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[[File:Tennin (Japanese angel).jpg|thumb|right|A depiction of a Tennin.]]
[[File:Tennin (Japanese angel).jpg|thumb|right|A depiction of a Tennin.]]


{{nihongo|'''''Tennin'''''|[[wiktionary:天人|天人]]||lit. "Heaven(ly) Person"}}, which may include {{nihongo|'''''Tenshi'''''|[[wiktionary:天使|天使]]||lit. "Heaven(ly) Messenger"}}, {{nihongo|'''''Ten no-Tsukai'''''|[[wiktionary:天の使い|天の使い]]||lit. "Messenger(s) of Heaven"}}, {{nihongo|'''''Hiten'''''|[[wiktionary:飛天|飛天]]||lit. "Flying Heaven"}} and the specifically female version, the {{nihongo|'''''Tennyo'''''|[[wiktionary:天女|天女]]||lit. "Heaven(ly) Woman/Women"}}, are a divine kind of spiritual beings found in [[Buddhism in Japan|Japanese Buddhism]], the equivalent of [[Angel]]s. They were seemingly imported from [[Chinese Buddhism]],<ref name="b">[http://www.mukashibanashi.org/overview.html An Overview of Japanese Folklore] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090712125650/http://mukashibanashi.org/overview.html |date=2009-07-12 }} at the [http://www.mukashibanashi.org/ Mukashibanashi Library] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061213125021/http://www.mukashibanashi.org/ |date=2006-12-13 }}</ref> which was itself influenced by the concepts of heavenly beings found in [[History of Buddhism in India|Indian Buddhism]] and Chinese [[Taoism]].
{{nihongo|'''''Tennin'''''|[[wiktionary:天人|天人]]||lit. "Heaven(ly) Person"}}, which may include {{nihongo|'''''Tenshi'''''|[[wiktionary:天使|天使]]||lit. "Heaven(ly) Messenger"}}, {{nihongo|'''''Ten no-Tsukai'''''|[[wiktionary:天の使い|天の使い]]||lit. "Messenger(s) of Heaven"}}, {{nihongo|'''''Hiten'''''|[[wiktionary:飛天|飛天]]||lit. "Flying Heaven"}} and the specifically female version, the {{nihongo|'''''Tennyo'''''|[[wiktionary:天女|天女]]||lit. "Heaven(ly) Woman/Women"}}, are a divine kind of spiritual beings found in [[Buddhism in Japan|Japanese Buddhism]], the equivalent of [[angel]]s. They were seemingly imported from [[Chinese Buddhism]], which was itself influenced by the concepts of heavenly beings found in [[History of Buddhism in India|Indian Buddhism]] and Chinese [[Taoism]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}}


