Spirits of Wind, Thunder, and Lightning

Scene 17, Baodingshan, Dazu (map)

The next relief, around the corner, honors the non-Buddhist weather gods that were so important to an agricultural community. Spirits of Wind (right, with bag of wind, like Aeolus in Greek mythology); Thunder (middle); and Lightning (left) are shown here. Wind and Thunder in Japan are known as Fujin and Raijin.