HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

are a type of
legendary creature A legendary creature (also mythical or mythological creature) is a type of fictional entity, typically a hybrid, that has not been proven and that is described in folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses ...
found in Japanese folk religion (Shinto). They are considered a type of ''
yōkai are a class of supernatural entities and spirits in Japanese folklore. The word is composed of the kanji for "attractive; calamity" and "apparition; mystery; suspicious." are also referred to as , or . Despite often being translated as suc ...
'' (supernatural beings) or
Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
''
kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...
'' (gods). The ''Tengu'' were originally thought to take the forms of
birds of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predat ...
and a monkey deity, and they are traditionally depicted with human, monkey, and avian characteristics.
Sarutahiko Ōkami Sarutahiko Ōkami ( ja, 猿田毘古大神, 猿田彦大神) is a deity of the Japanese religion of Shinto; he is the leader of the earthly ''kami''. Norito also mentions him with the title instead of . Sarutahiko Ōkami was the head of the k ...
is considered to be the original model of Konoha-Tengu (a supernatural creature with a red face and long nose), which today is widely considered the ''Tengu''s defining characteristic in the popular imagination. He is the Shinto
monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...
deity who is said to shed light on heaven and earth. Some experts theorize that Sarutahiko was a sun god worshiped in the Ise region prior to the popularization of
Amaterasu Amaterasu, also known as Amaterasu Ōmikami () or Ōhirume no Muchi no Kami (), is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. One of the major deities (''kami'') of Shinto, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the ''Kojik ...
.
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
long held that the ''Tengu'' were disruptive
demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...
s and
harbinger A harbinger is a forerunner or forewarning, but may also refer to: Companies * Harbinger Corp., an Internet-oriented business * Harbinger Capital, a hedge fund * Harbinger Knowledge Products, an eLearning products and content services compan ...
s of war. Their image gradually softened, however, into one of protective and even manifestations of Buddhist deities, if still dangerous, spirits of the mountains and forests. ''Tengu'' are associated with the
ascetic Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...
practice of
Shugendō is a highly syncretic religion, a body of ascetic practices that originated in the Nara Period of Japan having evolved during the 7th century from an amalgamation of beliefs, philosophies, doctrines and ritual systems drawn from local fol ...
, and they are usually depicted in the garb of its followers, the ''
yamabushi are Japanese mountain ascetic hermits. They are generally part of the syncretic religion, which includes Tantric Buddhist, Shinto, and Japanese Taoist elements. Their origins can be traced back to the solitary Yama-bito and some (saints or h ...
''. __TOC__


Image

The ''tengu'' in art appears in a variety of shapes. It usually falls somewhere in between a large, monstrous bird and a wholly
anthropomorphized Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
being, often with a red face or an unusually large or long nose. Early depictions of tengu show them as
kite A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. ...
-like beings who can take a human-like form, often retaining avian wings, heads, or beaks. The ''tengu's'' long nose seems to have been conceived in the 14th century, likely as a humanization of the original bird's bill. This feature allies them with the
Sarutahiko Ōkami Sarutahiko Ōkami ( ja, 猿田毘古大神, 猿田彦大神) is a deity of the Japanese religion of Shinto; he is the leader of the earthly ''kami''. Norito also mentions him with the title instead of . Sarutahiko Ōkami was the head of the k ...
, who is described in the 720 CE text the '' Nihon Shoki'' with a similar nose measuring seven hand-spans in length. In village
festivals A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival co ...
, the two figures are often portrayed with identical red phallic-nosed mask designs. Some of the earliest representations of ''tengu'' appear in Japanese picture scrolls, such as the , painted c. 1296, which parodies high-ranking priests by endowing them the hawk-like beaks of ''tengu'' demons. Tengu is often pictured as taking the shape of some sort of priest. Beginning in the 13th century, tengu came to be associated in particular with
yamabushi are Japanese mountain ascetic hermits. They are generally part of the syncretic religion, which includes Tantric Buddhist, Shinto, and Japanese Taoist elements. Their origins can be traced back to the solitary Yama-bito and some (saints or h ...
, the mountain ascetics who practice
Shugendō is a highly syncretic religion, a body of ascetic practices that originated in the Nara Period of Japan having evolved during the 7th century from an amalgamation of beliefs, philosophies, doctrines and ritual systems drawn from local fol ...
.de Visser, pp. 55–57. The association soon found its way into Japanese art, where tengu are most frequently depicted in the yamabushi's unique costume, which includes a distinctive headwear called the '' tokin'' and a . Due to their priestly aesthetic, they are often shown wielding the
khakkhara A khakkhara ( sa, khakkhara; ; , sometimes referred to in English as a pewter staff, is a staff topped with metal rings traditionally carried by Buddhist monks, particularly in East Asian Buddhism. Originally used as a noisemaker to announce a m ...
, a distinct staff used by
Buddhist monks A ''bhikkhu'' (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, ''bhikṣu'') is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male and female monastics ("nun", ''bhikkhunī'', Sanskrit ''bhikṣuṇī'') are members of the Sangha (Buddhist c ...
, called a ''shakujō'' in Japanese. Tengu is commonly depicted holding a magical . In folk tales, these fans sometimes can grow or shrink a person's nose, but usually, they have attributed the power to stir up great winds. Various other strange accessories may be associated with ''tengu'', such as a type of tall, one-toothed ''
geta Geta may refer to: Places *Geta (woreda), a woreda in Ethiopia's Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region *Geta, Åland, a municipality in Finland *Geta, Nepal, a town in Attariya Municipality, Kailali District, Seti Zone, Nepal *Get ...
'' sandal often called ''tengu-geta''.


