Great stuff.

Likewise with the ‘elder brother’ in N.A., consider that the Clovis people were probably from Europe (though one should think of Saami or Euskadi, not Germans at that early stage) They being outsiders, and few in number, could well have been depicted as wildmen, and of course, with big noses.

“Dog soldier” meant cavalry. The N.A. natives only had dogs as domesticated animals, so when they saw horses, they used the term for dog which would be identical with ‘domesticated animal’ for them. This was translated to English as ‘dog’. “Horse soldier’ would have been a better translation. I’m not saying that they might not have had those other elements in their warrior society. I don’t know. I’m just talking about the name.

Consider Cyrano De Bergerac. He was a real person who was proud of his large nose, and apparently dismissive of those who chose image over substance. The play about him rather exaggerates things, I’m sure. He was certainly a skilled satirist whose fiction poked at what he saw as problems of his day.

Anyway, just a bit of real world synchronicity about long noses and attitudes.

There are two main reasons for the development of the long nose in Tengu. One was the simple matter of the beak of earlier versions being made into a long nose in the more humanized versions. In this way, the face became more human, but retained some somewhat bird-like features with the schnoz. But there is a deeper meaning involved here as well.

In Buddhist beliefs, the long nose is related to the Tengu’s long held hatred of vanity and arrogance. Tengu were often thought to have contempt for priests or samurai that were narcissistic, vain, or pretentious, and singled them out for the most trickery and mischief. Tengu were also quite frequently used as a literary vehicle for criticizing such faults. In Japan, an abnormally long nose is indicative of arrogance or vanity. In some traditions, it was thought that when a particularly pretentious priest died, they would become a long nosed Yamabushi Tengu as punishment. This is one reason why over time Tengu folklore became so intertwined with imagery of monks and priests, and why the Yamabushi Tengu is often depicted wearing a priest’s clothing or taking the form of a monk.

I agree that it is interesting that two far flung cultures have a mythical being with the long “Hope/Nixon” nose. I’d be very curious to know just what the origins are behind the nose in those other cultures you mentioned.

Anyway, hope this is helpful and answers your question somewhat.

Pheonix- Yes, I was aware of the ninja connection, and it is fascinating how crows and Tengu were adopted in this capacity. In addition, the Tengu were often seen as sort of patron saints of not only ninjutsu, but of martial arts in general. Yet another interesting point to consider when looking at the humanization of the Tengu. I’m very happy with the good insights you and the other commenters here are adding to this subject.

Ceroill- As I told Pheonix, another good insight. I have no doubt that this could be yet another driving factor behind the anthropomorphizing of the Tengu. I wonder just what it was that caused people to attribute martial arts prowess to this particular animal (if it was a real animal at some point) in the first place?

It’s funny…

In the middle of the 19th century, when the Emperor was touring Dai Nippon, there were still signs posted along certain remote places warning Tengu to keep away.