Editing Tengu (section)

{{Short description|Type of legendary creature found in Japanese folk religion}}
{{Italic title|reason=[[:Category:Japanese words and phrases]]}}
{{Good article}}
{{Jmyth infobox}}

'''''Tengu''''' ({{IPAc-en|'|t|ɛ|ng|g|u:}} {{respell|TENG|goo}}; {{langx|ja|天狗}}, {{IPA|ja|teŋɡɯ|pron}}, {{literal translation|Heavenly Dog}}) are a type of [[legendary creature]] found in [[Shinto]] belief. They are considered a type of ''[[yōkai]]'' (supernatural beings) or Shinto ''[[kami]]'' (gods or spirits).<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bellingham |first1=David |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/27192394 |title=Myths and Legends |last2=Whittaker |first2=Clio |last3=Grant |first3=John |publisher=Wellfleet Press |year=1992 |isbn=1-55521-812-1 |location=Secaucus, New Jersey |pages=199 |oclc=27192394}}</ref> The ''Tengu'' were originally thought to take the forms of [[bird of prey|birds of prey]] and a [[Monkeys in Japanese culture#Religion|monkey deity]], and they were traditionally depicted with human, monkey, and avian characteristics. [[Sarutahiko Ōkami]] is considered to be the original model of Konoha-Tengu (a supernatural creature with a red face and long nose), which today is widely considered the ''Tengu''{{'}}s defining characteristic in the popular imagination. He is the Shinto [[Japanese macaque|monkey]] deity who is said to shed light on [[Heaven]] and [[Earth]]. Some experts theorize that Sarutahiko was a [[sun god]] worshiped in the [[Ise Grand Shrine|Ise region]] prior to the popularization of [[Amaterasu]].

[[Buddhism]] long held that the ''Tengu'' were disruptive [[demon]]s and [[wikt:harbinger|harbinger]]s of war. Their image gradually softened, however, into one of protective, if still dangerous, spirits of the mountains and forests. ''Tengu'' are associated with the [[ascetic]] practice of [[Shugendō]], and they are usually depicted in the garb of its followers, the ''[[yamabushi]]''.<ref>
* {{Cite book|last=Ashkenazi|first=Michael|url=http://www.credoreference.com/book/abcwmyj|title=Handbook of Japanese mythology|date=2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-84972-856-0|location=Santa Barbara, Calif.|language=English|oclc=755870995}}      
* {{Cite book|last=Picken|first=Stuart D. B|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/860389341|title=Historical dictionary of Shinto|date=2011|publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-7172-4|language=English|oclc=860389341}}
* {{Cite book|last=Roberts|first=Jeremy|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1057125888|title=Japanese mythology A to Z|date=2010|publisher=Chelsea House Publishers|isbn=978-1-60413-435-3|location=New York, NY|language=English|oclc=1057125888}}
* {{Cite book|last1=Köpping|first1=Klaus-Peter|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1063323536|title=Ritual and identity: performative practices as effective transformations of social reality?|last2=Leistle|first2=Bernhard|last3=Rudolph|first3=Michael|date=2006|publisher=Lit; Global [distributor]|isbn=978-3-8258-8042-2|location=Münster; London|language=English|oclc=1063323536}}
* {{Cite book|last=Turnbull|first=Stephen|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1089406931|title=Japan's sexual gods: shrines, roles and rituals of procreation and protection|date=2015|publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-28891-1|language=English|oclc=1089406931}}
* {{Cite book|last=Ashkenazi|first=Michael|url=http://www.credoreference.com/book/abcwmyj|title=Handbook of Japanese mythology|date=2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-84972-856-0|location=Santa Barbara, Calif.|language=English|oclc=755870995}}      
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