Kyoto, like most places, has local legends..........................of a soul of a prince which caused an outbreak of small pox..........


Prince Shōtoku Taishi
First Great Patron of Buddhism in Japan
Imperial Regent of Japan in Early 7th Century聖徳 = Divine Virtue; 太子 = Taishi = Crown Prince or Statesman

INTRODUCTION. Buddhism originated in India around 500 BC and swept across Asia in just 1000 years. It came last to Japan, crossing the sea in the mid 6th century, first from Korea and then later from China. Buddhism was greeted with some resistance in Japan (see Early Japanese Buddhism), but by + 585 it was recognized by Emperor Yōmei 用明 (reigned + 585-587) and thereafter spread fast under the patronage of his second son, Shōtoku Taishi 聖徳太子 (+ 574-622).

Tradition holds that Emperor Yōmei (also spelled Yomei, Youmei) once experienced a serious illness, but the young Shōtoku, impressed by the new Buddhist faith, prayed day and night by his father’s side. Emperor Yōmei recovered and converted to Buddhism.

In the years thereafter, Shōtoku renounced any claim to the throne and pledged to devote his life to public duty. For the next three decades -- during the reign of his aunt Empress Suiko 推古 (reigned + 592 to 628), a member of the powerful Soga 蘇我 clan -- he served as prince regent and the foremost proponent of the new Buddhist teachings. Many statues and paintings of the prince were created in the centuries after his death.

Legends about Prince Shōtoku are riddled with folklore -- many miraculous tales were created in the coming centuries. Although most contain some element of truth, others have been debunked by modern researchers. According to one legend from the eighth-century Nihon Shoki (one of Japan's oldest texts, complied in the early eighth century), his virgin mother bore him "unexpectedly" while on her routine inspection of the imperial horse stables. A common medieval depiction of the prince shows him at age two with palms together praying to Buddha. This form is known as Namubutsu Taishi (Mantra-Chanting Taishi). <Sources > Some Japanese and foreign scholars claim that Shōtoku legends are fabricated. New Japanese high-school textbooks to be issued in 2014 are throwing into question the existence of Prince Shōtoku. See Asahi Shimbun article, March 27, 2013.