The Seven Tengu Scrolls

This is a study of visual and textual images of the mythical creature tengu from the late Heian (897–1185) to the late Kamakura (1185–1333) periods. Haruko Wakabashi focuses in this study particularly on tengu as manifestations of the Buddhist concept of M?ra (or ma), the personification of evil in the form of the passions and desires that are obstacles to enlightenment. Her larger aim is to investigate the use of evil in the rhetoric of Buddhist institutions of medieval Japan.