Origins

The term ''tengu'' and the characters used to write it are borrowed from the name of a fierce demon from Chinese folklore called '' tiāngǒu'' though this still has to be confirmed. Chinese literature assigns this creature a variety of descriptions, but most often it is a fierce and
anthropophagous An anthropophage or ''anthropophagus'' (from el, ανθρωποφάγος , translit=anthrōpophagos, "human-eater", plural el, ανθρωποφάγοι , translit=anthropophagi) was a member of a mythical race of cannibals described first by ...
canine monster that resembles a shooting star or comet. It makes a noise like thunder and brings war wherever it falls. One account from the ''Shù Yì Jì'' (, "A Collection of Bizarre Stories"), written in 1791, describes a dog-like ''tiāngǒu'' with a sharp beak and an upright posture, but usually ''tiāngǒu'' bear little resemblance to their Japanese counterparts. The 23rd chapter of the '' Nihon Shoki'', written in 720, is generally held to contain the first recorded mention of ''tengu'' in Japan. In this account a large shooting star appears and is identified by a Buddhist priest as a "heavenly dog", and much like the ''tiāngǒu'' of China, the star precedes a military uprising. Although the
Chinese characters Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...
for ''tengu'' are used in the text, accompanying phonetic
furigana is a Japanese reading aid consisting of smaller kana or syllabic characters printed either above or next to kanji (logographic characters) or other characters to indicate their pronunciation. It is one type of ruby text. Furigana is also known ...
characters give the reading as ''amatsukitsune'' (''heavenly fox''). M. W. de Visser speculated that the early Japanese meaning for the characters used to write Tengu may represent a conglomeration of two Chinese spirits: the ''tiāngǒu'' and the fox spirits called ''
huli jing Huli jing () are Chinese mythological creatures usually capable of shapeshifting, who may either be benevolent or malevolent spirits. In Chinese mythology and folklore, the fox spirit takes variant forms with different meanings, powers, charac ...
'' before the nuances of meaning were expanded to include local Japanese kami, therefore the true Tengu in appearance Some Japanese scholars have speculated that the ''tengu's'' image derives from that of the
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
eagle deity
Garuda Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda is a ...
, who was pluralized in Buddhist scripture as one of the major races of non-human beings. Like the ''tengu'', the ''garuda'' are often portrayed in a human-like form with wings and a bird's beak. The name ''tengu'' seems to be written in place of that of the ''garuda'' in a Japanese
sutra ''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aph ...
called the ''Emmyō Jizō-kyō'' (), but this was likely written in the
Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
, long after the ''tengu's'' image was established. At least one early story in the ''
Konjaku Monogatari Konjac (or konjak, ) is a common name of the East and Southeast Asian plant ''Amorphophallus konjac'' ( syn. ''A. rivieri''), which has an edible corm (bulbo-tuber). It is also known as konjaku, konnyaku potato, devil's tongue, voodoo lily, sn ...
'' describes a ''tengu'' carrying off a dragon, which is reminiscent of the ''garuda's'' feud with the ''
nāga The Nagas (IAST: ''nāga''; Devanāgarī: नाग) are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. ...
'' serpents. In other respects, however, the ''tengu's'' original behavior differs markedly from that of the ''garuda'', which is generally friendly towards Buddhism. De Visser has speculated that the ''tengu'' may be descended from an ancient
Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
bird-demon which was syncretized with both the ''garuda'' and the ''tiāngǒu'' when Buddhism arrived in Japan. However, he found little evidence to support this idea. A later version of the ''
Kujiki , or , is a historical Japanese text. It was generally believed to have been one of the earliest Japanese histories until the middle of the Edo period, when scholars such as Tokugawa Mitsukuni and Tada Yoshitoshi successfully contended that it wa ...
'', an ancient Japanese historical text, writes the name of
Amanozako is a monstrous goddess mentioned in the ''Kujiki'', which states that she originated when Susanoo let his own ferocious spirit (his '' Aramitama'') build up inside him until he vomited her out. Like her fellow 8 million gods, Amanozako resid ...
, a monstrous female deity born from the god Susanoo's spat-out ferocity, with characters meaning ''tengu deity'' (). The book describes Amanozako as a raging creature capable of flight, with the body of a human, the head of a beast, a long nose, long ears, and long teeth that can chew through swords. An 18th-century book called the suggests that this goddess may be the true predecessor of the ''tengu'', but the date and authenticity of the ''Kujiki'', and of that edition, in particular, remain disputed.


