Wind God Futen?

[vajo]

I wonder about the motif of the tsuba.

 

I spoke with George he helps me and comes to the conclusion it could be Futen or Fujin as an Eagle. We didn't found a tale or something about the ape he carried away.

 

From the picture i think the ape (or ape looking oni) could be stolen his windbag?

 

Did anyone knows something about the scene?

 

[christianmalterre]

shure it is old and antique?

 

???

[Pete Klein]

Lord of the Rings meets The Wizard of Oz...

[Tanto54]

Hi Chris,

 

Just to clarify, the figure being carried by the bird (hawk or an eagle) is Futen (also called Fujin).  He looks a little like an Oni and can be identified by his "scarf" and wind bag.  On the back of this tsuba, there is another figure (not pictured in your photo above) which I believe is a monkey.

[vajo]

Yes George. But what is the story?

[Fuuten]

I read about this a looong time ago, iirc; its a subset of 4 gods old Buddhism, if I'm not mistaken they were also (somehow), related to the 4 elements. 

[vajo]

That sounds interesting Axel. Do you remember where do you read it?

[Fuuten]

No sorry, its honestly been over 10 years ago. I will give it a go though, say tomorrow and report back.

 

edit: Ah i think it was this page: http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/12-devas.shtml

Edited February 7, 2019 by Fuuten

[vajo]

Thank you Axel.

 

I have some problems to conclude from the text to the motif. But i will search further.

[SteveM]

I think this is a monkey. The eagle grabbing the monkey is a common theme. 

 

https://www.city.suzaka.nagano.jp/otakara/search/item.php?id=608

https://ameblo.jp/o-deco-3/image-11967958562-13166820665.html

https://image.tnm.jp/image/1024/C0026332.jpg

https://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/fumitomotomu/10614223.html

 

According to the Suzaka Museum site, the eagle represents heaven, and the monkey represents earth/man, and eagle is heaven coming to save man. 

[Tanto54]

Dear Steve,

 

I'm positive that it is Fujin (also known as Futen) - see the famous painting below (he's the one on the right).  Fujin has a scarf and a bag of wind (monkeys don't....) just like on the tsuba.

 

[SteveM]

Hi George,

I gave that some consideration, and looked around for other supporting examples of Fujin with an eagle, but I couldn't find any.

In the end, we are left with inconsistencies in both of our guesses:

 

1. Its a monkey (as in other examples of a known theme), but what is the bag, and what is the scarf-like thing? OR

2. Its Fūjin, and the bag is his wind-bag, but this time he's hairy, and the tsuba is an outlier. The theme is unique to this tsuba - or it exists elsewhere, we just haven't come across it yet. 

 

Or there is a third possibility

3. Its a completely different theme - neither monkey nor Fūjin.  

 

In the end, the hairy body convinced me it was a monkey, and I have yet to find a satisfactory explanation for the bag. The other examples of eagle and monkey also convinced me. If I could find an example of a hairy Fūjin, or if there were a known story of an eagle and Fūjin, I would ditch my argument. So, while I can't wave my hand and make the bag disappear to bolster my argument, I am more comfortable with the question mark of the bag, rather than with the unlikelihood of a hairy Fūjin. The second character of Fūjin (風神) is "god", so Fūjin isn't a beast or a hairy demon, it is a god in semi-human form. The eagle abducting Fūjin feels strange, and the hair seems more simian-like than god-like. So, I'll stick with monkey for now, but I remain open to other arguments. 

 

you can tell I have a lot of free time today

[vajo]

Fujin wears a leopard skin says a wikipedia entry: 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 wizard-like demon, resembling a red headed green-skinned humanoid wearing a leopard skin, carrying a large bag of winds on his shoulders.

 

I thought a long time about the motif as i come to the tsuba. The backsite shows a river with a monkey and Mt. Fuji behind.

[Tanto54]

Hi Steve,

 

Ok, I hope this will convince you.  Notice that the figure being carried by the bird in Chris' tsuba is also wearing a bangle (bracelet) on his foot (ankle).  See picture below.  As you know Fujin also wears a bangle (Monkeys do not).  As pointed out before, Fujin also wears a loose, thin flowing scarf.  Therefore, we have a bag, scarf and bangle on an "Oni-like" figure (Fujin is often described as looking like an Oni).  And actually, Fujin was a demon before he was defeated and changed to the side of Buddha (and I suspect that this tsuba may depict something about Fujin's defeat). 

 

 

[vajo]

I think George is right with Fujin. He has also that beard.

[Fuuten]

Hi Chris, i found this one. I think its quite nice.

 

 

https://www.aoijapan.net/tsuba-mumeiunsigned%ef%bc%88kyo-kinko/

[vajo]

Maybe the Tsuba theme is different what we search. Some sense of humor.

 

Markus wrote a article about "Bird of prey catching a monkey". https://markussesko.com/2014/02/02/tsuba-with-the-bird-of-prey-catching-a-monkey-motif/

 

Maybe the motif grab this theme but instead the bird of prey catch a monkey, he catch futen. 

[Tanto54]

Hi Chris,

 

The humor idea is interesting; however, I think that it is more probable that your tsuba shows the defeat of Futen by a member of Buddha's army (i.e., the bird or Karura/Garuda).

 

When discussing Fujin and Raijin (the wind and thunder gods), Japanese Legendary Lives by Gen-ichi Nishio says, "A legend of Chinese Buddhism says that the two gods [Fujin and Raijin] were originally evil demons who opposed Buddha. So Buddha ordered his heavenly army to capture the two demons. After a severe battle between demons and 33 gods, the two demons were finally captured. They have been working for heaven ever since."

 

Other texts talk about a Karura (Japanese for Garuda) sitting on the top of Buddha's throne and being a soldier of Buddha and part of his army.  The Karura is sometime depicted in Japanese art as half-man/half-bird; however, he is also sometimes simply depicted as an eagle.

 

Therefore, I think that your tsuba shows Karura carrying Fujin back to Buddha after his defeat.  I'd like to think that you tsuba might have been a part of a daisho and the other tsuba shows the defeat of Raijin (or perhaps that was on the matching fuchigashira).  Maybe you should search Chinese Buddhist legends for more details.

 

[vajo]

George your knowledge about myths and legends in Japanese and Chinese history is unbelivable. You allways bring light in the darkest corner.

Thank you very much.

[Bazza]

Vajo,

 

A very, very interesting thread.

 

Now please can we see both sides of (your?) tsuba?

 

BaZZa.

[vajo]

Yes of course Bazza