Tengu

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Tengu
A Tengu in Go! Kotaro Ushiwaka
Species Yokai
Allies Other yokaiYM:SW, TGYW
Enemies DaimonYM:SW, NyudoG!KU
Played by Kenichi EndoTGYW
First appearance Latest appearance
Yokai Monsters:
Spook Warfare
The Great Yokai War
For the bird-like creatures also called "Tengu," see Karasutengu.

Tengu ( (てん) (), lit. heavenly dog) are a kind of Japanese folklore creature. They appear in the 1968 Daiei film Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare; its 2005 spiritual successor The Great Yokai War; and episode 146 of the 1974 Toho tokusatsu series Go! Kotaro Ushiwaka, entitled "The Tengu's Magic Cloak."

Name

The Tengu's name literally translates to "heavenly dog," typically using the old-fashioned kanji 狗 which has since been mostly replaced in Japanese by 犬.

Tengu are most often divided into two categories: the red, long-nosed Tengu which are sometimes designated "Daitengu" or "Ōtengu" (大天狗, lit. large tengu), and the crow-like avian Tengu, called Karasutengu (烏天狗 or 鴉天狗, lit. crow tengu).

Design

The Tengu which appears in Go! Kotaro Ushiwaka resembles typical modern depictions of Tengu, with red skin and a long nose, a tokin on his forehead, and geta sandals. He has medium-length dark gray hair and wears a black undercoat with a golden vest-like garment and light blue gloves and tights.

History

Showa era

Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare

While the Tengu wasn't part of the main group of yokai that first attempted to fight Daimon, when Daimon's weakness was found and he cloned himself multiple times, at least two Tengu, along with many of Japan's other natural yokai and spirits, rushed to fight the invading Babalonian monster.

Go! Kotaro Ushiwaka

"The Tengu's Magic Cloak"

As Nyudo walked along a grassy plain, he was shocked to see a pair of geta sandals walking toward a patch of trees as if by magic. Suddenly, a floating blue glove appeared before him, prompting him to believe it a yokai and charging at it with his club. However, as he swung at the hand, it disappeared. Turning around, Nyudo was hit on the back of the head by a stick, causing him to shout out for Kotaro before falling to the ground. After Nyudo explained the situation to Kotaro, who walked away after not seeing anything, the sandals reappeared before again disappearing, as did the glove shortly after. Determined, Nyudo swung at the trees again before being shoved and hearing a voice talking with him. Frantically, he began to run around swinging at the air before eventually falling to the ground and crawling away in fright. An amused Tengu then appeared grasping a straw cloak, which had granted it the ability to become invisible. Hanging the cloak on a nearby fence, he sat down to relax. Taking notice, Coonjo appeared a short ways away, plotting to steal the cloak for herself. Walking toward the fence holding a long stick, she used it to pull the cloak toward herself as the Tengu continued to sit in the grass. Coonjo later used the Tengu's magic cloak in a brief confrontation with Kotaro, but was ultimately defeated.

Heisei era

The Great Yokai War

A Tengu was one of the first yokai to assist in the great war, training the main protagonist.

Abilities

Magic cloak

While the Tengu which appears in Go! Kotaro Ushiwaka was not shown to possess any physical abilities, he carried a magic cloak (隠れみの,   kakuremino) made of straw which could turn any part of him invisible.

Video games

Konami Wai Wai World

Tengu appear in the second stage of Konami Wai Wai World, called Edo Stage, as naturally-occurring enemies alongside several other creatures based after yokai.

Selected filmography

Gallery

Main article: Tengu/Gallery.

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