==History==
==History==
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==Powers==
==Powers==
''Tennin'' can [[flight|fly]], a fact generally indicated in art by their coloured or feathered kimono, called ''hagoromo'' (羽衣, lit. ''feather dress'').<ref name="b">[http://www.mukashibanashi.org/overview.html An Overview of Japanese Folklore] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090712125650/http://mukashibanashi.org/overview.html |date=2009-07-12 }} at the [http://www.mukashibanashi.org/ Mukashibanashi Library] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061213125021/http://www.mukashibanashi.org/ |date=2006-12-13 }}</ref> In some legends, ''tennin'' are unable to fly without these kimono (and thus cannot return to heaven).<ref name = "Noh">Waley, Arthur (1921), [http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/npj/npj30.htm ''The Noh Plays of Japan'', Chapter V], p. 177, "A Note on Hagoromo"</ref> More rarely, they are shown with feathered wings.<ref name = "c">[http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/karyoubinga.html#tennin Tennin] at [http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/buddhism.shtml GODS of Japan, A-to-Z Photo Dictionary of Japanese Buddhism (Buddhist & Shinto Deities)]</ref> In a [[Noh]] play ''[[Hagoromo (play)|Hagoromo]]'', which bears a number of similarities to the [[Western culture|Western]] [[swan maiden]] legends,<ref>[http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/places/the_burren/connor_oquin.htm The Legend of Connor O'Quin and the Swan Maiden] at [http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/places/the_burren/burren_folklore.htm Folklore of the Burren]</ref> ''tennyo'' come to the earth and take off their ''hagoromo''. A fisherman spies them and hides their clothes in order to force one to marry him. After some years he tells his wife what he did, and she finds her clothes and returns to heaven.<ref name="Noh" /> The legend says it occurred on the beach of [[Miho no Matsubara]], now a part of the city of [[Shizuoka, Shizuoka|Shizuoka]].
''Tennin'' can [[flight|fly]], a fact generally indicated in art by their coloured or feathered kimono, called ''hagoromo'' (羽衣, lit. ''feather dress'').{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}} In some legends, ''tennin'' are unable to fly without these kimono (and thus cannot return to heaven).<ref name = "Noh">Waley, Arthur (1921), [http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/npj/npj30.htm ''The Noh Plays of Japan'', Chapter V], p. 177, "A Note on Hagoromo"</ref> More rarely, they are shown with feathered wings.<ref name = "c">[http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/karyoubinga.html#tennin Tennin] at [http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/buddhism.shtml GODS of Japan, A-to-Z Photo Dictionary of Japanese Buddhism (Buddhist & Shinto Deities)]</ref> In a [[Noh]] play ''[[Hagoromo (play)|Hagoromo]]'', which bears a number of similarities to the [[Western culture|Western]] [[swan maiden]] legends,<ref>[http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/places/the_burren/connor_oquin.htm The Legend of Connor O'Quin and the Swan Maiden] at [http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/places/the_burren/burren_folklore.htm Folklore of the Burren]</ref> ''tennyo'' come to the earth and take off their ''hagoromo''. A fisherman spies them and hides their clothes in order to force one to marry him. After some years he tells his wife what he did, and she finds her clothes and returns to heaven.<ref name="Noh" /> The legend says it occurred on the beach of [[Miho no Matsubara]], now a part of the city of [[Shizuoka, Shizuoka|Shizuoka]].


==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 14:34, 29 April 2023

A depiction of a Tennin.

Tennin (天人, lit. "Heaven(ly) Person"), which may include Tenshi (天使, lit. "Heaven(ly) Messenger"), Ten no-Tsukai (天の使い, lit. "Messenger(s) of Heaven"), Hiten (飛天, lit. "Flying Heaven") and the specifically female version, the Tennyo (天女, lit. "Heaven(ly) Woman/Women"), are a divine kind of spiritual beings found in Japanese Buddhism, the equivalent of angels. They were seemingly imported from Chinese Buddhism, which was itself influenced by the concepts of heavenly beings found in Indian Buddhism and Chinese Taoism.[citation needed]

History

Tennin are mentioned in Buddhist sutras[citation needed], and these descriptions form the basis for depictions of the beings in Japanese art, sculpture, and theater. They are usually pictured as unnaturally beautiful women dressed in ornate, colourful kimono (traditionally in five colours), exquisite jewelry, and flowing scarves that wrap loosely around their bodies. They usually carry lotus blossoms as a symbol of enlightenment or play musical instruments such as the biwa, or flute.[1][2]

Religion

Tennin are believed to live in the Buddhist heaven as the companions to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Some legends[citation needed] also make certain tennin solitary creatures living on mountain peaks. Pilgrims sometimes climb these mountains in order to meet the holy spirits.

Powers

Tennin can fly, a fact generally indicated in art by their coloured or feathered kimono, called hagoromo (羽衣, lit. feather dress).[citation needed] In some legends, tennin are unable to fly without these kimono (and thus cannot return to heaven).[3] More rarely, they are shown with feathered wings.[1] In a Noh play Hagoromo, which bears a number of similarities to the Western swan maiden legends,[4] tennyo come to the earth and take off their hagoromo. A fisherman spies them and hides their clothes in order to force one to marry him. After some years he tells his wife what he did, and she finds her clothes and returns to heaven.[3] The legend says it occurred on the beach of Miho no Matsubara, now a part of the city of Shizuoka.

See also

Look up tennin, tennyo, or tenshi in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

References

  1. ^ a b Tennin at GODS of Japan, A-to-Z Photo Dictionary of Japanese Buddhism (Buddhist & Shinto Deities)
  2. ^ Hearn, Lafcadio, Glimpses of an Unfamiliar Japan at Project Gutenberg online book catalog
  3. ^ a b Waley, Arthur (1921), The Noh Plays of Japan, Chapter V, p. 177, "A Note on Hagoromo"
  4. ^ The Legend of Connor O'Quin and the Swan Maiden at Folklore of the Burren
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