Oguri Hangan (小栗判官) (role 1398 – 1464)
Sōtan (his name as a Buddhist monk)Oguri no Sukeshige (小栗助重)
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Biography:
There are many different stories about this man. He was said to own a horse, Onikage, that reputedly ate human flesh, and that would stand with all four hooves balanced on a go board.
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Hangan and his betrothed Terute-hime are often associated with Fujisawa on the Tōkaidō road because they are both buried there at the Fujisawa temple.
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"[He]... was the son of Mitsushige, lord of Oguri (Hitachi), who had been dispossessed by Ashikaga Mochiuji. Oguri Hangwan was the hero of many extraordinary adventures. One day (1426), some thieves had resolved to intoxicate him with sake, and murder him during the night; but Teruta-hime revealed the plot which she had discovered and he jumped on a wild horse and fled to Fujiwara (Sagami). Another time, his enemies poisoned his bath and so he contracted leprosy; thereupon, Teruta-hime transported him in a little carriage, which she drove herself to Kamakura to the hot springs of Yu no mine, and a week sufficed to restore his health and strength. Later on, he became a bonze in the temple of Sōkoku-ji (Kyōto) and took the name of Sōtan. He studied painting under Shūbun and became one of the greatest artists of his time." Quoted from: Historical and Geographical Dictionary of Japan by E. Papinot, p. 475.