Evil spirits and angry ghosts

The '' Konjaku Monogatarishū'', a collection of stories published in the late
Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...
, contains some of the earliest tales of ''tengu'', already characterized as they would be for centuries to come. These ''tengu'' are the troublesome opponents of Buddhism, who mislead the pious with false images of the Buddha, carry off monks and drop them in remote places, possess women in an attempt to seduce holy men, rob temples, and endow those who worship them with unholy power. They often disguise themselves as priests or nuns, but their true form seems to be that of a kite. Throughout the 12th and 13th centuries, accounts continued of ''tengu'' attempting to cause trouble in the world. They were now established as the ghosts of angry, vain, or heretical priests who had fallen on the "''tengu''-realm" (, ''tengudō''). They began to possess people, especially women and girls, and speak through their mouths (''
kitsunetsuki In Japanese folklore, , are foxes that possess paranormal abilities that increase as they get older and wiser. According to ''yōkai'' folklore, all foxes have the ability to shapeshift into human form. While some folktales speak of employing t ...
''). Still the enemies of Buddhism, the demons also turned their attention to the royal family. The Kojidan tells of an Empress who was possessed, and the
Ōkagami ''Ōkagami'' () is a Japanese historical tale written in around 1119 by an unknown author. It covers the period 850 to 1025, the golden days of the Fujiwara family's rule. It is said to be a successor (世継物語, ''yotsugi monogatari'') with the ...
reports that Emperor Sanjō was made blind by a ''tengu'', the ghost of a priest who resented the throne. One notorious ''tengu'' from the 12th century was himself the ghost of an emperor. The '' Hōgen Monogatari'' tells the story of
Emperor Sutoku was the 75th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 崇徳天皇 (75)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Sutoku's reign spanned the years from 1123 through 1142. Genealogy Before his ascension to the Chry ...
, who was forced by his father to abandon the throne. When he later raised the
Hōgen Rebellion In Japanese, Hōgen may refer to several words. Among them: * Hōgen (era) (保元, 1156–1159), an era in Japan * Hōgen rebellion, a short civil war in 1156 * dialect (方言) — for example: "eigo no hōgen" (English dialect) See also * ...
to take back the country from
Emperor Go-Shirakawa was the 77th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His de jure reign spanned the years from 1155 through 1158, though arguably he effectively maintained imperial power for almost thirty-seven years through the ''ins ...
, he was defeated and exiled to
Sanuki Province was a province of Japan in the area of northeastern Shikoku. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Sanuki''" in . Sanuki bordered on Awa to the south, and Iyo to the west. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichidō system, ...
in
Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...
. According to legend he died in torment, having sworn to haunt the nation of Japan as a great demon, and thus became a fearsome ''tengu'' with long nails and eyes like a kite's. In stories from the 13th century, ''tengu'' began to abduct young boys as well as the priests they had always targeted. The boys were often returned, while the priests would be found tied to the tops of trees or other high places. All of the ''tengu's'' victims, however, would come back in a state near death or madness, sometimes after having been tricked into eating animal dung. The ''tengu'' of this period were often conceived of as the ghosts of the arrogant, and as a result, the creatures have become strongly associated with vanity and pride. Today the Japanese expression ''tengu ni naru'' ("becoming a ''tengu''") is still used to describe a conceited person.Mizuki 2001.


