Thursday, April 5, 2012

Tengu


Tengu are an ambivalent supernatural being or sometimes monster that can be found throughout Japanese folklore and have any number of different manifestations depending upon the region visited.  I've mostly run into depictions of tengu in areas that possess many hills or mountains.  I don't think I've ever encountered an area that openly features tengu folklore outside those geographical areas.  I actually don't know much about tengu yet, but it seems tengu are sometimes used in the same roles oni are used in other regions, even the same festivals.  While I've encountered small shrines that are supposed to keep a tengu imprisoned on a mountain, I've seen people dressed as tengu leading parades that had nothing to do with the tengu themselves.  Interesting to see how the same or similar supernatural being is treated in varying areas.

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