KirinorQilinismahluhhalf-dragonhalf-horse,was originally derivedfromChinese mythologybutspread throughouteastern Asia.Real animalsthat are considered'close'Kirinis agiraffe,giraffereputedlyonce regarded asKirin.InChinese mythology,Kirinis asacredanimalthat hasgoodproperties,butKirincouldbewildanimalsandterrible as itis threatened.Kirinis said thatonly appearsin placesthatdikuasainbygoodandwiseruler.
Tengu In Japan,there isa legend aboutamysteriousalien,which isbeingconsideredas the Devilanddescribed as having abodyhalfbirdandhalfhuman.These creatures arecalledby the name ofTengu.Incredibly,atengumummystoredneatlyinAomoriPrefecture.
Tengumythologybeginsaroundthe 6th centuryBCin linewith the arrival ofBuddhismto JapanfromChina.Tenguis consideredas agoblinwho livedin the forestsandmountains.They aresaid to havesupernatural powersas may betransformed intoa humanoranimal,canspeak tohumanswithout openinghis mouthandwas able to movefromone place toanother quicklyusingits wings.
Tenguwordactually means"dogheaven".InChinesemythology,this creaturealsohas its own placeunder the nameTienKou(Tiangou), which meansalsoa dogheaven.This nameactuallydoes notfitthe description ofthe Tengu.These creatureshave noway asa dog,butmore likea bird.
BookNihonShoki,which is consideredthe mostancient recordsfirstmentionTengu, writtenin 720AD,mentionsthat inthat centuryJapana meteoracross the skyand meteorsare calledby aBuddhistmonkasDogHeaven(Tengu).ButhowTenguevolvedfroma meteorintoflying creaturesare notknown with certainty.
In general,Tenguhas twophysicalforms.The first is calledKarasutenguwhohas a headandbeaklike abird.The second was aKonohatenguwhohas a shapelike a humanbut haswingsanda long nose(sometimescalledYamabushitengu)
Redbirdor birdsareoften pairedwitha firedragon.The coupledescribed thefeudbutalsohappinessin marriage.Nowonder thatPhoenixbecame a symbol ofthe emperor'sconsort.Suzakuhas afeather-lightshining,andits emergenceis associatedwitha good day.Actuallyunderstandingthe redbirdand Phoenixare not the same.RedBird'replace'the Phoenix,butin generalremainsmore famousthan thePhoenixbirdredbirdthatappears to be merelyordinary.
Forthe Chinese,the tigeris theking ofallbeastsand therulersof the mountains.Having anaturalelementwhitemetal soit is assumed,becauseByakkois thewhitetigerasa protectiveonedirection of the wind.In someversions,there isawhitetigernamedasKirin,legend-bodiedanimalssuch asDeerorhorses thathaveahorn.In Japanese mythology,Kirinis morespecificallydescribed as having abodylike aDeer.In another version,but the head ofDeer-bodiedKirinLion,andmany translationsarethe same assayingthatKirinUnicorn.whileUnicornisunicorn,whileKirin's not a horsehead.
In the Book ofTang,whois thereincarnationofByakkoLuoChengandLiissaid to be thereincarnation ofSeiryurebelscalledXiongxin.They bothare brotherswho sworeonShubaoQin,ChengZhijieandYuchiJingde.Their soulsafter deaththe bodyis said tohave anewhero ofthe TangDynastyandthe Liao Dynasty,XueRenguiand HeSuwen.
The tortoiseis asymbol oflongevity andhappiness.Theseturtlesare oftendisplayedwitha snake,bothbelieved to be thecause of theuniverse.Turtlesand snakesberunsurberunsurYinYang,whichis thetortoise shellof the universe.Tortoise shellisstrongand serves as apelndungbodyarmorsimilar to the function,so thatthe turtlesinShijincalled theBlackWarrior.Reliefancienttortoiseclosestwe can foundat Borobudur.