Great and small demons

In the ''
Genpei Jōsuiki The , is a 48-book extended version of the ''Heike Monogatari'' (''The Tale of the Heike''). References External links at University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virgi ...
'', written in the late
Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...
, a god appears to Go-Shirakawa and gives a detailed account of ''tengu'' ghosts. He says that they fall onto the ''tengu'' road because, as Buddhists, they cannot go to
Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...
, yet as people with bad principles, they also cannot go to
Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...
. He describes the appearance of different types of ''tengu'': the ghosts of priests, nuns, ordinary men, and ordinary women, all of whom in life possessed excessive pride. The god introduces the notion that not all ''tengu'' are equal; knowledgeable men become , but ignorant ones become . The philosopher
Hayashi Razan , also known as Hayashi Dōshun, was a Japanese Neo-Confucian philosopher and writer, serving as a tutor and an advisor to the first four ''shōguns'' of the Tokugawa ''bakufu''. He is also attributed with first listing the Three Views of Japa ...
lists the greatest of these ''daitengu'' as
Sōjōbō In Japanese folklore and mythology, is the mythical king and god of the ''tengu'', legendary creatures thought to inhabit the mountains and forests of Japan. Sōjōbō is a specific type of ''tengu'' called ''daitengu'' and has the appearance o ...
of Kurama, Tarōbō of Atago, and Jirōbō of
Hira Hira may refer to: Places *Cave of Hira, a cave associated with Muhammad * Al-Hirah, an ancient Arab city in Iraq ** Battle of Hira, 633AD, between the Sassanians and the Rashidun Caliphate *Hira Mountains, Japan * Hira, New Zealand, settlement n ...
. The demons of Kurama and Atago are among the most famous ''tengu''. A section of the ''Tengu Meigikō'', later quoted by
Inoue Enryō was a Japanese philosopher, Shin Buddhism, Shin Buddhist priest and reformer, educator, and royalist. A key figure in the reception of Western philosophy, the emergence of modern Buddhism, and the permeation of the imperial ideology during the s ...
, lists the ''daitengu'' in this order: * of
Mount Kurama is a mountain to the north of the city of Kyoto. It is the birthplace of the Reiki practice, and is said to be the home of Sōjōbō, King of the Tengu (Goblins). Kurama is also the location of the annual , which takes place every October. i ...
* of
Mount Atago ''Mount Atago is a very common name for peaks all over Japan.'' is a 924m mountain in the northwestern part of Ukyo-ku, in the city of Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an islan ...
* of the
Hira Mountains The are a mountain range to the west of Lake Biwa on the border of Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. The range runs north to south. It is narrowest in the southern part of the range, running east to west, and broadest at the nort ...
* of
Mount Akiha is a mountain in Tenryū-ku, Hamamatsu (in the former town of Haruno), Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is a peak on a southern spur of the Akaishi Mountains. Mount Akiha has an elevation of . It is the location of the Akihasan Hongū Akiha Jinj ...
* of Mount Kōmyō * of
Mount Hiko , is a mountain on the border between Fukuoka Prefecture and Ōita Prefecture in Kyūshū, Japan. It has an elevation of 1,200 metres. It is an important site for Shugendo, and a famous place for rock climbing. It is supposed Miyamoto Musash ...
* of
Mount Daisen , is a dormant stratovolcano in Tottori Prefecture, Japan. It has an elevation of 1,729 metres. This mountain is the highest in the Chūgoku region, and the most important volcano on the Daisen volcanic belt, which is a part of the Southwestern H ...
* of Mount Ueno ( Ueno Park) * of
Itsukushima is an island in the western part of the Inland Sea of Japan, located in the northwest of Hiroshima Bay. It is popularly known as , which in Japanese means "Shrine Island". The island is one of Hayashi Gahō's Three Views of Japan specified in ...
* of
Mount Ōmine , is a sacred mountain in Nara, Japan, famous for its three tests of courage. Officially known as , it is more popularly known as Mount Ōmine due to its prominence in the Ōmine mountain range. It is located in Yoshino-Kumano National Park in t ...
* of Katsuragi * of
Hitachi Province was an old provinces of Japan, old province of Japan in the area of Ibaraki Prefecture.Louis Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Hitachi fudoki''" in . It was sometimes called . Hitachi Province bordered on Shimōsa Province, S ...
* of
Mount Fuji , or Fugaku, located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highest p ...
* of
Mount Takao is a mountain in the city of Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan. It is protected within Meiji no Mori Takao Quasi-National Park. Standing tall and located within an hour of downtown Tokyo, it is a popular hiking spot, with eight hiking trails and more t ...
* of Shiramine * of
Mount Iizuna , also written as 飯綱山 (Iizuna-yama), is a mountain located ten kilometers north-northwest of the heart of Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. The mountain straddles the city of Nagano and Iizuna town in Kamiminochi District, Nagano. Togeth ...
* of Higo Province ''Daitengu'' are often pictured in a more human-like form than their underlings, and due to their long noses, they may also be called . ''Kotengu'' may conversely be depicted as more bird-like. They are sometimes called , or .Mizuki 2001
Inoue Enryō was a Japanese philosopher, Shin Buddhism, Shin Buddhist priest and reformer, educator, and royalist. A key figure in the reception of Western philosophy, the emergence of modern Buddhism, and the permeation of the imperial ideology during the s ...
described two kinds of ''tengu'' in his ''Tenguron'': the great ''daitengu'', and the small, bird-like ''konoha-tengu'' who live in ''
Cryptomeria ''Cryptomeria'' (literally "hidden parts") is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae, formerly belonging to the family Taxodiaceae. It includes only one species, ''Cryptomeria japonica'' ( syn. ''Cupressus japonica'' ...
'' trees. The ''konoha-tengu'' are noted in a book from 1746 called the , as bird-like creatures with wings two meters across which were seen catching fish in the
Ōi River The is a river in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Geography The Ōi River flows from the Akaishi Mountains, the branch of the Japanese Southern Alps which form the border between Shizuoka, Nagano and Yamanashi prefectures. These mountains, with p ...
, but this name rarely appears in literature otherwise. Creatures that do not fit the classic bird or ''yamabushi'' image are sometimes called ''tengu''. For example, ''tengu'' in the guise of wood-spirits may be called , but this word can also refer to ''tengu'' with canine mouths or other features. The people of
Kōchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of 757,914 (1 December 2011) and has a geographic area of 7,103 km2 (2,742 sq mi). Kōchi Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the northwest and ...
on
Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...
believe in a creature called , but this is a small childlike being who loves '' sumō'' wrestling and sometimes dwells in the water, and is generally considered one of the many kinds of ''
kappa Kappa (uppercase Κ, lowercase κ or cursive ; el, κάππα, ''káppa'') is the 10th letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiceless velar plosive sound in Ancient and Modern Greek. In the system of Greek numerals, has a value o ...
''. Another water-dwelling ''tengu'' is the of the
Greater Tokyo Area The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, consisting of the Kantō region of Japan (including Tokyo Metropolis and the prefectures of Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Tochigi) as well as the ...
. This creature is rarely seen, but it is believed to create strange fireballs and be a nuisance to fishermen.


Protective spirits and deities

In
Yamagata Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Yamagata Prefecture has a population of 1,079,950 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 9,325 km² (3,600 sq mi). Yamagata Prefecture borders Akita Prefecture to the north, ...
among other areas, thickets in the mountains during summer, there are several tens of
tsubo A ''pyeong'' (abbreviationpy) is a Korean unit of area and floorspace, equal to a square '' kan'' or 36square Korean feet. The ''ping'' and ''tsubo'' are its equivalent Taiwanese and Japanese units, similarly based on a square '' bu'' ( ja:步) ...
of moss and sand that were revered as the "nesting grounds of tengu," and in mountain villages in the
Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...
, they would cut trees at night and were called "tengu daoshi" (天狗倒し, tengu fall), and mysterious sounds at night of a tree being cut and falling, or mysterious swaying sounds despite no wind, were considered the work of mountain tengu. It is also theorized that shooting a gun three times would make this mysterious sound stop. Besides this, in the Tone District,
Gunma Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima ...
, there are legends about the "tengu warai" (天狗笑い, tengu laugh) about how one would hear laughter out of nowhere, and if one simply presses on further, it'd become an even louder laugh, and if one tries laughing back, it'd laugh even louder than before, and the "tengu tsubute" (天狗礫, tengu pebble) (said to be the path that tengu go on) about how when walking on mountain paths, there'd be a sudden wind, the mountain would rumble, and stones would come flying, and places tengu live such as "tenguda" (天狗田, tengu field), "tengu no tsumetogi ishi" (天狗の爪とぎ石, tengu scratching stone), "tengu no yama" (天狗の山, tengu mountain), "tengudani" (天狗谷, tengu valley), etc., in other words, "tengu territory" (天狗の領地) or "tengu guest quarters" (狗賓の住処). In
Kanazawa is the capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Overview Cityscape File:もてな ...
's business district Owari in
Hōreki , also known as Horyaku, was a after '' Kan'en'' and before ''Meiwa''. The period spanned the years from October 1751 through June 1764. The reigning emperor and empress were and .Titsingh, Isaac. (1834 ''Annales des empereurs du japon'', p. 41 ...
5 (1755), it is said that a "tengu tsubute" (天狗つぶて) was seen. In Mt. Ogasa,
Shizuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,637,998 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the northea ...
, a mysterious phenomenon of hearing the sound of
hayashi Hayashi ( 林, literally " woods"), is the 19th most common Japanese surname. It shares the same character as the Chinese surname Lin. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese synchronized swimmer *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese s ...
from the mountains in the summer was called "tengubayashi" (天狗囃子), and it is said to be the work of the tengu at Ogasa Jinja. On Sado Island ( Sado,
Niigata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,227,496 (1 July 2019) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...
), there were "yamakagura" (山神楽, mountain kagura), and the mysterious occurrence of hearing kagura from the mountains was said to be the work of a tengu. In Tokuyama,
Ibi District is a district located in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. , the district has an estimated population of 72,109. The total area is 876.65 km2. The area of the former village of Tokuyama in this district will be flooded by the Tokuyama Dam. Towns ...
,
Gifu Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,991,390 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture to the northwest, F ...
(now
Ibigawa is a town located in Ibi District, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 21,319 in 8,015 households and a population density of 27 persons per km2, in 8,032 households. The total area of the town was . Geography Ib ...
), there were "tengu taiko" (天狗太鼓), and the sound of
taiko are a broad range of Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various Japanese drums called and to the form of ensemble drumming m ...
(drums) from the mountains was said to be a sign of impending rain. The ''
Shasekishū The , also read as ''Sasekishū'',Nihon Koten Bungaku Daijiten (1986:896-897)Kubota (2007:166) translated into English as ''Collection of Stone and Sand'',Zen Flesh, Zen Bones is a five-volume collection of Buddhist parables written by the Japan ...
'', a book of Buddhist parables from the
Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...
, makes a point of distinguishing between good and bad ''tengu''. The book explains that the former are in command of the latter and are the protectors, not opponents, of Buddhism – although the flaw of pride or ambition has caused them to fall onto the demon road, they remain the same good, ''
dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...
''-abiding persons they were in life. The ''tengu's'' unpleasant image continued to erode in the 17th century. Some stories now presented them as much less malicious, protecting and blessing Buddhist institutions rather than menacing them or setting them on fire. According to a legend in the 18th-century , a ''tengu'' took the form of a ''yamabushi'' and faithfully served the abbot of a
Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
monastery until the man guessed his attendant's true form. The ''tengu's'' wings and huge nose then reappeared. The ''tengu'' requested a piece of wisdom from his master and left, but he continued, unseen, to provide the monastery with miraculous aid. In the 18th and 19th centuries, ''tengu'' came to be feared as the vigilant protectors of certain forests. In the 1764 collection of strange stories , a tale tells of a man who wanders into a deep valley while gathering leaves, only to be faced with a sudden and ferocious hailstorm. A group of peasants later tell him that he was in the valley where the ''guhin'' live, and anyone who takes a single leaf from that place will surely die. In the , written in 1849, the author describes the customs of the wood-cutters of
Mino Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today southern Gifu Prefecture. Mino was bordered by Ōmi to the west, Echizen and Hida to the north, and Shinano to the east, and Ise, Mikawa, and Owari to the south. Its abbreviat ...
, who used a sort of rice cake called ''kuhin-
mochi is a Japanese rice cake made of , a short-grain japonica glutinous rice, and sometimes other ingredients such as water, sugar, and cornstarch. The rice is pounded into paste and molded into the desired shape. In Japan, it is traditionally ma ...
'' to placate the ''tengu'', who would otherwise perpetrate all sorts of mischief. In other provinces a special kind of fish called ''okoze'' was offered to the ''tengu'' by woodsmen and hunters, in exchange for a successful day's work. The people of
Ishikawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,140,573 (31 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,186 km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to ...
have until recently believed that the ''tengu'' loathe
mackerel Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment. ...
, and have used this fish as a charm against kidnappings and hauntings by the mischievous spirits. ''Tengu'' are worshipped as beneficial ''
kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...
'' (''gods'' or ''revered spirits'') in various Japanese religious cults. For example, the ''tengu'' Saburō of Izuna is worshipped on that mountain and various others as , one of the primary deities in the ''Izuna Shugen'' cult, which also has ties to
fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
sorcery and the Dakini of
Tantric Buddhism Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...
. Izuna Gongen is depicted as a beaked, winged figure with snakes wrapped around his limbs, surrounded by a halo of flame, riding on the back of a fox and brandishing a sword. Worshippers of ''tengu'' on other sacred mountains have adopted similar images for their deities, such as or of Akiba and of Saijō-ji Temple in
Odawara is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 188,482 and a population density of 1,700 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Odawara lies in the Ashigara Plains, in the far western por ...
.


