Birds of a feather... or large noses.
^{L - R, top to bottom}Karasu Tengu, an ancient Japanese drawing of a tengu^note CC-licensed photo found here◊, the Great Tengu of Mount Kurama, Kujou Sara

天狗 (tengu, literally "sky dog") are a type of Yōkai found in Japanese Mythology that are most commonly associated with crows, known for their great agility, magical power and arrogance.^note To the point where in Japanese a conceited person can be described as "turning into a tengu", based on a common fate for such people in legend. Old stories portray tengu as The Trickster and/or Evil Mentors who lure Buddhists into depravity, but gradually they were reinterpreted into simply dangerous, territorial beings which are capable of nobility in their own right.

As with most legendary creatures from ancient myth, there is a certain amount of variation in how they are depicted. The earliest depictions, often called Karasu Tengu (Crow Tengu), are depicted as anthropomorphic crows with a fully bird-like head and beak. Later depictions, known as Hanataka Tengu (Long-nosed Tengu), instead resemble humans with red skin and comically-long noses, who may or may not have crow wings. Sometimes both types exist at once in a caste system, with the long-nosed and occasionally giant Dai Tengu (Great Tengu) ruling over the avian Ko Tengu (Lesser Tengu).

More obscure, regional tengu variants include the Guhin (Dog Guest) which have aspects of either trees or canines, the Kawa Tengu (River Tengu) which live underwater and can create Faux Flame, and the Shiba Tengu (Lawn Tengu) which are essentially Kappa by another name.

In modern fiction (particularly when they're main characters) they might simply be Winged Humanoids who otherwise look like ordinary people; likewise their large nose or beak is sometimes depicted as part of a mask rather than an integral part of their own anatomy.

Tengu are often depicted as mountain-dwelling and are associated with martial arts, sometimes being cited as the origins of Secret Arts such as Ninja techniques. They are particularly identified with yamabushi, the mountain-dwelling monks of the Shugendo religion, and are often depicted wearing the yamabushi's traditional costume (depending on the story this may be a disguise, a show of religious devotion, or the original clothing that yamabushi garb was based on). Other common features include long white hair, "tengu geta"^note Wooden sandals (geta) with one unusually tall slat rather than two, requiring superhuman balance to walk in. and large fans made of feathers or yatsude leaves.

The name tengu is derived from the Chinese mythical beast, Tiangou (which share the same characters). However, this one is truer to the name, being a supernatural black-furred hound with no humanoid or avian features. It is popularly attributed as creating solar eclipses when it swallows the Moon. According to legend, the Tiangou was a dog raised by the legendary archer Hou Yi, whose wife Chang'e became the goddess of the Moon; when Chang'e took an immortality elixir given to her and Yi by the gods, Tiangou lapped up what was left of the elixir and has pursued Chang'e for more ever since. Other myths identify Tiangou with Xiaotian Quan, the pet hunting hound of the god Erlang Shen and likewise said to have black fur.

Tropes associated with tengu

• Animal Motifs: Tengu are often depicted as humanoid birds, namely crows or a sort of mountain goblin with crow wings. They may also be depicted with monkey features, such as their red skin being evocative of some monkey species like the Japanese macaque and their long nose being reminiscent of the Proboscis monkey,^note  which are known in japan as tenguzaru (テングザル) due to this exact resemblance the monkey features come from the deity Sarutahiko^note meaning "Prince of the Monkey Fields" Ōkami being considered the original model of Konoha-Tengu. Even the japanese proverb "saru mo ki kara ochiru" ("even monkeys fall from trees") - roughly means "Pride comes before a fall", which fits with the Tengu as they are known for their arrogance. To the point where in Japanese a conceited person can be described as "turning into a tengu" and their signature long nose is a Stock Visual Metaphor in Japan for pride.
  • The guhin variety of tengu instead take the "gu" part of their name more literally and are depicted with canine features(though they are also sometimss depicted as plant people.
• Bird People: Tengu are often depicted as a bird-headed humanoid and other times as a bird-human hybrid, although a confused history and the ability to shapeshift has led to it having a wide variety of different forms.
• Blow You Away: Nothing out of the ordinary for Bird People, though when tengu control wind it's generally with the aid of a magic fan.
• Clever Crows: Tengu are often depicted as humanoid crows or as long nosed humanoids with crow wings and they are often portrayed as intelligent skilled martial artists, tricksters, and even teachers of ninjutsu.
• Enlightenment Superpowers: A classic origin story for tengu has them as monks who came close to enlightenment, only to become drunk on the powers that came with it.
• Gag Nose: Tengu are sometimes depicted with huge, bright red, sausage-shaped noses (when they don't have bird heads). Some folk tales also give them magic fans with which to inflict this on others. A long nose is a Stock Visual Metaphor in Japan for pride, which is very likely derived from the tengu, who in many stories originate as monks who were very wise and holy but brought down by their arrogance about it, which is a barrier against enlightenment, though their large nose or beak is sometimes depicted as part of a mask rather than an integral part of their own anatomy.
• Hive Caste System: Many depictions of tengu show them as having 2-3 distinct phenotypes corresponding to social class. There are enough variations on the myth to give fantasy authors some wiggle room in fleshing things out further - either adding regional tengu myths as additional castes, or creating distinctions between terms that are normally synonymous (e.g. declaring that Hanataku Tengu is a breed while Dai Tengu is a specific rank they can possess).
  • 大天狗 (Dai Tengu, "great tengu"), aka 鼻高天狗 (Hanataku Tengu, "long nose tengu") are the leaders, with fewer bird features but angry red faces and a Gag Nose. They are sometimes shown to be massive in size.
  • 小天狗 (Ko Tengu, "lesser tengu"), aka 烏天狗 (Karasu Tengu, "corvid tengu") are the subordinates, who appear as crow-based Bird People.
  • 狗賓 (Guhin, "dog guest") are sometimes added to this framework as tengu of the lowest rank, who live in the lower forests and foothills in contrast to the higher mountains. While little-described in old myths, it has become popular in newer media to depict guhin with canine features rather than avian ones, and they might also be shown as a Wild Man and/or Plant Person.
• Kappa: Showing the fluid nature of myths, creatures in Tokushima and Kōchi which match the classical description of kappa are traditionally known as 芝天 shibaten or 芝天狗 shiba tengu. They're generally said to live in the mountains and only migrate to the rivers at certain times of year.
• The Lightfooted: Exemplified through their customary footwear of tengu geta - wooden sandals which touch the ground only through a single tall, narrow slat, making them very difficult for non-tengu to walk in without falling over.
• Our Giants Are Bigger: Dai Tengu generally exceed their counterparts in size as well as in status, with some depictions being towering colossi.
• Our Goblins Are Different: Tengu are often glossed as "mountain goblins" and are usually mischievous, pranksters that love to antagonize people.
• Plant Person: Guhin are sometimes depicted in this way.
• Super-Speed: Often depicted as either Lightning Bruisers in combat, or capable of travelling great distances in a short time. Human characters associated with tengu are more likely to fall under Fragile Speedster instead.
• The Trickster: they are an entire race of tricksters, playing pranks on those who offend them.
• Winged Humanoid: They're depicted as bird men with long pointed noses, mask-like faces, and feathered wings on their backs.
• Wolf Man: 狗賓 (guhin, "dog guest"), a regional name for tengu used in places like Aichi, are sometimes depicted in modern sources as having wolf motifs rather than crow ones.

Examples: