玄龜 玄武 玄龟 北方玄武
[b]Xuan Wu[/b] (玄龜) is the Black Tortoise/Black Turtle, one of the "Four Symbols":https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Symbols_%28China%29 of the Chinese constellations. Despite its English name, it is usually depicted as a turtle entwined together with a snake. Further, in East Asia, it is not called after either animal but is instead known as the "Black Warrior" under various local pronunciations. It is known as Xuan Wu (or sometimes Xuan Gui) in Chinese, Hyeon-mu in Korean, Genbu in Japanese and Huyền Vũ in Vietnamese. It represents the north and the winter season.

h4. See also

* [[Seiryuu]], azure dragon of the east
* [[Byakko]], white tiger of the west
* [[Suzaku]], vermilion bird of the south
genbu