Stories of the Japanese 00304 [Mid-Heian Period] The Tengyo Rebellion and the Legend of Kikyo no Mae

Although Masakado died, his popularity in the Kanto region did not wane thereafter. People who admired Masakado have passed down various legends to the present day.
Although it is clearly an episode created in later generations, I will introduce the story of a woman named Kikyo no Mae here.
Masakado had a beautiful mistress named Kikyo no Mae. It is said that she came to be called by this name because she lived in a mansion where bellflowers (kikyo) bloomed in profusion.
After Masakado's rebellion broke out, Fujiwara no Hidesato cornered Masakado many times, but he always let him escape at the very last moment. This was because Masakado had seven body doubles, and while Hidesato was trying to determine which one was the real one, Masakado would vanish like a phantom.
Therefore, Hidesato successfully seduced Kikyo no Mae to his side and found out how to distinguish the body doubles. According to Kikyo no Mae,
"The body doubles are nothing more than straw dolls. Observe Lord Masakado as he bathes on a winter morning; the one who breathes out white mist is the real one."
she said.
It is nonsensical that seven straw dolls could be used as body doubles, but one has no choice but to interpret that Masakado was a master of illusion.
Hidesato killed Masakado using the method he was taught. It is said that after that, due to Masakado's grudge, bellflowers stopped blooming in that entire area.
In Hibiri, Abiko City, Chiba Prefecture, there remains a Kohoku folk song that goes:
"In Kohoku Hibiri, bellflowers do not bloom. Bellflowers are futile flowers, false flowers. They were the cause of Lord Masakado's death."
This song remains.
On the other hand, in Yomenoi, Toride City, Ibaraki Prefecture, there is a legend that "Kikyo no Mae, having been used, was killed by Hidesato." In addition to the place name "Kikyogahara" remaining, a stone monument called the Kikyo Mound also remains at the place where Kikyo no Mae is said to have been killed.
In regions that admire Masakado, cucumbers are also avoided in addition to bellflowers. It is said that this is because there is a legend that "Masakado was killed when his horse's legs were caught in cucumber vines," or because the cross-section of a cucumber resembles the nine-star crest (kuyo-mon) that Masakado used, and it is considered disrespectful to eat them.
The fact that such legends and customs have remained for many years suggests that Masakado was deeply loved by the local people.