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Meet Japan’s mythical beast who appears in bolts of lightning

The Guardian Environment Friday 09 October 2026, 05:00 UTC By David Hambling 1 min read
Key Points

Raijū is normally docile but gets agitated in storms and leaps up to run among the clouds, according to folkloreThe Japanese raijū (thunder beast) is said to fall to Earth in a bolt of lightning. It is generally described as looking like a weasel, but is also compared to a cat, a wolf or a badger. According to folklore the raijū is normally docile, but becomes agitated during storms and leaps up to run among the clouds.

Raijū is normally docile but gets agitated in storms and leaps up to run among the clouds, according to folklore

The Japanese raijū (thunder beast) is said to fall to Earth in a bolt of lightning. It is generally described as looking like a weasel, but is also compared to a cat, a wolf or a badger.

According to folklore the raijū is normally docile, but becomes agitated during storms and leaps up to run among the clouds. Trees struck by lightning are said to have been scratched by its claws.

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Japan (LOCATION) Raijū (LOCATION) Japanese (ORG) Earth (LOCATION)
Originally published by The Guardian Environment Read original →

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