In Japanese folklore, the bird-like goblin with a long nose and mastery of martial arts is the tengu.
Tengu are legendary beings associated with Shinto belief and Japanese yōkai tradition. Early descriptions and images gave them avian features, including wings, beaks, and the forms of birds of prey. Later representations increasingly made them humanoid, while retaining their supernatural and sometimes mischievous character.
The long nose became a defining feature of the human-like konoha-tengu type. It is often linked to the deity Sarutahiko Ōkami, whose nose is described in the 720 CE Japanese chronicle Nihon Shoki as extraordinarily long. Other tengu are depicted with birdlike faces rather than human noses.
From about the 14th century, tengu became associated with warfare and skilled combat. A famous legend says that the mountain tengu Sōjōbō trained the young warrior Minamoto no Yoshitsune in swordsmanship on Mount Kurama. Tengu are therefore not simply goblins: depending on the story, they may be dangerous demons, mountain spirits, teachers, or protectors.