Earlier, in some articles on our site, a mythological creature named tengu has already been mentioned. In today's article, we will dwell on it in more detail and try to present as much information as possible about tengu.
The origin of the tengu legends
Tengu came to Japanese mythology from China (like many other mythological creatures). The Japanese consider tengu to be a powerful mountain spirit, lord and guardian of forests. If we compare it with its European counterparts, then the goblin or goblin will be the closest to tengu. In the Yamal-Nenets Okrug there is a mythological character with a sonorous name - tungu. This is what they call a wild man. He is most often portrayed as thin, tall and shaggy. Tungu knows how to run quickly and whistle shrilly (which reminds the Nightingale the Robber). During the cold season, the tungu throws skins over itself to keep warm.
If we talk about the word "tengu" itself, then literally it means "Heavenly Dog". The roots of this name refer again to Chinese mythology, in which there is a creature with a similar name - Tianhou ("Heavenly Hound"). According to one of the legends, once a huge meteorite fell on China, and its plume looked like a large tail. So Tianhou got its name, and China got its legend about a powerful mountain deity, similar to a hybrid of a man and a dog, with a crow's beak.
In China, and then in Japan, tengu are creatures that live in mountains and forests. According to legends, they lived as hermits, although there were cases when tengu huddled in flocks. Tengu's favorite habitats are the tops of trees (old pines or cryptomeria), which have bent trunks.
The tengu's appearance is quite specific - it is a huge creature with a red face and a long nose. Most likely, the tengu adopted the birdlike features of its appearance from the Chinese or Hindu prototype, and perhaps even from the fusion of these images.
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Tengu, of course, also have supernatural abilities. For example, they can transform into a human, and also at will take the form of a variety of animals. Tengu can communicate with people without opening their mouth (telepathically). Also, without the help of wings, they can move with lightning speed from one place to another. And sometimes tengu can visit a person in a dream without an invitation.
Tengu are considered patrons of the martial arts, as they are skillful warriors themselves. At the same time, they are not averse to playing pranks, for example, arranging a trick for some boastful or arrogant monk. Tengu are distinguished by their desire for justice, therefore they can punish those who abuse power or knowledge in order to gain an influential position in society or achieve fame. In the past, the tengu liked to punish the vain and self-righteous samurai. In addition, they hate people with vices and braggart.
These creatures often fool and frighten travelers who went to the mountains with their thunderous laughter. They are also not averse to teasing the lumberjacks who dared to wander into the depths of the thicket.
The emergence of the Japanese tengu
For the first time, tengu, as a Japanese goblin, is mentioned in the "Tale of the Hollow" ("Utsubo monogatari"), which dates back to the end of the tenth century.
Tengu came to the territory of Japan together with Buddhism in the 6-7 centuries AD from neighboring states - China and Korea. A little later, namely in 720, records about these creatures appear in the book of Nihon Shoki. These records were directly associated with Mount Kurama, which is located near Kibune, and is the abode of the legendary white-haired tengu king named Sojobo.
According to Japanese legends and myths, tengu are descended from Susano-o (the original Japanese deity). Mentions of these mythical creatures can be found not only in relation to religious parables and legends, but also in ancient myths about Japanese martial arts, in particular about ninpo and ninjutsu.
According to one of the legends, tengu possessed "Tengu-gaijutsu-ron" (divine fighting technique). This technique is remarkable in that it was used by ninja who wore black clothes and a mask, which, by the way, is called Tengu-gi. The purpose of the mask was in disguise, as well as intimidation of the enemy (it gave demonic features to the ninja's appearance). The connection between tengu and ninja will be discussed below.
The oldest type of tengu is Karasu. It was their painters who depicted them in the form of crow-like creatures with a human body, as well as super-strong teeth, with which they could easily bite into an iron sword, and for a snack the tip of a spear.
