What a blowhard! Literally! As a god of wind, it's Fujin's job. Though, he's not exactly what you would expect a god would look like. He's not some handsome, masculine hunk, he's a monster. An ogre, or oni, to be exact. But he's a nice ogre, I promise. OK, maybe he used to be evil, but he's changed--kinda. He still gets grumpy from time to time and creates hurricanes and other storms related to wind. In one of his most important myths, it explains how he was changed from an evil being to one that is forced to be not so evil. And what changed him? Buddha. Yup, that's right. Even a demon can take inspiration from such a happy guy. Fujin started as a Buddhist demon, then a Japanese Shinto God. You see, Fujin and his best bud Raijin, god of thunder and lightning, went against Buddha. Buddha then ordered their capture. When the two were defeated, they were forced to serve heaven as good little demon gods.
Now onto Japanese Shinto mythology, Fujin was apart of the most important part of any mythology--creation. Though in Buddhist mythology, he was a demon turned god, in Japan he was always a god. He still kept his demonic look though. In Japanese Folklore, Fujin was born from two gods named Izanagi and Izanami. It's said that his breath was so powerful that at the moment of his birth, all of the clouds and mists of the earth immediately dispersed and the world was full of brightness. Though he is commonly known as Fujin, he has a nickname: Shina-tsu-hiki.
Symbols: big bag of winds, disheveled appearance, sometimes wears leopard skin
Parents: Izanagi and Izanami
Siblings: Raijin, Ryujin, Oyamatsumi
Depiction: dark demon carrying bag, usually with Raijin
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