Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternative names: The Golden Ox, Bekoko, Kin-ushi
Category: Cow
The Myth
The Kin-ushi is a golden ox associated with the gold-mining regions of Tōhoku. It appears as a golden lump of gold in the shape of an ox and is connected with the discovery and sudden collapse of a gold mine.
Long ago, in the village of Otomo in Tōno, a wealthy man employed an eccentric servant who spent his free time digging the earth with a hoe, claiming that he was searching for potatoes. One New Year’s Eve, the servant discovered gold in a valley called Hiseki.
The discovery made him wealthy, and he became known as Komatsu-dono. He employed many miners and began working the site as a gold mine. For the next one or two years, however, almost no gold was found, and people mocked Komatsu-dono for returning to his old habit of digging for potatoes.
He continued the mining despite the ridicule. On New Year’s Eve of the third year, the miners finally uncovered a piece of gold in the shape of an ox. Komatsu-dono was delighted and held a great banquet that lasted through the night.
On New Year’s Day, he held a ceremony to celebrate the opening of the mine. A brocade rein was fastened to the horns of the golden ox, and the miners attempted to pull it from the mine while singing that they wanted to pull the golden ox themselves.
The ox would not move. When the miners pulled harder, its horns broke away. They then fastened the rope around its neck and tried again. After the golden ox appeared to move several steps, the mine suddenly collapsed with a tremendous crash, killing seventy-five miners.
Among the miners was a cook known as Usotoki. He was an honest and dutiful man who cared for his blind elderly mother. He was also known for sharing grains of spilled rice with crows, although the miners mocked him for his simple and kind nature.
When the golden ox was being brought out of the mine, Usotoki entered the shaft to help pull it. Suddenly he heard someone calling his name near the entrance. He released the rope and ran outside, but found nobody there.
He returned to the mine, only to hear his name called again. Once more he went outside, but there was still nobody there. Puzzled, he entered the mine again.
A third time the voice called out to him, this time more loudly. Usotoki ran toward the entrance as quickly as he could. The moment he stepped outside, the mine shaft collapsed.
Usotoki was the only one among the miners to survive the disaster, saved by the mysterious voice that had repeatedly called his name.
Sources
Takahashi, Toshihiro. “金の牛 (Golden Ox).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). April 22, 2019. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1074400117.html