In Japanese Culture
Some Japanese parents tell their children to hide their belly buttons (or navels) during thunderstorms. This is due to a folk belief that Raijin is sometimes credited with eating the navels or abdomen of children, and in the event of thunder, parents traditionally tell their children to hide their navels so that they are not taken away. Raijin's companion is the demon Raiju. In Japanese art, the deity is often depicted together with Fūjin, the wind god.
Raijin is a well-known deity and his fame has spawned characters in many forms of Japanese media. He is often mocked, for example in an episode of Kyorochan, or in Katamari Damacy where he is one of the largest and most valuable objects in the game that the Prince can roll into his damashi ball of trash. In the tokusatsu series Madan Senki Ryukendo, all three Madan Warriors, right after transforming, say their names followed by the word "Raijin!", which stands for "wake up!" or "stand up!". He also appears in a minor role in the Japanese role playing game Final Fantasy VIII as one of Seifer Almasy's henchmen. In Chrono Trigger, he and his brother join to form the Masamune.
Read more about this topic: Raijin
Famous quotes containing the words japanese and/or culture:
“The Japanese are, to the highest degree, both aggressive and unaggressive, both militaristic and aesthetic, both insolent and polite, rigid and adaptable, submissive and resentful of being pushed around, loyal and treacherous, brave and timid, conservative and hospitable to new ways.”
—Ruth Benedict (1887–1948)
“Anthropologists have found that around the world whatever is considered “men’s work” is almost universally given higher status than “women’s work.” If in one culture it is men who build houses and women who make baskets, then that culture will see house-building as more important. In another culture, perhaps right next door, the reverse may be true, and basket- weaving will have higher social status than house-building.”
—Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen. Excerpted from, Gender Grace: Love, Work, and Parenting in a Changing World (1990)