The elderly tanuki leader in Pom Poko is Oshō, also identified as Abbot Tsurukame. He is the respected senior male of the Tama Hills tanuki community.
Oshō serves as a spiritual adviser and elder statesman while the tanuki struggle against the New Tama housing development, which is destroying their forest. His age, knowledge of traditional stories, and transformation abilities make him one of the community’s most authoritative figures.
A common mix-up is confusing Oshō with Oroku, the elderly female tanuki and another major leader. Gonta is the hot-headed commander of one faction, while Seizaemon leads a rival group before the tanuki unite. Shoukichi is a younger tanuki who favors adapting to human society.
The title “Oshō” means a Buddhist priest or abbot, so some character lists give his fuller name as Tsurukame Oshō. The stored answer is the canonical name used for him in English-language references.