Friday 26 October 2012

Fujin 風神 and Raijin 雷神

Fūjin (風神) or Futen is the Japanese god of the wind and one of the eldest Shinto gods.
He is portrayed as a terrifying dark demon, resembling a red headed black humanoid wearing a leopardskin, carrying a large bag of winds on his shoulders.
In Japanese art, the deity is often depicted together with Raijin, the god of lightning, thunder and storms.
Raijin is a god of lightning, thunder and storms in the Shinto religion and in Japanese mythology.
His name is derived from the Japanese words rai (雷, meaning ‘thunder’) and shin (神, ‘god’ or 'kami'). He is typically depicted as a demon beating drums to create thunder, usually with the symbol tomoe drawn on the drums. 

The tomoe symbol:

















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