In Japanese folklore, the shape-shifting creature with a long nose and magical fan is a tengu.
Tengu are supernatural beings associated with Japanese folk religion, Shinto, Buddhism, and mountain legends. Early descriptions and images gave them birdlike features, including wings, beaks, and the appearance of birds of prey. Over time, many tengu became more human-looking, especially the red-faced, long-nosed figure familiar from masks and festivals.
The long nose probably developed from the older image of a bird’s bill. It also became linked with Sarutahiko Ōkami, a Shinto deity described in the Nihon Shoki as having an extraordinarily long nose. Tengu were later associated with yamabushi mountain ascetics and were often shown wearing their distinctive headgear.
Their magical fans are another famous feature. Folktales say tengu used feather or war fans to summon powerful winds, alter noses, or teach martial skills. Although modern stories often call them demons, tengu are more broadly yōkai or supernatural beings; Buddhist traditions sometimes portrayed them as disruptive demons and omens of war.