大太郎法師
だいだらぼっち

Translation: giant priest
Alternate names: daidarabō, daidabō, daidara hōshi, daitarōbō, deidarabotchi, dairanbō, dendenbome, reirabotchi, ōki bochabocha
Habitat: mountains all over Japan
Diet: omnivorous

Appearance: Daidarabotchi are colossal humanoids which resemble bald-headed priests. They have big, rolling eyes, long, lolling tongues, and pitch black skin. They share a lot of similarities with other giants, like ōnyūdō and umi bōzu, but they are by far the largest giants found in yōkai folklore.

Behavior: Daidarabotchi are so large that their movements shape the world. They build mountains by piling up rocks and dirt. They even pick up and move mountains to other places. When they walk, they leave lakes and valleys behind in their footprints. Because of this, many places across Japan are believed to have been made by daidarabotchi. Some are even named after them.

Origin: Because daidarabotchi legends are found all over Japan, they have countless local name variations.

Legends: Mount Fuji is sometimes said to have been made by a daidarabotchi. The giant scooped and dug up all of the dirt in Kai Province (Yamanashi Prefecture) to make the mountain, and that is why the area around Mount Fuji is a large basin. He gathered more dirt for the mountain by digging in Omi Province (Shiga Prefecture), and the area he dug became Lake Biwa.

The towns of Daita in Setagaya ward of Tōkyō and Daitakubo in Saitama are named after daidarabotchi. These towns are said to have been created by daidarabotchi.

Daizahōshi Pond in Nagano Prefecture is named after a daidarabotchi, and is believed to have been created by one. Senba Lake in Ibaraki Prefecture is also said to fill the footprint of a particularly large daidarabotchi.

The Takabocchi Plateau in Nagano’s Yatsugatake quasi-national park is said to have been formed when a daidarabotchi lay down to rest his back for a bit.