Knutsen Roald. Tengu. The Shamanic and Esoteric Origins of the Japanese Martial Arts

Global Oriental, 2011 . — 245 p . — ISBN: 978-1-906876-24-1This fully illustrated volume , including an eight-page colour-plate section , is the first in-depth study in English to examine the warrior and shamanic characteristics and significance of tengu in the martial art culture (bugei) of Muromachi Japan (1336-1573) . According to Roald Knutsen , who is widely known for his writings on the samurai tradition , prompting his life-long study of tengu the part-human , part - animal creatures was the early discovery that the tengu of the Muromachi period were interacting with the deadly serious bugei masters teaching the arts of war . Here were beings who did not conform to the comic , goblin-like creatures of common folklore and were not the creations of the Buddhist priests intent on demonizing that which they did not understand and could not control . As this study shows , the part - hidden tengu under review passed on and taught the clearest theory of tactics and strategy to bushi of the highest calibre , the absorption and mastery of which often decided if the warrior and his clan lived or were annihilated on the all-too-frequent killing grounds of the Muromachi age . Tengu will be widely welcomed in many contexts including studies relating to martial arts , religion and folklore , shamanism and mythology , and the social and military history of Japan.