Tengu

Tengu is one of the best known mythological creatures in the Japanese folklore, and there are many local legends featuring them, especially around Mount Takao in Tokyo and Mount Kurama in Kyoto, places where tengu are considered to dwell.

According to the legends, the most powerful tengu is daitengu, represented with a human body, dressed with an ascetic monk robe, with red skin and a very, very long nose. Also, daitengu is a very strong martial arts master, living solitary in the mountains. Sometimes, he chooses a human being to whom to pass on his martial arts knowledge, and the legend says that one of the most powerful samurai in the history, Minamoto no Yoshitsune, was trained by the tengu represented in this photo taken at the foot of Mount Kurama, in Kyoto...