Raijin

📷 Wikimedia Commons — domaine public — Goncourt, Edmond de, 1822-1896 Goncourt, Jules de, 1830-1870 Debucourt,

MythologyBefore ChristAncient Japan — deity of the Shinto pantheon, venerated since the origins of the Japanese religion

Raijin is the god of thunder and lightning in Japanese Shinto mythology. He is depicted as a demon surrounded by drums that he strikes to produce thunder. Often paired with Fūjin, the god of wind, he stands as a guardian at the gates of major Buddhist and Shinto temples.

Key Facts

Raijin is one of the oldest deities in the Japanese Shinto pantheon
He is depicted surrounded by a ring of drums (taiko) that he beats to create thunder
His companion Fūjin, the god of wind, is almost always paired with him in religious artwork
Their statues guard the entrance of many temples, notably the Sanjūsangen-dō in Kyoto (13th century)
Thunder (kaminari) was interpreted in Japanese culture as the direct expression of his anger or joy

Works & Achievements

Fūjin Raijin-zu — Screen by Tawaraya Sōtatsu (c. 1624–1643)

A masterpiece of the Rinpa style, this gold-leaf folding screen depicts Raijin and Fūjin in swirling motion. Housed at Kennin-ji temple in Kyoto, it is the defining image of Raijin in classical Japanese art.

Raijin and Fūjin Statues at Sanjūsangen-dō (1254 CE)

Carved in lacquered and painted wood by master sculptor Tankei and his students, these monumental statues are designated National Treasures of Japan. They embody the fusion of Buddhist aesthetics and Shinto beliefs surrounding Raijin.

Fūjin Raijin-zu — Ogata Kōrin (copy and reinterpretation) (early 18th century)

Master painter Ogata Kōrin reinterprets Sōtatsu's screen in a more refined and streamlined style, demonstrating the enduring vitality of Raijin's iconography and its transmission among artists of the Rinpa tradition.

Raijin Prints by Katsushika Hokusai (c. 1825–1833)

Hokusai depicts Raijin in several prints from his One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji and other series, bringing the thunder god's image to a wide popular audience during the Edo period and leaving a lasting mark on his iconography.

Kaminarimon Gate (雷門) at Sensō-ji (founded 941 CE, rebuilt 1960)

The great red lantern of the Thunder Gate, flanked by statues of Raijin and Fūjin, has become the symbol of Asakusa and one of the most photographed sights in Japan. It gives physical form to Raijin's role as a guardian deity.

Raijin in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki (712–720 CE)

Japan's two great mythological chronicles establish the literary narrative of Raijin, describing his birth from the body of Izanami and fixing his place in the Shinto divine hierarchy for centuries to come.

Anecdotes

According to a very widespread Japanese folk belief, children must hide their belly buttons during thunderstorms, as Raijin is said to devour the stomachs of the unwary. This superstition, still alive in Japan today, has survived for centuries as a practical teaching tool to protect children from the cold and dampness of stormy summer nights.

Raijin is deeply tied to rice-growing culture: Japanese farmers believed that lightning fertilized rice paddies by releasing nitrogen into the soil. A stormy season was therefore seen as a sign of divine blessing, and Raijin was prayed to for abundant harvests.

The famous wooden statues of Raijin and his companion Fūjin placed at the entrance of Sensō-ji temple in Asakusa (Tokyo) are said to date back to the 13th century. These monumental guardians, several meters tall, were believed to ward off evil spirits and protect worshippers — a tradition that blends Shinto and Buddhist beliefs.

The painter Tawaraya Sōtatsu immortalized Raijin and Fūjin in the 17th century on a gold-lacquered folding screen that has become one of the masterpieces of Japanese art. This dynamic depiction — Raijin surrounded by his drums, striking them at full speed — has influenced generations of artists and remains the canonical image of the thunder god.

In Shinto mythology, Raijin is sometimes presented as one of the children of Izanagi and Izanami, the creator deities of Japan. According to the Nihon Shoki, several thunder deities were born from the decomposing body of Izanami in the realm of the dead, linking Raijin to both the destruction and regeneration of nature.

Primary Sources

Kojiki (古事記) (712 CE)

From Izanami's body arose eight thunder deities, each dwelling in a different part of her being: Ōkami (great thunder), Honoikazuchi (fire thunder), Kuroikazuchi (black thunder)...

Nihon Shoki (日本書紀) (720 CE)

Izanagi, having entered Yomi no Kuni to find Izanami, saw her body writhing with thunder deities. Seized with horror, he fled, pursued by the Shikome and the thunderous spirits.

Fūjin Raijin-zu (風神雷神図) — folding screen by Tawaraya Sōtatsu (c. 1624–1643)

A two-panel folding screen on a gold ground depicting Raijin (right), surrounded by drums arranged in a circle, and Fūjin (left) clutching a bag of winds, both in dynamic motion against a golden background.

Chronicles of Sanjūsangen-dō Temple (三十三間堂) (1254 CE)

The statues of Raijin and Fūjin sculpted by Tankei and his students were installed at either end of the main gallery to guard the thousand and one gilded Kannon figures enshrined within.

Man'yōshū (万葉集) — The Ten Thousand Leaves Anthology (c. 759 CE)

Several poems in this anthology invoke thunder (kaminari) as a divine voice resounding between heaven and earth — a force both feared and revered by the ancient Japanese.

Key Places

Sensō-ji Temple, Asakusa, Tokyo

An iconic guardian of this Buddhist temple founded in 645, Raijin stands as a monumental statue alongside Fūjin at the great Kaminarimon Gate (Thunder Gate), one of the most visited sites in Japan.

Sanjūsangen-dō Temple, Kyoto

This temple houses the carved wooden statues of Raijin and Fūjin created in 1254 by Tankei, designated as Japanese National Treasures. They flank the one thousand and one gilded Kannon figures lining the 120-meter-long gallery.

Kasuga Taisha Shrine, Nara

This great Shinto shrine founded in 768 venerates deities associated with thunder and natural forces. It illustrates the blending of Shinto and Buddhist worship in which Raijin holds a place as a guardian deity.

Sea of Japan — Tsushima Strait

It was here that the typhoons of 1274 and 1281, interpreted as the intervention of Raijin and Fūjin, destroyed the Mongol fleets of Kublai Khan, permanently embedding the myth of the kamikaze (divine wind) into Japanese identity.

Kyoto National Museum

This museum holds several of the oldest known depictions of Raijin, including paintings and sculptures from the Heian and Kamakura periods, allowing visitors to trace the evolution of his iconography over more than a thousand years.