In popular folk tales

''Tengu'' appear frequently in the orally transmitted tales collected by Japanese folklorists. As these stories are often humorous, they tend to portray ''tengu'' as ridiculous creatures who are easily tricked or confused by humans. Some common folk tales in which ''tengu'' appear include: * : A boy looks through an ordinary piece of bamboo and pretends he can see distant places. A ''tengu'', overwhelmed by curiosity, offers to trade it for a magic straw cloak that renders the wearer invisible. Having duped the ''tengu'', the boy continues his mischief while wearing the cloak. Another version of this story tells of an ugly old man who tricks a tengu into giving him his magical cloak and causes mayhem for his fellow villagers. The story ends with the tengu regaining the coat through a game of riddle exchange and punishes the man by turning him into a wolf. * : An old man has a lump or tumor on his face. In the mountains he encounters a band of ''tengu'' making merry and joins their dancing. He pleases them so much that they want him to join them the next night, and offer a gift for him. In addition, they take the lump off his face, thinking that he will want it back and therefore have to join them the next night. An unpleasant neighbor, who also has a lump, hears of the old man's good fortune and attempts to repeat it, and steal the gift. The ''tengu'', however, simply gives him the first lump in addition to his own, because they are disgusted by his bad dancing, and because he tried to steal the gift. * A scoundrel obtains a ''tengu's'' magic fan, which can shrink or grow noses. He secretly uses this item to grotesquely extend the nose of a rich man's daughter and then shrinks it again in exchange for her hand in marriage. Later he accidentally fans himself while he dozes, and his nose grows so long it reaches heaven, resulting in painful misfortune for him. * : A gambler meets a ''tengu'', who asks him what he is most frightened of. The gambler lies, claiming that he is terrified of gold or ''
mochi is a Japanese rice cake made of , a short-grain japonica glutinous rice, and sometimes other ingredients such as water, sugar, and cornstarch. The rice is pounded into paste and molded into the desired shape. In Japan, it is traditionally ma ...
''. The ''tengu'' answers truthfully that he is frightened of a kind of plant or some other mundane item. The ''tengu'', thinking he is playing a cruel trick, then causes money or rice cakes to rain down on the gambler. The gambler is of course delighted and proceeds to scare the ''tengu'' away with the thing he fears most. The gambler then obtains the ''tengu's'' magic gourd (or another treasured item) that was left behind.


Martial arts

During the 14th century, the ''tengu'' began to trouble the world outside of the Buddhist clergy, and like their ominous ancestors the ''tiāngǒu'', the ''tengu'' became creatures associated with war. Legends eventually ascribed to them great knowledge in the art of skilled combat. This reputation seems to have its origins in a legend surrounding the famous warrior
Minamoto no Yoshitsune was a military commander of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura periods. During the Genpei War, he led a series of battles which toppled the Ise-Heishi branch of the Taira clan, helping his half-brother Yoritomo conso ...
. When Yoshitsune was a young boy going by the name of Ushiwaka-maru, his father, Yoshitomo, was assassinated by the
Taira clan The Taira was one of the four most important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian, Kamakura and Muromachi Periods of Japanese history – the others being the Fujiwara, the Tachibana, and the Minamoto. The clan is divided ...
.
Taira no Kiyomori was a military leader and ''kugyō'' of the late Heian period of Japan. He established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the history of Japan. Early life Kiyomori was born in Heian-kyō, Japan, in 1118 as the first so ...
, head of the Taira, allowed the child to survive on the grounds that he be exiled to the temple on
Mount Kurama is a mountain to the north of the city of Kyoto. It is the birthplace of the Reiki practice, and is said to be the home of Sōjōbō, King of the Tengu (Goblins). Kurama is also the location of the annual , which takes place every October. i ...
and become a monk. But one day in the Sōjō-ga-dani Valley, Ushiwaka encountered the mountain's ''tengu'',
Sōjōbō In Japanese folklore and mythology, is the mythical king and god of the ''tengu'', legendary creatures thought to inhabit the mountains and forests of Japan. Sōjōbō is a specific type of ''tengu'' called ''daitengu'' and has the appearance o ...
. This spirit taught the boy the art of swordsmanship so that he might bring vengeance on the Taira. Originally the actions of this ''tengu'' were portrayed as another attempt by demons to throw the world into chaos and war, but as Yoshitsune's renown as a legendary warrior increased, his monstrous teacher came to be depicted in a much more sympathetic and honorable light. In one of the most famous renditions of the story, the
Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...
play ''Kurama Tengu'', Ushiwaka is the only person from his temple who does not give up an outing in disgust at the sight of a strange ''yamabushi''. Sōjōbō thus befriends the boy and teaches him out of sympathy for his plight. Two stories from the 19th century continue this theme: In the ''Sōzan Chomon Kishū'', a boy is carried off by a ''tengu'' and spends three years with the creature. He comes home with a magic gun that never misses a shot. A story from
Inaba Province was an old province of Japan in the area that is today the eastern part of Tottori Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Inaba bordered on Harima, Hōki, Mimasaka, and Tajima Provinces. The ancient capital, and the castle town, were at Tott ...
, related by
Inoue Enryō was a Japanese philosopher, Shin Buddhism, Shin Buddhist priest and reformer, educator, and royalist. A key figure in the reception of Western philosophy, the emergence of modern Buddhism, and the permeation of the imperial ideology during the s ...
, tells of a girl with poor manual dexterity who is suddenly possessed by a ''tengu''. The spirit wishes to rekindle the declining art of swordsmanship in the world. Soon a young samurai appears to whom the ''tengu'' has appeared in a dream, and the possessed girl instructs him as an expert swordsman.


