Tengu: The Terror of the Skies

They may be bird-brained, but the Tengu is not an enemy you want to underestimate. What they lack in intelligence, they certainly make up for in martial skill. Join us as we take a deep dive into the origins and inspiration behind this fowl beast!

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Origin

It should come as no surprise that, like all of the other monsters and bosses from The Spirit of the Samurai, the tengu are legendary creatures originating from Japanese folklore. Within the indigenous religion of Shinto, they are categorised as a kami or godly spirit, but more generally they classed within popular culture as a supernatural being known as a yokai.

The first recorded mention of the word “tengu” in Japan can be traced back to a text known as the Nihon Shoki, which was written in 720 AD. According to this text, a Buddhist monk caught a glimpse of a huge shooting star, which he called a “heavenly dog” or tengu (天狗). This star immediately preceded a vicious military uprising, which led many to fear the tengu as harbingers of war. In these early interpretations, the tengu was most closely associated with the tiāngǒu, a legendary canine monster from Chinese mythology. As you can see, this is a far cry from the avian abomination we know today!

Over time, the tengu started to take on a more bird-like appearance, although the reasons behind this are unclear. Some scholasr speculate that the tengu’s current image was adapted based on that of a Hindu eagle deity known as a garuda, with the key difference being that garuda were friendly towards Buddhism, whereas tengu are traditional depicted as the troublesome enemies of Buddhism.

Regardless of how they underwent this feathery makeover, the tengu soon became cemented within Japanese folklore as loathsome and wretched creatures. Depictions from the 12th and 13th centuries described how they spent most of their time trying to mislead Buddhist monks, carry them off and drop in remote places, possess women to try to seduce them, rob temples, and tempt others to worship them by endowing them with unholy power.

They were believed to be the ghosts of the arrogant, which is why they are now closely associated with vanity and pride. In fact, the phrase tengu ni naru (天狗になる) or “becoming a tengu” is still used in Japan today to describe an egotistical person!

From the 17th to the 19th century, however, repulsion towards the tengu had softened. Their reputation practically inverted as they began to be represented as pious followers of Buddhism, with some stories describing them protecting and blessing religious institutions rather than menacing them or setting them on fire.

They also came to be known as fearsome guardians of mountains and forests, with some regions of Japan still worshipping them to this day. There are now even festivals celebrating the tengu throughout Japan, including the annual Shimokitazawa Tengu Festival in Tokyo.

In short, this beaked beguiler is more than meets the eye!

Characteristics

Aside from its initial association with the canine creature tiāngǒu, the tengu have been traditionally depicted throughout Japanese history as anthropomorphic bird-like creatures. In particular, they carry many of the features of birds of prey, with long sharp beaks, piercing eyes, and talons on their hands or feet. There are, however, variations of tengu such as the Daitengu, who are depicted as predominantly human in appearance but with unnaturally long noses.

What unites all of these depictions of tengu is their reputation as exceptional martial artists. Stories abound with