There were legends that it was these tengu who especially carefully guarded the forests in which they lived. They could not hesitate to tear apart people who thoughtlessly cut down trees. However, the tengu could have dealt with such intruders in a different way - they kidnapped a person, and after a while they released him. After the shock they experienced, such people became feeble-minded and the people called them "abducted tengu" (tengu kakushi).
Yamabushi and tengu
In the 13th century, new legends appear about tengu. In them, tengu are transformed into yamabushi (mountain monks). The word "yamabushi" itself means "to settle in the mountains", which means the solitary wandering of monks through the mountains and gorges. These wanderings are rooted in the Shugendo religion, which is unique to Japan. This religion developed from the custom of venerating and worshiping the local sacred mountains, which have long been revered as places where the gods came from or where they stayed.
Over time, people began to add legends about these mountains, in which there was a place for tengu. The most widespread meditation in the mountainous regions was obtained in 794-1185 (middle of the Heian period).
They began to identify tengu with yamabushi because of the association of tengu with mountain ranges, as well as magical activities. As mentioned above, people believed in the supernatural power of these creatures and their ability to transform into humans and animals. In turn, the Yamabushi monks hoped that by retiring in the mountains and leading the ascetic lifestyle of a hermit, they would be able to acquire at least some of the magical skills of tengu. In this regard, people began to identify yamabushi with tengu and began to depict these creatures in the guise of yamabushi. Most often, tengu-yamabushi appeared in public in the guise of a barefoot wandering elderly monk, although they could easily take the guise of a woman, a man, or even a child.
The Yamabushi were fierce defenders of the Dharma, or otherwise the teachings of the Buddha, and therefore punished anyone who misled others using religious doctrines. In some cases, the behavior of the tengu defied explanation and was mysterious to people, but this was the essence of these inhabitants of mountain forests.
Later, during the Edo period, the number of mountain monks grew even more, and therefore the tengu-yamabushi bond grew stronger day by day. However, now the Yamabushi no longer practiced religion, but retrained to exorcise demons, cure diseases and return stolen things. An indisputable fact is the significant influence of tengu on Japanese martial arts (ken-jutsu, ninjutsu, ju-jutsu, etc.), as evidenced by numerous drawings depicting tengu.
People treated tengu differently. On the one hand, these creatures were the protectors and patrons of mountain sanctuaries. On the other hand, they were cruel deceivers and kidnappers of adults and children, fire-makers and murderers of those who attempted to kill trees in tengu forests.
Tengu possess a rather strange sense of humor, and their cunning is not inferior to their arrogance. These creatures emerge victorious from fights, thanks to their magical power, which they have more than enough. They also did not fail to use physical or mental strength.
According to popular beliefs, after death, a proud man or a person who could not get rid of anger during his lifetime, as well as a priest who could not know the truth, or a liar who used faith for his own selfish purposes, could turn into a tengu. Moreover, the belief in tengu was so strong that in 1860 they were even sent an official request to liberate the provinces through which the shogun was traveling.
Tengu and martial arts
As noted above, tengu were consummate martial artists. Despite their complex nature, sometimes tengu shared their knowledge of martial arts with ordinary people. In the aftermath, various samurai, wars, and the founders of martial arts schools claimed to have received their knowledge and advice from tengu. Sometimes this happened in a dream (as mentioned above, tengu could visit people in a dream), and sometimes during voluntary wanderings in the mountains.
During this particular ascent to the Musha-shuge mountains, one of the greatest warriors of Japan named Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune mastered the art of handling the sword. Moreover, he mastered it so well that, while still very young, he was able to defeat the war monk Bankey in the Kurama-dera Temple. It is possible that Musashi owes this knowledge to the tengu. And this is probably why the young Minamoto Musashi was called "little tengu" (the nickname was given for the fact that Musashi became the winner in more than 60 duels).
Morihei Ueshiba, who is the founder of the aikido school, was very fond of one legend: the head of the Minamoto clan named Yoshitomo was defeated by the Taira clan army and himself died in battle. His son Ushikawa-maru was spared. When the boy was 7 years old, he was sent to a monastery near Kyoto, on Mount Kurama. There he was raised by Buddhist monks and he could feel completely safe.
However, the boy was only thinking about how to avenge his father's death. Thus, Usivaka-maru began to run away from the monastery at night to practice swordplay. Moreover, he chose the terrible Shojo Valley for this occupation, where even during the day the sunlight penetrated with great difficulty, due to the dense thickets of cedars and firs. His enemies were thick tree trunks, in the place of which the boy represented the Tyr troops. All night, he beat them with his branch sword.
And then one day in the evening in front of Ushivaka-maru, a rather strange-looking yamabushi appeared out of the darkness, who invited the guy to learn the secrets of fencing. Ushivaka said without hesitation for a second: "Let's start right now!" And then he rushed to attack the yamabushi, but he could not even touch him even once. After that, the guy more politely asked the monk to teach him.
From that day on, Ushivaka-maru received essential swordsmanship lessons from Master Shojo-bo and his pack of tengu every night. Thanks to such intense training, by the age of 12, the guy could compete with even the strongest tengu. This meant that Ushivaka-maru was ready to leave his teacher and the mountains.
Further, as the legend tells, Ushivaka-maru defeats the huge monk Benkei, while showing himself as one of the strongest Japanese warriors. And ever since then, all the great martial artists have followed the example of Ushivaka-maru and learned swordsmanship from the tengu.
Tengu and ninja
Tengu-geijutsu-ron ("Tengu Divine Technique") comes from the Yamabushi war monks who roamed the mountains from monastery to monastery. This technique was used by the warriors of the shadow (ninja), which gave it even more mystery. The mask worn by the ninja was black and was called tengu-gi. The mask covered almost the entire face, so it made the ninja less noticeable in the dark and at the same time gave the devilish features to the wars. Now you can see for yourself how closely the art of ninjutsu was associated with tengu.
The ninja represented a different culture, namely a different dark world. The personification of this world was secluded forest chapels, mikkyo temples and, of course, the cult of the night, darkness, black, as well as a close connection with the cults of the mountains and the mystical teachings of Shugendo. The unsurpassed martial prowess and strength of the ninja was attributed to the close communication of the warriors of the shadow with Maryoku - the dark forces, demons-oni, demons-yurei and the werewolves themselves tengu. In turn, the ninja tried in every possible way to support these superstitions, because it gave rise to fear in the eyes of the enemy and it became another weapon in the hands of the warriors of the shadow.
As time went on, new ninja legends began to appear among people. They said that the tengu were the ancestors of the ninja and that they passed on their demonic powers and skills to their descendants. According to other legends, the ninja had a connection with shugenja adepts who practiced teachings about the supernatural. Adepts taught ninja to swim in icy water and walk on fire without getting burned, as well as sleep in the snow and even control the weather.
It was also believed that warriors of the shadow know how to call for help from the spirits and use their power. Samurai believed that ninjas are able to fly on clouds, stop time, read the mind of the enemy and are able to become invisible.
In general, not so much is known about the ninja, because there are practically no written sources containing the innermost secrets of the shadow wars. That is why the invisible wars still remain a mystery to researchers of Eastern culture.
The word ninja itself is derived from the Japanese "nin" - secret and "jia" - personality (mysterious person). Sometimes you can find another mention - shinobi ("hiding"). Even less common was the Chinese mention of ninja - "lin kuei", which means "demons of the forest." It was believed that they are the owners of superhuman powers, which can be achieved through the mystical practice of shugendo (the search for spiritual and mystical possibilities achieved through asceticism). Here again there is a reference to the yamabushi, which were described in detail above.
The Yamabushi practiced the doctrine of the complete fusion of man with nature. At the time of its inception, the ninjutsu school had nothing to do with military organizations at all, neither in ideology, nor in training methods. But over time, ninjutsu has undergone major changes.
Probably we will never know what in the legends about the ninja was true and what was false. However, the connection between the warriors of the night and the tengu is considered undeniable and many legends are confirmed.