In popular culture

''Tengu'' continue to be popular subjects in modern fiction, both in Japan and other countries. They often appear among the many characters and creatures featured in
Japanese cinema The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world; as of 2021, it was the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. In 2011 Japan produced 411 feature films that ea ...
,
animation Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...
,
comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...
,
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
s, and
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
s. The
Unicode Unicode, formally The Unicode Standard,The formal version reference is is an information technology Technical standard, standard for the consistent character encoding, encoding, representation, and handling of Character (computing), text expre ...
Emoji An emoji ( ; plural emoji or emojis) is a pictogram, logogram, ideogram or smiley embedded in text and used in electronic messages and web pages. The primary function of emoji is to fill in emotional cues otherwise missing from typed conversat ...
character U+1F47A (👺) represents a ''tengu'', under the name "Japanese Goblin". Nuzleaf and Shiftry from the ''
Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...
'' franchise are based on the ''tengu''. "Tengu Man" is one of the eight Robot Master bosses in ''
Mega Man 8 ''Mega Man 8'' is an action-platform video game developed and released by Capcom in 1996. It was directed by Hayato Kaji and produced by Keiji Inafune, both of whom had previously worked on the series as artists. It is the eighth installment i ...
'' (1996) and ''
Mega Man and Bass Mega or MEGA may refer to: Science * mega-, a metric prefix denoting 106 * Mega (number), a certain very large integer in Steinhaus–Moser notation * "mega-" a prefix meaning "large" that is List of commonly used taxonomic affixes, used in tax ...
'' (1998). He also has a Netnavi counterpart, present in ''
Mega Man Battle Network 6 and are 2005 tactical role-playing video games developed and published by Capcom for the Game Boy Advance (GBA) handheld game console. They are the sixth and final games in the ''Mega Man Battle Network'' series, and involves Lan's family and Meg ...
'' (2005), although only in the "Cybeast Falzar" version. He is substituted by Slashman in the opposite version, "Cybeast Gregar". The
Touhou Project The , also known simply as , is a bullet hell shoot 'em up video game series created by one-man independent Japanese ''doujin'' soft developer Team Shanghai Alice. Since 1995, the team's member, Jun'ya "ZUN" Ōta, has independently developed ...
series of games have various characters based on tengu, most notably Aya Shameimaru from
Phantasmagoria of Flower View is the ninth official game in the '' Touhou Project'' scrolling shoot 'em up series. It is often abbreviated as PoFV in English speaking circles. ''Phantasmagoria of Flower View'', like the third ''Touhou'' game, '' Phantasmagoria of Dim. Dream'' ...
(2005) and Momiji Inubashiri from
Mountain of Faith is the tenth main game in the ''Touhou Project'', and the twelfth game overall. As with the other main ''Touhou'' games, ''Mountain of Faith'' is a Shoot 'em up#Scrolling shooters, vertically scrolling shoot 'em up game. ''Mountain of Faith'' was ...
(2007). The ''tengu'' featured in the 2013 movie ''
47 Ronin 47, 47 or forty-seven may refer to: *47 (number) *47 BC * AD 47 *1947 * 2047 *'47 (brand), an American clothing brand * ''47'' (magazine), an American publication * 47 (song), a song by Sidhu Moose Wala *47, a song by New Found Glory from the alb ...
'', with their Lord played by
Togo Igawa , known professionally as , is a Japanese actor who works primarily in British films and television. In recent years, he has had roles in major films such as '' Revolver'', ''Memoirs of a Geisha'', '' The Last Samurai'', and ''A Matter of Size ...
. In the Dead or Alive video game series, most notably ''
Dead or Alive 5 is a 2012 fighting video game developed by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo Koei for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is the fifth main entry in the '' Dead or Alive'' fighting series and the first to have a multi-platform release since '' Dea ...
'' (2014)'',
Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 ''Dead or Alive Xtreme 3'' is a sports video game in the '' Dead or Alive'' series developed by Team Ninja and published by Koei Tecmo as the second sequel to the beach volleyball spin-off title ''Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball''. It was o ...
'' (2016)'','' and ''
Dead or Alive 6 is a 2019 fighting game developed by Team Ninja and published by Koei Tecmo. It is the sixth main entry in the '' Dead or Alive'' fighting series. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on March 1, 2019, and w ...
'' (2019), the playable character Nyotengu is based on Tengu, the name Nyotengu literally meaning "Female Tengu" when translated in English. "Karasu Tengu" is an enemy present in the video game ''
Nioh is an action role-playing video game developed by Team Ninja. It was released for PlayStation 4 in February 2017, and was published by Sony Interactive Entertainment internationally, and by Koei Tecmo in Japan. An edition for PlayStation 4 and ...
'' (2017) and its sequel ''
Nioh 2 is an action role-playing video game developed by Team Ninja for the PlayStation 4. It was published by Koei Tecmo in Japan and Sony Interactive Entertainment worldwide on March 13, 2020. It is both a prequel and sequel to ''Nioh'' (2017). Versio ...
'' (2020). They are depicted as a ''yōkai'' with crow-like wings who wield the power of the wind. Kujou Sara, a crow ''tengu'', is a playable character in the 2020 game ''
Genshin Impact ''Genshin Impact'' is an action role-playing game developed and published by miHoYo. It was released for Android (operating system), Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, and Windows in 2020, on PlayStation 5 in 2021, and is set for release on Nintendo ...
''.Mentioned i
New Version Special Program , Genshin Impact
by Xiao Luohao, Head of the Creative Concept and Writing Team, while talking about Kujou Sara's design.
'' Sakonji Urokodaki'', from the anime ''
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Koyoharu Gotouge. It follows teenage Tanjiro Kamado, who strives to become a demon slayer after his family was slaughtered and his younger sister, Nezuko Kamado, Nezuko, turned into a ...
'', wears a ''tengu'' mask and he is the Mentor of '' Tanjiro Kamado''. 'Tengu' is a
boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...
in the game '' Pixel Dungeon''.


See also

*
Eboshi-ori is a Noh play of the 16th century by . The play falls into the category of genzai-mono, or present time plays, where the action takes place consecutively, without the (more usual) retrospective flashback. Historical setting The play takes plac ...
*
Matsuyama tengu ''Matsuyama tengu'' (松山天狗 ''Goblins of Matsuyama'') is a Noh play revolving around the ex-emperor Sutoku and his ghostly encounter with the poet Saigyō. Historical background The failure of the attempt by retired emperor Sutoku to seiz ...
*
Tiangou The ''tiangou'' () is a legendary creature from China. The ''tiangou'' resembles a black dog or meteor, which is thought to eat the sun or moon during an eclipse. Tiangou eating the moon As a good spirit, it has the appearance of a white-heade ...
(China)


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * *


External links

{{Authority control Japanese gods Shinto kami Yōkai Goblins Shapeshifting Legendary birds Mythological human hybrids Shugendō Oni Demons Devils Avian humanoids