Tengu

Origin

The etymology of tengu is the Han-period Chinese Tian-gou ('celestial dog'), a mythic beast in the Shanhaijing said to devour stars; the characters for tengu passed directly into Japanese. The earliest Japanese reference is in the Nihon Shoki of 720, compiled by Prince Toneri, in which the entry for the ninth year of Emperor Jomei (637) records a great star falling to the east, called tengu. The canonical iconography, however, crystallised in the Konjaku Monogatari-shu, book 20, of the twelfth century, where the tengu is the avatar of a corrupt monk or yamado ('mountain follower'). Kamakura-period works such as the Heike Monogatari (thirteenth century) and the Yamai no Soshi scroll of the Saikyoji manuscript (fourteenth century) established the Karasu-tengu (crow-headed tengu) iconography. From the Muromachi period (fifteenth and sixteenth centuries) onward, fusion with the Shugendo school of mountain asceticism added the red-faced, long-nosed Daitengu in yamabushi (mountain ascetic) garb. The Edo-period ukiyo-e of Hokusai and Kuniyoshi established the modern visual canon.

Features

• Karasu-tengu (crow-headed tengu), the earlier iconography
• Daitengu (red-faced, long-nosed) in yamabushi attire, the later iconography
• Yamabushi robes and geta (wooden clogs) of mountain ascetics
• Black or red wings on the back, flying freely through the mountains
• Absolute mastery of swordsmanship, martial arts, and supernatural power
• Punishes the proud and transmits secret techniques to the humble

Stories

Since the Konjaku Monogatari-shu of the twelfth century, the tengu has been at the heart of Japanese yokai iconography. The Kamakura-period Heike Monogatari, in which Sojobo of Mount Kurama is said to have taught swordsmanship to Minamoto no Yoshitsune, established the tengu as the canonical master of the martial arts. From the Muromachi period onward, the tengu fused deeply with the Shugendo school of mountain asceticism, and the canonical hierarchy of eight great mountain tengu was established: Sojobo of Mount Kurama, Taroba of Mount Atago, Jiroba of Mount Hira, Hogiboo of Mount Hiko, Myogiboo of Mount Koya, Hokibo of Mount Daisen, Sagamibo of Mount Ubu, and Bozobo of Mount Shoraku. The Edo-period ukiyo-e of Katsushika Hokusai (1830s) and Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1850s) established the visual canon. The tengu now appears throughout Japanese and Western popular culture in Ninja Gaiden, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, the Demon Slayer manga and anime characters' iconography, and many other works.

Weakness

The tengu's decisive weakness is its own pride. From the Konjaku Monogatari-shu onward, the tengu has traditionally been understood as a deceased proud monk reincarnated in a paradoxical theological position: the figure whose nature is pride is paradoxically vulnerable to the sin of pride itself. Tales from the Kamakura and Muromachi periods often feature humble practitioners outsmarting the tengu's pride to extract secret techniques. The tengu is also vulnerable to the mantras and mudras of Japanese Buddhism, especially those of Fudo Myo-o (Acala) and Bishamonten (Vaisravana), the wrathful protectors. Shugendo yamabushi rituals to subdue tengu have been preserved as a tradition, and Japanese mountain temples retain dedicated tengu masks as votive offerings. The modern Japanese idiom hana ga takaku naru (literally 'the nose grows tall', meaning 'to become arrogant') derives directly from the daitengu's long nose, showing how the tengu's weakness has entered the language itself.

Cultural Significance

The tengu is not merely a yokai but the visual embodiment of Japanese mountain religion and the Shugendo school of mountain asceticism. Beginning with the astronomical phenomenon of the eighth-century Nihon Shoki, the figure was iconicised in the twelfth-century Konjaku Monogatari-shu as the avatar of a corrupt monk, then fused with Shugendo in the Muromachi period to become the visual icon of the yamabushi school. The coexistence of the Karasu-tengu and Daitengu forms is one of the most refined cases of Japanese yokai iconography, and the canonical hierarchy of eight great mountain tengu (Mount Kurama, Mount Atago, Mount Hira, and so on) reflects the geographical system of Japanese mountain religion directly. Edo-period ukiyo-e by Hokusai and Kuniyoshi, the kabuki tengu mask, and the votive tengu paintings of mountain temples established the visual canon. The modern Japanese idiom hana ga takaku naru ('the nose grows tall', meaning 'to become arrogant') shows the linguistic penetration of the iconography.

In Popular Culture

Prince Toneri (ed.), Nihon Shoki, book 23 (720) — earliest Japanese reference to tenguKonjaku Monogatari-shu, book 20 (12th c.) — establishment as avatar of the corrupt monkHeike Monogatari (13th c.) — Sojobo of Mount Kurama teaches Yoshitsune swordsmanshipYamai no Soshi, Saikyoji manuscript (14th c.) — Karasu-tengu iconographyKatsushika Hokusai, tengu ukiyo-e (1830s) — Edo visual canonUtagawa Kuniyoshi, double-sided tengu print (1850s) — ukiyo-e canonTsujita Shunkyu, Nihon Yokai Daijiten (2005) — modern scholarly canon