Public Domain.įujin’s primary symbol was the windbag, which he carries across his shoulders. Symbols and Symbolism of Fujin Statue of Fujin in Nikko. In this way, although Fujin is a Japanese god, his origins were inspired by the gods of other cultures. So popular, in fact, that he was also given many different names in China and eventually ended up in Japan under the name Fujin. There, Hellenic gods like Boreas influenced many Hindu deities, especially in the Kushan Dynasty where Boreas inspired the wind god Wardo.įrom India, these Hindu deities eventually traveled to China where Wardo also became popular. What’s more, Hellenic culture was very well-known all across Eurasia in the ancient times, including in Persia and India. Namely, Fujin is linked with Hellenic portrayals of the Greek wind god Boreas.Įven though Boreas is a lesser-known deity today, he’s older than Fujin. Most scholars today agree that Fujin owes his portrayal to other wind gods from across Eurasia. Just as Fujin’s winds travel around the world, so do his name and imagery. Both in 12, as the Mongol hordes were trying to invade Japan by sea, Fujin and Raijin blew their numerous ships into the sea, crushing the Mongol armies, and keeping Japan safe. Two famous examples of Fujin’s assistance to mortals are the two typhoons credited to both Fujin and Raijin in the late 13 th century. His winds are often gentle and refreshing, and even his harshest typhoons are sometimes helpful. Like his brother Raijin, Fujin is also known as a benevolent deity. Fujin As A Benevolent Wind GodĪs both a kami and an oni, Fujin is complex in his behavior and characteristics. Once the children were born, Izanami ordered them to chase down and capture their own father, the primordial god Izanagi, as Izanami was angry that he had left her in the Underworld.įujin’s father managed to escape Yomi before his vengeful children could catch up to him but they too eventually broke out of Yomi and started sowing destruction around the world at their mother’s behest. The wind god was born by the Japanese primordial goddess Izanami’s corpse, as she lay in the Japanese Underworld Yomi.įujin shares this strange birth with his brother Raijin as well as several other of their siblings such as the kami gods Susanoo, Amaterasu, and Tsukuyomi.īecause of their birth as creatures of the Yomi underworld, Izanami’s children are viewed both as kami gods and as horrifying oni demons. Fujin’s birth was traumatic, to say the least.
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