Raijin 雷神 and Fujin 風神 the God of Thunder and the God of Wind

 
Among the most important and well-known deities in Japan, Raijin and Fujin through the centuries have always had an important presence in Japanese culture and society. By transcending religion and folklore we can now find them almost everywhere as in commerce (clothing, gadgets, accessories, ect.) And in entertainment.

The figure of Raijin 雷神 in the Japanese mythology embodies the divinity that is connected to meteorological events, he is recognized as the god of thunder and lightning. By breaking down the two Kanji that compose his name, it turns out that the word Rai 雷 can be translated with "thunder" while shin 神 as divinity, God. You can find Raijin quoted with other names like Yakusa no ikazuchi no kami, Kaminari-sama, and Raiden- sama, all of which lead back to its nature of creating thunder and lightning.

I am sure you'll certainly recognize this divinity because you sew him in many places, and not only in the ones linked with religious like shrine or temple. He is represented as a demon, an Oni, with drums.

It is said that Raijin was born from the divine couple Izanagi and Izanami after the creation of Japan. The god of thunder was created by the decomposing body of the Izanami goddess when this was in Yomi, also known as the land of darkness. One of the legends connected to him tells of when the Goddess Izanami ordered him to chase the God Izanagi, who escaped from Yomi because he was "disgusted" by the decaying and decaying appearance of Izanami.

Raijin, being born from the two main deities, is part of the great Japanese mythological family, with direct links with very important deities such as Fujin (the god of the wind), Kagutsuchi (the god of fire), Susanoo (the god of the sea and storms ) and Amaterasu (the sun goddess).

The figure of Raijin is often associated with another divinity, also connected to meteorological events, Fujin 風神, the God of the Wind.
He is represented as a demon, also an Oni, who uses a long "sheet" with which he creates the wind. Also born of the two main deities, he is the brother of Raijin with often fights in the sky and with whom he often shares the classic iconography where they are both represented.

If you have been in Asakusa you can find them both as protectors of the "gate" of the temple, they are the two wooden gods on the sides that act as guardians, but we can find them in other temples scattered around Japan.

The influence of these two deities goes up to the present day where we find them represented in many ways, some of which are very distant from religion or classical folklore. We find Raijin and Fujin in manga, in many literary works and in anime, but not only, becouse in this last times happen often to find them reproduced on clothing, gadgets and objects that have become very popular.

The ones that most attracted my attention are the "representations" in figures where they are reproduced with their original "forms" or even translated on important and known characters of anime and manga where they "imitate" their poses and their powers.

Nice figures true? in this case we have the characters of the Naruto series, but you can find many other series in which Raijin and Fujin are taken as an example in their classic combat poses.