Who Is The Steward of Kumano (Benshō) (Kumano Bettō)?
Benkei's father
Benshō, Steward (Bettō) of Kumano
The Steward of Kumano (Kumano Bettō) is the title of the high-ranking monk who oversaw the three great shrines of Kumano (Kumano Sanzan). In the Gikeiki, the steward named Benshō appears as the father of Musashibō Benkei.
He carries off the daughter of a Second Rank Major Counselor from the capital who has come on a pilgrimage to Kumano, and makes her his wife. Because their child is born with a full head of hair and a full set of teeth, he fears it is the child of a demon and orders it killed. Instead, the steward's sister takes the baby and raises him in Kyoto, naming him Oniwaka. This child grows up to be Benkei.
There are other accounts of who Benkei's father was, and in Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture, there are places said to be connected with Benkei.
