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Japanese legend is full of yokai, and the tengu is one of the star yokai. So what kind of existence is tengu in Japan?
The word tengu was most likely introduced to Japan from China. The Classic of Mountains and Seas, the Western Mountain Sutra, records: "The Yin Mountains... There are beasts, whose shape is like a tanuki and a white head, known as the tengu, and whose sound is like a durian, which can resist the fierce. "It can be seen that here the tengu is a beast that can resist the fierce." However, by the Han Dynasty, the tengu had become synonymous with comets and meteors.
Sima Qian wrote in the "Records of History": "The tengu is like a big running star, with a sound, and its lower dog is like a dog, and the fire that falls is like a fire, and the fire is like a fire, and the heat is soaring." There is a similar record in the Book of Han and Astronomical Records: "The heavenly drum has a sound, such as thunder and thunder, and the tengu is like a large meteor." "The ancients usually regarded the running star as an ominous omen, and the tengu naturally became the representative of the fierce star.
In Japan, the tengu first appeared in the Nihon Shoki, and the entry for the eleventh purpose of February in the ninth year of the reign of Emperor Shuming appeared in the tengu-related record: "In the spring of the ninth year, in February of the ninth year, the tengu appeared in the penta yin, and the big star flowed from the east to the west. There is a sound like thunder. The sound of time and meteors. Also known as, landmines. Therefore, the monk Min monk, non-meteor. It is a tengu also . Its bark is like thunder. It can be seen that at this time, the meaning of the Japanese tengu is the same as that of China, and it represents an abnormal celestial phenomenon. Since then, the image of the tengu has gradually changed.
There are many stories about tengu in the Heian Period Tales of the Past and Present. These tengu birds have a human beak and a pair of wings that can fly, and can attach to the human body. It is believed that the tengu resides in the mountains and forests as the guardians of the mountains. The reason why the mountain has an echo is because the tengu in the mountain is shouting at the scholars. If a person hears a strange sound in the mountains, it must be the tengu who is doing the work.
It is also believed that some people, especially monks, may become tengu directly after death. In Japan, monks are known as Yamafu because they often practice hard in the mountains. In this regard, which is often infested in the mountains, monks and tengu are very similar. With the continuous development and change, the image of the tengu and the image of Yamafu have many overlaps. Shanfudo wears long hair, a hat, sackcloth clothes, and a Vajrapani staff. Tengu has a red face and a high nose, holding a Vajra staff and a knife, and a lupine fan, wearing tall clogs on his feet, carrying a cloak that can hide his body, and can go to heaven and earth, which is very powerful.
This powerful tengu is called the "big tengu". As for the tengu of the bird's beaked person mentioned earlier, it is called "Utengu" or "Little Tengu".
Nowadays, Tengu often appears in Japanese anime and games. In daily life, tengu masks are also common. Many Japanese still regard the Tengu as the protector of the mountains and forests, believing that it will protect the mountains and rivers.
Resources:
Wang Haoxin: The Image of the Japanese Tengu in the 8th-12th Centuries
Nucleus: "The Tengu in Japanese Mythology Actually Has a Difference in Size"