So some other mythological dwarves from Asian mythology. The first japanese, the second chinese. There are also several demons (oni) that resemble dwarves.
Sukunahikona
Sukunahikona, in full Sukunahikona No Kami, also spelled Sukunabikona, (Japanese: “Small Man of Renown”), in
Japanese mythology,
dwarf deity who assisted
Ōkuninushi in building the world and formulating protections against disease and wild animals.
A god of healing and of brewing sake (rice wine), Sukunahikona is associated particularly with hot springs. He first arrived in Izumo in a small boat of bark and clad in goose skins, and when he was picked up by Ōkuninushi, Sukunahikona promptly bit him on the cheek. The two, nevertheless, became fast friends. Many later folktales about dwarfs and fairies are derived from Sukunahikona. He left the world by climbing to the top of a millet stalk that, rebounding, threw him into Tokoyo no Kuni, the Land of Eternity.
Kuei Xing
Wade-Giles romanization K’uei Hsing, in Chinese religion, a brilliant but ugly
dwarf who, as the god of examinations, became the deity of scholars who took imperial examinations.
Kuei Xing, whose name before deification was Zhong Kuei, is said to have passed his own examination with remarkable success but was denied the usual honours when the emperor beheld his ugly features. Brokenhearted, Kuei attempted suicide. He would have died, according to one account, had not an ao fish (or an ao turtle) borne him to safety. Another account says that Kuei actually died.
As depicted in art, Kuei bends forward like a runner, his left leg raised behind, the other sometimes balanced on the head of a fish (or giant sea turtle). Sometimes he sits astride the animal. In his right hand Kuei holds a writing brush to check off the most outstanding scholar candidates whose names are listed on a paper belonging to Yudi, the great
Jade Emperor. In his left hand Kuei holds an official seal (some say a bushel basket to measure the talents of examinees).
