The Complete Mysteries of Mythology Collection

Currently Playing: The REAL Creature Behind the Emoji 👺

Tengu are one of Japan’s most recognisable supernatural beings, but the long-nosed mountain spirit began as something very different. Across more than a thousand years, they changed from heavenly omens and enemies of Buddhism into tricksters, warrior teachers and even guardians. The Tengu of Japanese folklore are much stranger than the red-faced “goblin” emoji suggests. Their story stretches back to the Nihon Shoki, where a heavenly dog-like omen appears in 637 CE, before developing through Buddhist tales, medieval picture scrolls and mountain traditions. Along the way, Tengu became bird-like spirits associated with deception, possession and religious pride. Texts including Konjaku Monogatari, the Tengu zōshi and Taiheiki show them taking on new roles, while legends surrounding Yoshitsune and Mount Kurama transformed the Tengu into teachers of warriors. Their later connection with yamabushi mountain ascetics changed them again, helping create the familiar winged, long-nosed figure found throughout Japanese art and folklore today. 🏛️ JOIN THE MYSTICS: Get early access to new documentaries and help vote on future mythology topics. 👉 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy6v91210figZrnMvfnhZhw/join ▶️ WATCH NEXT: ↳ 👹 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLikECI8lazL2Pu3cYO0BhzJok70buYWNj ↳ 🐉 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLikECI8lazL0W7QESLTLZrYyMAk91giJx 🛒 Mythology Books and Creator Picks: https://www.amazon.com/shop/mysteriesofmythology 👕 Merch: https://mysteries-of-mythology-shop.fourthwall.com/ ——————————————— ⏳ CHAPTERS: 00:00 Intro to Tengu 00:38 What are Tengu? 01:59 From Sky to Forest 04:15 Enemies of Buddhism 07:13 The Samurai Teacher 09:52 Power, Pride, and Chaos 11:07 The Yamabushi Connection ——————————————— 📚 SOURCES & CREDITS: • Nihon Shoki, Yoshida manuscript – https://knmdb.kyohaku.go.jp/361.html • Tengu Zōshi (Emaki of Tengu Story), Tokyo National Museum – https://emuseum.nich.go.jp/detail?content_base_id=100262&content_part_id=0&content_pict_id=0&langId=en • Yasurō Abe, The Book of Tengu: Goblins, Devils, and Buddhas in Medieval Japan – https://religion-in-japan.univie.ac.at/r/images/2/2d/Abe_2002.pdf • Kyoto National Museum, Tales of Damnation and Bedevilment: Demons, Tengu, and the Buddhist Hells – https://www.kyohaku.go.jp/eng/exhibitions/collection/2023/08/?date=24 • When Tengu Talk: Hirata Atsutane’s Ethnography of the Other World – https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt6wqvbk • Tengu in Kurama Tengu, University of Michigan Press – https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/10.3998/mpub.19223.9.pdf • Two Mythical Creatures (Tengu) Carrying a Parcel, Metropolitan Museum of Art – https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/59737 ——————————————— 🔔 SUBSCRIBE → https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy6v91210figZrnMvfnhZhw/?sub_confirmation=1 ——————————————— 🔗 CONNECT WITH ME: ↳ 💬 Chat on Discord: https://discord.gg/erE273UZme #Tengu #JapaneseFolklore #Yokai #Japan #Yamabushi #JapaneseMythology #Mythology #MysteriesOfMythology