Tengu information
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December 18, 2003
Tengu
It's impossible to be a connoisseur of the fantastic in this modern electronic era and not have heard of the kitsune, the shape-shifting fox seductresses of Japan, or their corpulent, testicularly-endowed raccoon-dog cousins the tanuki. Another most intriguing human/animal shape-changer from the same trendy eastern archipeligo, however, is often overlooked - the bird-man mountain goblin known as the tengu (pronounced ten-goo).
The true origins of the tengu are somewhat obscured. Some sources claim they were originally minor Shinto deities, while according to others their appearance was taken from the Hindu/Buddhist eagle god Garuda. The word is derived from the Chinese tien-kou, and both are written with the same characters, but how much the Japanese creatures inherited from their continental namesakes is unclear. Both are mischievous, mountain-dwelling entities, and while tien-kou means "heavenly dog" (apparently a reference to the fiery tail of a certain meteor), its physical descriptions are various, and at least one source describes a tien-kou with a bird's beak and wings and tangled hair, similar to the image that became popular in Japan.
Being shape-shifters, tengu are capable of assuming a variety of forms or casting various illusions to deceive humans, but their essential nature is invariably avian. They hatch from enormous eggs, and make their homes in pine and cryptomeria trees. Tengu in old fairy-tales often take the form of birds of prey - usually kites or kestrels - especially when defeated or tormented, although in modern times the bird they are most associated with is the crow (karasu, which in Japanese can actually refer to any member of genus Corvus). Originally, tengu were portrayed as human-like creatures with a bird's beak, wings and tailfeathers on their backs, and claws on their fingers and toes. Unlike the generic anthropomorphic birds drawn by modern roleplaying gamers, traditional tengu were usually plantigrade, featherless except for their wings, and often had ears and hair. Some of the more monstrous depictions give them scaled digits or lips, mouths full of sharp teeth, three-toed bird's feet, or somewhat bat-like webbed flight feathers. They are sometimes associated with the color red, although sources differ on whether this applies to their skin, hair, or clothing.
A tengu differs from a kitsune in that his usual human form is not beautiful, and his beak often becomes a very large nose. Sometimes he retain his wings. This humanoid form has become so popular that today, "tengu" is often translated simply as "long-nosed goblin", and the creatures are associated with the phallic-nosed Shinto god Sarutahiko. The old-fashioned bird-man form of tengu is called karasu-tengu to distinguish it. The long-nosed tengu (sometimes labeled konoha-tengu) are said to be in charge of the beaked ones, although one must assume that such capricious shape-changers are merely "wearing" their appearance as a badge of their rank.
Like their appearance, the tengu's personality has also evolved. Originally evil demons, fond of carrying off and devouring children and bent on leading Buddhist monks down the path to Hell, tengu later became merely mischievous, even reputed to protect shrines and temples and help families find their lost offspring. This transformation may have been aided by the association with the protective image of Garuda/Karura, when the Japanese Buddhists resolved their conflict with Shintoism via syncretism of the native gods with Indian ones. The comically suggestive connotations of the bird-man's long nose may also have taken the edge off the creatures. Tengu could still be very dangerous to those who threatened their homes or insulted them - as they were extremely arrogant beings by nature. According to some, tengu were the reincarnations of haughty priests who had misused their power as religious leaders, and in their current life they particularly detested pomposity and pretentiousness in humans.
Along with shape-shifting, tengu were said to be capable of teleporting instantly from one place to another, and of speaking telepathically to humans without moving their mouths or beaks. They were also supposed to be phenomenally-skilled warriors and swordsmen, and became the patron saints of martial arts. Ninja and samurai both claimed tengu as their teachers. Perhaps the most famous story involving tengu is that of the warrior Yoshitsune, who as a boy studied under the long-nosed tengu king Sojobo of Mount Kurama. Numerous woodblock prints show Ushiwaka (Yoshitsune's boyhood name) training with Sojobo's beaked associates and defeating them with a wooden sword.
The yamabushi were a sect of ascetic warrior-monks who went into the mountains, seeking to gain the powers of the various powerful spirits living there. Sharing the tengu's remote home and bad reputation, the yamabushi inevitably became associated with the bird-goblins. Almost all depictions of tengu around today show them wearing the mountain-ascetic's little black cap and pom-pommed sash. Other items tengu sometimes have on their person include a Buddhist monk's ringed staff (shakujo); feathered cloaks; tall, awkward-looking one-toothed geta sandals (nicknamed tengu geta); and magic fans made either of feathers or of the leaf of an Aralia japonica plant, both of which are called hauchiwa. The fan is used either as a device to alter the length of the tengu's nose (making him less obviously inhuman), or to produce a ferocious, hurricane-like wind. The latter use is not surprising, as tengu are supposedly the descendents of the storm god Susano-o.
Sources:
Fister, Pat. "Tengu, the Mountain Goblin." Japanese Ghosts and Demons. New York: George Braziller, Inc. 1985.
Foster, Janet Leigh. Tengu. Big in Japan.
Tyler, Royall. Japanese Tales. Pantheon Books. 2002.
Schumaker, Mark. Tengu: The Slayer of Vanity. Japanese Shinto & Buddhist Corner.
Goodin, Charles C. Tengu: The Legendary Mountain Goblins of Japan. Furyu.com.
Habersetzer, Roland. What's a Tengu?
Hearn, Lafcadio. Story of a Tengu. In Ghostly Japan.
