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The Namazu, also called the Onamazu, is a creature in Japanese mythology and folktales. The Namazu is a gigantic catfish said to cause earthquakes and tremors. Living in the mud under the Japanese isles, the Namazu is guarded by the protector god Kashima, who restrains the catfish using the <i>kaname-ishi</i> rock. Whenever Kashima lets his guard down, Namazu thrashes about and causes violent earthquakes.<br/><br/> The Namazu rose to new fame and popularity after the Ansei great earthquakes that happened near Edo in 1855. This led to the Namazu being worshipped as a god of world rectification (<i>yonaoshi daimyojin</i>), sent by the gods to correct some of the imbalances in the world.<br/><br/> Catfish woodblock prints known as <i>namazu-e</i> became their own popular genre within days of the earthquake. They were usually unsigned and often depicted scenes of a namazu or many namazu atoning for their deeds. They were quickly squashed by the Tokugawa Shogunate, the prints censored and destroyed, with only a handful surviving to this day.
Wen Zhong, also known as Grand Tutor Wen, was a character from the classic Ming Dynasty novel 'Fengshen Yanyi'. Wen Zhong was one of the highest ranked officials in the Shang Dynasty, having served under King Da Yi for many years. When King Da Yi died, Wen Zhong crowned Da Yi's son Zi Shou (King Zhou of Shang) as the new monarch of the Shang Dynasty.<br/><br/> Shortly afterwards, he rode off on his dragon to wage war against rebelling demons in the North Sea, a campaign that would take fifteen years. During the campaign, he was given a third eye by the Jade Emperor himself, which could allow him to see through any falsehood or dillusion. He eventually returned to King Zhou's court after his victory, and upon seeing the idiocy and corruption within the king and his ministers, began attending to the situation as best he could, remaining loyal to the Shang Dynasty due to his long decades of service.<br/><br/> He appointed himself head of civil affairs, and fought against the Zhou army, refusing to see the Shang Dynasty fall despite his contempt for King Zhou himself. He was eventually struck down by the Taoist Immortal Yunzhongzi, Master of the Clouds. For his bravery, skill, and dutiful loyalty, he was appointed as deity of Puhua Tianzun at the end of the novel, as well as ascending to become a thunder god, Lei Zu, the Ascendant of Thunder.
Leizhenzi, also known as Thunderbolt, was a character from the classic Ming Dynasty novel 'Fengshen Yanyi'. A celestial being and thunder god, Leizhenzi was created by a great thunderstorm that hit Mount Swallow. While travelling through Mount Swallow, Ji Chang (King Wen of Zhou) came upon a small newborn baby, and took the baby in as his own. However, the immortal Yunzhongzi would soon take the newborn away as his disciple, knowing that Leizhenzi was destined to assist in the formation of the Zhou Dynasty.<br/><br/> After seven years, when Ji Chang was fleeing for his life from the capital city of the Shang Dynasty after being freed, the seven-year-old Leizhenzi was ordered by his master to go aid his father, but first had to take hold of his weapon, a golden rod, from the cliff's edge. Eating two large apricots he found near the cliff edge, he suddenly grew two great wings from his back, and his face became birdlike and monstrous. He then armed himself and went to aid his father.<br/><br/> He rescued his father, returning him to Phoenix City, the capital of Ji Province. He parted ways with his father after that, promising to return someday to aid him, which he would after Ji Chang's death and the rise of Leizhenzi's brother, Ken Wu of Zhou. He would fight alongside his brother against the Shang army, helping to bring down the Shang Dynasty. Leiznhenzi is possibly an analogue and derivative of Lei Gong, who is also a Chinese thunder god with a birdlike appearance.
Lei Gong, sometimes known as Lei Shen, is a god of thunder in traditional Chinese religion and religious Taoism. Generally depicted as a fearsome bird-man with a blue face and a beak, bat wings and claws, wearing only a loincloth. Lei Gong is often shown wielding a drum and mallet to produce thunder, as well as a chisel with which to punish evildoers.<br/><br/> In Taoism, Lei Gong is not only the god of thunder but also a divine instrument of punishment and retribution, ordered by heaven to punish earthly mortals who have been found guilty of secret crimes or evil spirits who abuse their Taoist knowledge to do harm upon human beings. To aid in his task, he has a retinue of assistants and helpers, including his wife Dian Mu (Tian Mu or Lei Zi), the goddess of lightning, who uses flashing mirrors to send bolts of lightning streaking across the sky.<br/><br/> Lei Gong began his life as a mortal man by the name of Feng Lung, who accidentally found and ate one of the immortal peaches from heaven, which immediately transformed him into his godly form. Temples dedicated solely to Lei Gong are rare, though he is sometimes honoured by people who hope he will exact revenge upon their personal enemies. Lei Gong is also said to be extremely prudish, and will not enter a house where copulation is taking place, or even if there are pictures of this act displayed in the house.
