RaijinRaijin, the Deity Who Strikes Drums to Summon Thunder

The definitive image of Raijin was established by Tawaraya Sotatsu's "Wind God and Thunder God Screens"^[1], a pair of two-panel folding screens with a gold-leaf background. It pits a white Raijin on the left (carrying a ring of connected drums on his back) against a green Fujin on the right (carrying a wind bag). This composition was faithfully reproduced by subsequent Rimpa school painters like Ogata Korin and Sakai Hoitsu, becoming the standard iconography for Fujin and Raijin today. The drums encircling Raijin's back are said to produce thunderclaps when struck; combined with his ogre-like form, tiger-skin loincloth, and sharp claws, this design visualizes the tempestuous forces of the sky. In the history of faith, Raijin can be broadly classified into three lineages. First is the classical thunder god represented by Kamo-wakeikazuchi-no-Okami (Kamigamo Shrine). Second is the Tenjin lineage, which conflates the vengeful spirit of Sugawara no Michizane with Karai Tenjin (Kitano Tenmangu, founded in 947). Third is Takemikazuchi, who bears "thunder" in his name but is essentially a sword and martial deity, and should not be equated with Raijin. In the Kanto region, Raiden worship spread outward from its headquarters at Raiden Shrine in Itakura, Gunma; it enshrines deities like Karai-no-Okami, Oikazuchi-no-Okami, and Wakeikazuchi-no-Okami as targets for prayers against lightning strikes and for bountiful harvests. In an agrarian society, lightning was seen as a harbinger of fertility—striking rice paddies to make the crops bear fruit as "inazuma" (literally "spouse of the rice"). Thus, Raijin has long been revered as a dual-natured entity: a terrifying deity who delivers heavenly punishment, and a benevolent god who brings the blessings of rain and harvest.