There is an asian (I THINK Japanese) god or hero that I have seen images of several times throughout the years that I am now trying to identify. Naturally, I can’t find him.
Since I don’t know what his name is nor what specific region he was from, it makes things a tad more difficult.
What I remember: He looked very european in facial characteristics. Always shown as bigger than everyone around him and very hairy with his hair done up in a pony tail and a bushy beard. He was big in height and muscle, not fat. Always with a sword.
Anyone have any ideas at all of what I’m talking about?
Sounds like you’re not talking about one particular picture, but a figure represented in many different pictures? How can you tell it’s the same figure? Is it always the same pose? What kind of pictures are they usually? (Decorated room dividers? Painted scrolls? Woodblock prints? Something more modern?)
Well, Guan Yu is one of the main protagonists of “The Romance of the Three Kingdoms”, and is frequently depicted in Eastern art – you’ll often see a little shrine to him in Chinese restaurants somewhere. I don’t think he looks at all “European” but he’s big, hairy (beard and “ponytail”), and is always shown with a big sword (of the type with the blade at the end of a staff).
