Raiju (or Raijū), meaning thunder animal or thunder beast, is a legendary creature from Japanese mythology said to be companion of Raijin, the Shinto (i.e., an ethnic religion of Japan) god of lightning.
Descriptions of Raiju appearance vary, ranging from dog to squirrel, but it’s more often seen as a wolf or badger. Its celestial form is that of a wolf wrapped in lightning, and it is said that its cry sounds like thunder.
While Raiju is generally a calm and harmless creature, during thunderstorms...