0
Since the dawn of time, humans have looked to the skies with a sense of wonder and fascination. The wind, the sky, clouds, thunder and lighting, these things have always captured the imagination and held a certain mystical quality. Since long before the age of science, human beings have looked to the heavens and sought to explain these phenomena, to find some way to grasp how they fit into the universe that they know. In Japan, thunder and lightning were the elements of the Raijū, or literally “thunder beast,” the mighty servants of the Shinto god of thunder. These creatures were most often described as looking something like a badger, weasel, cat, or fox, although they were sometimes said to look like a wolf or monkey as well. Some accounts speak of the creatures having wings, or having multiple tails. They are quite often depicted as being wreathed in crackling lightning, and their voices were the boom of thunder. Raijū were said to descend to the earth upon lightning bolts, ride atop lighting, or to travel about in hovering balls of lightning. During storms, these creatures would become very agitated, frantically dashing about and leaping from tree to tree, tearing up the bark in the process with their formidable claws. In Japanese folklore, it was said that trees scored by lighting had been the work of Raijū claws.
Source
