BIG IN JAPAN
Tengu �
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| Photos by Janet Leigh Foster |
High up in the primordial
mountain forests of Japan, a chance encounter with a giant egg offers the prospect of an
omelet big enough to feed a family of six. The opportunity for free breakfast, however, is
best resisted because stealing a huge egg might incur the wrath of the tengu whose
young it encases. Tengu, beings characterized by a combination of human and bird-like
attributes, are minor divinities with the power to increase the fortune of human beings.
Besides their prowess in the art of swordsmanship, they are also known for being
mischievous - when their ire is up, they don' hesitate to exact a swift revenge.
Found throughout Japan, two species of tengu inhabit the mountains. The karasu-tengu
has a feather-covered body and a beak that protrudes from its green face. Distant cousins
of the Hindu god Garuda, and the first tengu species recorded in Japan, they are servants
of the konoha-tengu, tall red beings that could be mistaken for humans save for
their exceedingly long noses.
The tengu is reputed to be able to extend and retract its nose by fanning it with a magic
fan fashioned from a leaf of the Aralia japonica shrub. The konoha-tengu is associated
with Saruta-hiko, a giant Japanese god with a nose the length of seven hands who
acted as a guide for Prince Ninigi no Mikoto when he descended from heaven. Saruta-hiko's
eyes shone like multi-planed mirrors, and he radiated light, but it was his long nose that
caused him to be regarded as a phallic deity.
In the past tengu were often accused of perpetrating kami-kakushi (divine
kidnapping). In the case of adult victims, this took the form of mysterious pranks in
which a person would become disoriented and in a difficult-to-reach locale without a clue
to how he or she got there. In the summer of 1812, as legend has it, a naked young man
fell from the sky on to Umamichi street in Tokyo's Asakusa district. Only two days before
he had been sightseeing in Kyoto on a mountain inhabited by tengu. A stranger had offered
to guide him and the next thing he knew he was wearing his birthday suit in Asakusa. The
"stranger" was obviously a mischievous tengu disguised as a human being.
 Adults were not the
only victims. It was believed that when a child went missing, the tengu had stolen it. The
origin of this idea comes from the tengu's name and its Chinese origins. The kanji that
are pronounced "tengu" in Japanese can also be read as Chinese for heavenly dog
(T'ien-kou). This refers to the Dog-star of ancient Chinese astronomy, which was held to
be the soul of a young virgin eager to seize a child to take her place in the sky to allow
her to be reincarnated as a mortal.
In terms of habitat, tengu favor the lofty perch of Cryptomeria trees valued for their
aromatic wood. Given their proclivity for treetops and their ability to fly, it is not
surprising that in ancient times tengu took their name from a star. Tengu can use their
wings to fly or they can move about by astral projection.
Tengu do not speak directly to humans, but use telepathy as a means of communication. They
have been accused of invading the minds of men and driving them to madness. In one case,
the victim reported being forced to assume a seat on a saucer that twirled through the
heavens for ten days. When it finally stopped, he thought that he was on the summit of a
mountain, but it turned out instead to be the roof of a temple.
Fond of committing mischief, tengu do not take kindly when they are the subject of pranks.
In one legend, a young man dressed himself in a tengu costume and climbed a tree. The
villagers thought he was the real thing and left offerings at the base of the tree. He
lost his balance, fell from the tree and died.
Tengu reprisals are not always so vicious, and are more like the antics of a poltergeist.
One man who insulted the tengu, was pursued by an enchanted sword that hovered over his
head taking swipes at him. He lived to tell the tale and never made fun of the tengu
again. So beware next time you are exploring Mt Takao, one of the tengu's metropolitan
stomping grounds - be nice to any strange red men with long noses that you meet among the
trees.
Janet Leigh Foster
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BIG IN JAPAN: