According to an old book written during the Edo period, Gagoze/Gagoji, which is a children's term for ghosts, originated in this Gango-ji Temple; in fact, children's terms for specters, such as Gagoze/Gagoji/Gangoji can be found in various places in Japan.
江戸時代の古書によれば、お化けを意味する児童語のガゴゼやガゴジはこの元興寺が由来とされ、実際にガゴゼ、ガゴジ、ガンゴジなど、妖怪の総称を意味する児童語が日本各地に分布している。