and alongside another genre - legends - are traditionally denoted by a single term densetsu. The works of this genre devote much attention to historical events and real historical figures of both national and local scale. This led to the appearance of a large number of popular narratives associated with heroes, cultural achievements, and natural objects of a small territory, i.e. “native” village or “native” area. One of these areas was the Izu Peninsula, where Minamoto-no Yoritomo (1147-1199), the future ruler of medieval Japan, an outstanding political and military leader, lived in exile for many years in his young age. Local legends of the Izu Peninsula have particular importance. The cycle of texts selected for analysis is unique, as it is the only folk cycle about Minamoto-no Yoritomo that exists in the Japanese narrative tradition. In addition, the legends of Izu give the opportunity to realize the true perception of this hero among the people, and to compare the ideas and notions of Yoritomo in Japanese history and folklore. “Imposing” the image of Yoritomo on local toponymic legends, which have acquired a historical dimension, seems obvious and to some degree artificial. This contributed to their “authenticity”, as a story about an unusual event or incident turned out to be associated with the real toponyms of Izu, and later with the deeds of Yoritomo, who was believed to have created many natural objects, such as stones, rocks, and springs. These objects received “individual names” according to Yoritomo's deeds, and became a kind of “folk history” about his life on Izu. Some legends tell about Yoritomo being involved in giving certain unusual features and qualities to natural objects. Thus, the folk cycle of the Izu Peninsula has created an image of Yorimoto that is distinct from his historical image. In the folklore of Izu, Yoritomo acquired pronounced features of a mythological cultural hero and creator. In some cases, he was even deified.

folk legends, the Izu Peninsula, Minamoto-no Yoritomo, individual names of stones and springs

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