Raijin is a god of lightning, thunder and storms in the Shinto religion and in Japanese mythology. He is typically depicted as a demonic spirit beating drums to create thunder, usually with a <i>tomoe</i> symbol drawn on the drums.<br/><br/> Fujin or Futen is the Japanese god of the wind and one of the eldest Shinto gods. He is generally depicted as a terrifying wizard-like demon carrying a large bag of winds on his shoulders.<br/><br/> In Japanese art, the deity is often depicted together with Raijin, the god of lightning, thunder and storms.<br/><br/> Ogata Kōrin (1658 – June 2, 1716) was a Japanese painter of the Rinpa school. He was born in Kyoto, to a wealthy merchant who had a taste for the arts. Korin also studied under Soken Yamamoto, the Kano school, Tsunenobu and Gukei Sumiyoshi, and was greatly influenced by his predecessors Hon'ami Kōetsu and Tawaraya Sotatsu.<br/><br/> 'Wind God and Thunder God' by Ogata Korin is a replica of Tawaraya Sotatsu's four panel folding screen of the same title ('Fujin Raijin Zu), Kyoto, early 17th century.
Raijin is a god of lightning, thunder and storms in the Shinto religion and in Japanese mythology. He is typically depicted as a demonic spirit beating drums to create thunder, usually with a <i>tomoe</i> symbol drawn on the drums.<br/><br/> In Japanese art, the deity is often depicted together with the wind god Fujin.<br/><br/> Ogata Kōrin (1658 – June 2, 1716) was a Japanese painter of the Rinpa school. He was born in Kyoto, to a wealthy merchant who had a taste for the arts. Korin also studied under Soken Yamamoto, the Kano school, Tsunenobu and Gukei Sumiyoshi, and was greatly influenced by his predecessors Hon'ami Kōetsu and Tawaraya Sotatsu.<br/><br/> 'Wind God and Thunder God' by Ogata Korin is a replica of Tawaraya Sotatsu's four panel folding screen of the same title ('Fujin Raijin Zu), Kyoto, early 17th century.
Raijin is a god of lightning, thunder and storms in the Shinto religion and in Japanese mythology. He is typically depicted as a demonic spirit beating drums to create thunder, usually with a <i>tomoe</i> symbol drawn on the drums.<br/><br/> In Japanese art, the deity is often depicted together with the wind god Fujin.<br/><br/> Ogata Kōrin (1658 – June 2, 1716) was a Japanese painter of the Rinpa school. He was born in Kyoto, to a wealthy merchant who had a taste for the arts. Korin also studied under Soken Yamamoto, the Kano school, Tsunenobu and Gukei Sumiyoshi, and was greatly influenced by his predecessors Hon'ami Kōetsu and Tawaraya Sotatsu.<br/><br/> 'Wind God and Thunder God' by Ogata Korin is a replica of Tawaraya Sotatsu's four panel folding screen of the same title ('Fujin Raijin Zu), Kyoto, early 17th century.
Utagawa Kunisada (also known as Utagawa Toyokuni III) was the most popular, prolific and financially successful designer of ukiyo-e woodblock prints in 19th-century Japan.<br/><br/> In his own time, his reputation far exceeded that of his contemporaries, Hokusai, Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi.<br/><br/> Raijin is a god of lightning, thunder and storms in the Shinto religion and in Japanese mythology. He is typically depicted as a demonic spirit beating drums to create thunder, usually with a <i>tomoe</i> symbol drawn on the drums.
Suzuki Harunobu (1724 – July 7, 1770) was a Japanese woodblock print artist, one of the most famous in the Ukiyo-e style. He was an innovator, the first to produce full-color prints (nishiki-e) in 1765, rendering obsolete the former modes of two- and three-color prints.<br/><br/> Harunobu used many special techniques, and depicted a wide variety of subjects, from classical poems to contemporary beauties (bijin, bijin-ga). Like many artists of his day, Harunobu also produced a number of shunga, or erotic images.<br/><br/> Raijin is a god of lightning, thunder and storms in the Shinto religion and in Japanese mythology. He is typically depicted as a demonic spirit beating drums to create thunder, usually with a <i>tomoe</i> symbol drawn on the drums.
Raijin is a god of lightning, thunder and storms in the Shinto religion and in Japanese mythology. He is typically depicted as a demonic spirit beating drums to create thunder, usually with a tomoe symbol drawn on the drums.<br/><br/> Fujin or Futen is the Japanese god of the wind and one of the eldest Shinto gods. He is generally depicted as a terrifying wizard-like demon carrying a large bag of winds on his shoulders.<br/><br/> In Japanese art, the deity is often depicted together with Raijin, the god of lightning, thunder and storms.
Torii Kiyomitsu (1735 – May 11, 1785) was a painter and printmaker of the Torii school of Japanese ukiyo-e art; the son of Torii Kiyonobu II or Torii Kiyomasu II, he was the third head of the school, and was originally called Kamejirō before taking the gō Kiyomitsu.<br/><br/> Dividing his work between actor prints and bijinga (pictures of beautiful women), he primarily used the benizuri-e technique prolific at the time, which involved using one or two colors of ink on the woodblocks rather than hand-coloring; full-color prints would be introduced later in Kiyomitsu's career, in 1765.<br/><br/> Raijin is a god of lightning, thunder and storms in the Shinto religion and in Japanese mythology. He is typically depicted as a demonic spirit beating drums to create thunder, usually with a <i>tomoe</i> symbol drawn on the drums.