★ RARE & UNIQUE - Vintage Japanese studio pottery omen mask - YAMABUSHI TENGU! ★
Tengu is mountain and forest goblin with supernatural powers, like shape-shifting into human or animal forms, the ability to speak to humans without moving their mouth, the magic of moving instantly from place to place without using their wings, and the sorcery to appear uninvited in the dreams of the living.
YAMABUSHI TENGU OMEN Japanese Mask Kyo Yaki Red Yokai Kami God Demon Porcelain
★ SHOWA RETRO - 1960s ★
★ DIMENSIONS : 17.3 cm x 13.5 cm x 10 cm ★
★ MATERIAL : PORCELAIN - GLAZE - SILK - WASHI BOX ★
★ ORIGIN : KYOTO ★
★ RED - WHITE - BLACK - GOLD ★
★ NESTED IN ORIGINAL BOX ★
★ NEW OLD STOCK ★
★ MADE IN JAPAN ★
★ FOUND VERY TINY CHIP ON THE BACK, SHOWN ON LAST PIC, MICROSCOPIC ONE ★
According to legend, Tengu took the form of a yamabushi and faithfully served the abbot of a Zen monastery until the man guessed his attendant's true form. The tengu's wings and huge nose then reappeared. The tengu requested a piece of wisdom from his master and left, but he continued, unseen, to provide the monastery with miraculous aid.
Yamabushi Tengu over the centuries becomes more human in appearance and takes on a protective role in the affairs of men. Tengu can transform itself into a man, woman, or child, but its prefered disquise is to appear as a barefooted, wandering, elderly mountain hermit or monk with an extremely long nose.