Posted by Shoes
December 18, 2003
Tengu
It's impossible to be a connoisseur of the fantastic in this modern electronic era and not have heard of the kitsune, the shape-shifting fox seductresses of Japan, or their corpulent, testicularly-endowed raccoon-dog cousins the tanuki. Another most intriguing human/animal shape-changer from the same trendy eastern archipeligo, however, is often overlooked - the bird-man mountain goblin known as the tengu (pronounced ten-goo).
The true origins of the tengu are somewhat obscured. Some sources claim they were originally minor Shinto deities, while according to others their appearance was taken from the Hindu/Buddhist eagle god Garuda. The word is derived from the Chinese tien-kou, and both are written with the same characters, but how much the Japanese creatures inherited from their continental namesakes is unclear. Both are mischievous, mountain-dwelling entities, and while tien-kou means "heavenly dog" (apparently a reference to the fiery tail of a certain meteor), its physical descriptions are various, and at least one source describes a tien-kou with a bird's beak and wings and tangled hair, similar to the image that became popular in Japan.
Being shape-shifters, tengu are capable of assuming a variety of forms or casting various illusions to deceive humans, but their essential nature is invariably avian. They hatch from enormous eggs, and make their homes in pine and cryptomeria trees. Tengu in old fairy-tales often take the form of birds of prey - usually kites or kestrels - especially when defeated or tormented, although in modern times the bird they are most associated with is the crow (karasu, which in Japanese can actually refer to any member of genus Corvus). Originally, tengu were portrayed as human-like creatures with a bird's beak, wings and tailfeathers on their backs, and claws on their fingers and toes. Unlike the generic anthropomorphic birds drawn by modern roleplaying gamers, traditional tengu were usually plantigrade, featherless except for their wings, and often had ears and hair. Some of the more monstrous depictions give them scaled digits or lips, mouths full of sharp teeth, three-toed bird's feet, or somewhat bat-like webbed flight feathers. They are sometimes associated with the color red, although sources differ on whether this applies to their skin, hair, or clothing.
A tengu differs from a kitsune in that his usual human form is not beautiful, and his beak often becomes a very large nose. Sometimes he retain his wings. This humanoid form has become so popular that today, "tengu" is often translated simply as "long-nosed goblin", and the creatures are associated with the phallic-nosed Shinto god Sarutahiko. The old-fashioned bird-man form of tengu is called karasu-tengu to distinguish it. The long-nosed tengu (sometimes labeled konoha-tengu) are said to be in charge of the beaked ones, although one must assume that such capricious shape-changers are merely "wearing" their appearance as a badge of their rank.
Like their appearance, the tengu's personality has also evolved. Originally evil demons, fond of carrying off and devouring children and bent on leading Buddhist monks down the path to Hell, tengu later became merely mischievous, even reputed to protect shrines and temples and help families find their lost offspring. This transformation may have been aided by the association with the protective image of Garuda/Karura, when the Japanese Buddhists resolved their conflict with Shintoism via syncretism of the native gods with Indian ones. The comically suggestive connotations of the bird-man's long nose may also have taken the edge off the creatures. Tengu could still be very dangerous to those who threatened their homes or insulted them - as they were extremely arrogant beings by nature. According to some, tengu were the reincarnations of haughty priests who had misused their power as religious leaders, and in their current life they particularly detested pomposity and pretentiousness in humans.
Along with shape-shifting, tengu were said to be capable of teleporting instantly from one place to another, and of speaking telepathically to humans without moving their mouths or beaks. They were also supposed to be phenomenally-skilled warriors and swordsmen, and became the patron saints of martial arts. Ninja and samurai both claimed tengu as their teachers. Perhaps the most famous story involving tengu is that of the warrior Yoshitsune, who as a boy studied under the long-nosed tengu king Sojobo of Mount Kurama. Numerous woodblock prints show Ushiwaka (Yoshitsune's boyhood name) training with Sojobo's beaked associates and defeating them with a wooden sword.
The yamabushi were a sect of ascetic warrior-monks who went into the mountains, seeking to gain the powers of the various powerful spirits living there. Sharing the tengu's remote home and bad reputation, the yamabushi inevitably became associated with the bird-goblins. Almost all depictions of tengu around today show them wearing the mountain-ascetic's little black cap and pom-pommed sash. Other items tengu sometimes have on their person include a Buddhist monk's ringed staff (shakujo); feathered cloaks; tall, awkward-looking one-toothed geta sandals (nicknamed tengu geta); and magic fans made either of feathers or of the leaf of an Aralia japonica plant, both of which are called hauchiwa. The fan is used either as a device to alter the length of the tengu's nose (making him less obviously inhuman), or to produce a ferocious, hurricane-like wind. The latter use is not surprising, as tengu are supposedly the descendents of the storm god Susano-o.
Sources:
Fister, Pat. "Tengu, the Mountain Goblin." Japanese Ghosts and Demons. New York: George Braziller, Inc. 1985.
Foster, Janet Leigh. Tengu. Big in Japan.
Tyler, Royall. Japanese Tales. Pantheon Books. 2002.
Schumaker, Mark. Tengu: The Slayer of Vanity. Japanese Shinto & Buddhist Corner.
Goodin, Charles C. Tengu: The Legendary Mountain Goblins of Japan. Furyu.com.
Habersetzer, Roland. What's a Tengu?
Hearn, Lafcadio. Story of a Tengu. In Ghostly Japan.
Posted by Shoes
