Raijin: The Japanese God of Thunder, Explained (Drums, Fujin and Your Belly Button)

Who is Raijin? Raijin (雷神) is the god of thunder and lightning in Japanese religion and folklore. He's usually shown as a fierce, demon-like figure surrounded by a ring of taiko drums, which he beats to make thunder. He's often paired with Fūjin, the god of wind.

In other words, the loudest member of the Japanese pantheon brought his own drum kit.

What does Raijin mean?

The name is two kanji:

• 雷 (rai): thunder
• 神 (jin): god or deity

So Raijin means "thunder god." He also goes by other names, including Kaminari-sama (kaminari is the everyday Japanese word for thunder) and Raiden-sama, which adds 電 (den), the character for lightning.

Raijin belongs to Shinto and Japanese folk belief, and he also appears in Japanese Buddhist art, where he and Fūjin often guard temples.

What does Raijin look like?

Depictions vary from artist to artist, but most share the same features:

• A fierce, demon-like face, close to the oni (Japanese demons) of folklore
• Horns and wild, wind-blown hair
• Red skin in many paintings and statues
• A muscular body, usually with little more than a loincloth and a flowing scarf
• Drumsticks or mallets in his hands
• A ring of taiko drums arranged in an arc or circle around him
• Clouds under his feet, because he works from the sky

The drums often carry a tomoe, a comma-shaped swirl, usually in a set of three. You'll see the same swirl on taiko drums at shrines and festivals.

Why does Raijin play drums?

Because that's what thunder is. In the folklore, the rumble of a storm is Raijin pounding his drums across the sky. Lightning comes with the noise.

It's a tidy explanation for weather, and it means every thunderstorm in Japanese folklore is, technically, a drum solo nobody asked for.

Raijin and Fūjin: the thunder god and the wind god

Raijin is rarely alone. His usual partner is Fūjin (風神), the god of wind. 風 (fū) means wind, so Fūjin is the "wind god."

Together they stand for the force of a storm: one brings the noise, the other brings the wind. They often appear as a pair, facing each other, on folding screens, in temples and at gates.

The Tawaraya Sōtatsu folding screens

The most famous image of the pair is Fūjin Raijin-zu (Wind God and Thunder God), a pair of two-panel folding screens by the painter Tawaraya Sōtatsu, made in the early Edo period (the 1600s). The two gods float on clouds against a gold-leaf background, Fūjin on one screen and Raijin on the other, with a lot of empty gold between them.

The screens belong to Kennin-ji, a Zen temple in Kyoto, and are designated a National Treasure of Japan. The painting was so admired that later artists made their own versions of it, including Ogata Kōrin and, after him, Sakai Hōitsu.

The statues at Sanjūsangen-dō

Kyoto's Sanjūsangen-dō temple, known for its 1,001 statues of the Buddhist deity Kannon, also has carved wooden statues of Fūjin and Raijin. They date from the Kamakura period and are also National Treasures.

Why hide your belly button during thunder?

This bit of Raijin lore usually arrives from a parent, mid-storm.

Japanese children are traditionally told to cover or hide their belly buttons during a thunderstorm. If they don't, the story goes, Raijin (Kaminari-sama) will come down and take their navels, and in some versions eat them.

One common explanation is practical: the temperature can drop fast during summer storms, and the story got kids to keep their stomachs covered and stay warm. Whatever the reason, it worked well enough that the saying is still around.

So if you've ever seen a Japanese kid clutch their stomach during a storm, that's why. They're protecting their belly button from a god.

Raijin and rice

The Japanese word for lightning, inazuma (稲妻), is written with the characters for "rice plant" and "wife" or "spouse." The name comes from an old belief that lightning helped the rice grow. That link to harvests is one reason a frightening storm god was also seen as a bringer of good things.

Where you see Raijin today

Kaminarimon at Sensō-ji, Tokyo

The best-known place to see Raijin is Kaminarimon (雷門, "Thunder Gate"), the outer gate of Sensō-ji temple in Asakusa, Tokyo. Statues of Fūjin and Raijin stand on either side of the gate, guarding the temple, and a huge red paper lantern hangs in the middle. It's one of the most photographed spots in Tokyo.

The gate's full official name is Fūraijinmon, "the gate of the wind and thunder gods." The current gate was rebuilt in 1960 after earlier versions were lost to fire.

Everywhere else

• In tattoo art, where Raijin and Fūjin are classic subjects in traditional Japanese styles
• In anime, manga and video games, where thunder-themed characters often borrow his name or look
• In museum art, through the many copies and versions of Sōtatsu's screens
• On T-shirts, which is where we come in

Wear it: three Raijin tees

Raijin is already loud enough. We made three shirts about him anyway.

Loud by Nature Raijin T-Shirt The thunder god with his ring of taiko drums, but ours has headphones on and his eyes closed. He isn't going to turn it down. 雷 (thunder) in red on the side, LOUD BY NATURE underneath. Front print. For anyone whose neighbors have opinions.

Raijin T-Shirt The traditional take. A red-skinned, horned Raijin mid-strike, with his ring of tomoe drums, lightning behind him and clouds below. Front print.

Raijin Back T-Shirt The same Raijin artwork, printed on the back. For people who want the thunder god to follow them around.

All three are printed to order in black, pepper, ivory or white, sizes S to 3XL. None of them will protect your belly button.