The Mythology of Okami Archive

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Okami Tea Giveaway!

[ Posted Sun, 27 Oct 2013 01:48:00 ]

To celebrate 700 followers on this blog, and also because I just finished Okami again, I’m going to give away some Okami tea blends! Whether you’re fresh in the world of tea, a loose-leaf veteran, or anywhere in between, this could be a great chance to try something new. Anyway, what could be better than Okami and free stuff?

On November 10, I will pick one random winner. Likes and reblogs both count. I will ship to anywhere in the world! If the winner is within the contiguous US, you may choose any two 3-ounce pouches of tea you like. However, due to the cost of international shipping, a winner outside that zone may choose one. (This stipulation is subject to change depending on my funds when this ends, though!)

Good luck! c:

Tagged with: okami, okamiden, tea

Princess Kaguya

[ Posted Fri, 25 Oct 2013 16:45:00 ]

The legend of Kaguya-hime, known as the Tale of the Bamboo-Cutter, dates back to the 10th century, and is the earliest surviving Japanese narrative. Her story is largely simplified, but kept mostly intact compared to other stories in Okami, except for the iron bamboo shoot. This tale is considered proto-science fiction, so it seems all the more fitting that Okami took it a step further into modern sci-fi.

The story, briefly, is as follows:

One day, an old bamboo cutter happened across a strange, glowing bamboo stalk within a grove. He cut it open to find a baby girl the size of his thumb. He and his wife had no children, so he was overjoyed to find her, and brought her home where the old couple raised her lovingly. They named her Nayotake-no-Kaguya-hime, the Princess of the Bending Bamboo that Scatters Light. After that, whenever the old man cut down a stalk of bamboo, he would find a gold nugget inside, and he became rick.

Kaguya-hime, meanwhile, grew to an ordinary size and became an extremely beautiful young woman. Hearing of her beauty, five princes came to ask for her hand in marriage. The man didn’t want her to marry them, but the princes convinced him to let her choose among them. Kaguya-hime told each of them to bring to her an item that would be impossible to find, such as the Buddha’s begging bowl or a jewel from the neck of a dragon. Three of them tried to bring her fakes, one gave up, and one was killed or severely wounded on his quest, depending on the story. All of them failed.

After that, the Emperor himself asked for her hand in marriage, but she again refused, arguing that she was not of this country.

Kaguya-hime started to act more erratic, and her parents grew worried. That summer, when she gazed at the full moon, she began to cry. She revealed that she was from the Moon and must return to her people there.

When the time came for her to return, the Emperor himself set guards all around the house to keep the people of the Moon from getting to her, but it was all in vain. The beings from the Moon blinded the guards with light, and Kaguya announced that though she loved all her family and friends on Earth, she had to leave. She wrote letters of apology to her parents and the Emperor, giving her parents her robe as a momento, and the Emperor a small vial with an elixir of immortality. As she handed the note to an Imperial guard, she was adorned with a feather robe that allows heavenly beings to fly between the heavens and the Earth. Her parents watching with tears in their eyes, the lunar entourage brought her home to the capital of the moon, Tsuki-no-Miyako.

The story doesn’t quite end there; her parents, wrought with sadness, became sick and bedridden. When the Emperor received Kaguya-hime’s letter, he asked which mountain reached closest to Heaven. So he sent his men to burn the letter at the summit of the great mountain of Suruga Province, along with the elixir, for he couldn’t bear to live forever without her. He hoped that the smoke would reach her and bear her his message.

Legend holds that the name of the mountain, Mt. Fuji, came from the word for “immortality” (fushi or fuji). The name’s kanji mean “mountain abounding with warriors”, which were perhaps inspired by the image of the Emperor’s army rising up the mountain to burn the letter. Finally, since this story arose during a time when the volcano was still active, it was said that the smoke from the letter still burns to this day.

[From a linguistic standpoint, since one of my professors mentioned this once, the name “Fuji” did not quite fit Japanese phonemes at the time it seems to have been given; it is thought to have come from the language of the people who lived in Japan before the ethnic Japanese. The Ainu are descended from these people.]

In different versions of the story, there are various reasons for why Kaguya-hime was sent to Earth. Some say it was a punishment for a crime; some say it was to protect her from a celestial war. Some also say that the gold the bamboo cutter found was compensation sent for the cost of raising her.

The Moon Tribe is depicted as a technologically advanced race, but not a divine one. Thus Kaguya rides a bamboo rocket, and is equipped with a helmet like an astronaut’s and what appears to be a jet pack, instead of a feathered hagoromo. She wears a junihitoe-styled robe with five layers (instead of the customary twelve), and a pleated train (mo, which were commonly white) with a rocket/moon motif. The bamboo leaves on her head resemble rabbit ears, furthering the moon motif, as the Japanese see a rabbit in the moon instead of a man. (The rabbit is also seen as pounding mochi, hence Yumigami’s design and the reason for the moon god being a rabbit.)

All female nobility and ladies in waiting wore robes like junihitoe, but the color combinations one chose spoke of one’s rank and character. Specific combinations would suggest personality traits or a sensitivity to the season, and some colors were restricted to certain ranks. The outer color of Kaguya’s robe may be a medium shade of kurenai, a color that was reserved for royalty, referring to her status as a princess.

More on Heian female court wear

Some color combinations

Story/image source: [x]

Tagged with: the celestial war thing is my headcanon but I like the punishment idea too..., okami, okamimythology, kaguya, moon tribe, kaguya-hime

Namahage

[ Posted Fri, 18 Oct 2013 16:44:00 ]

Namahage reside in the forests of Tohoku (northeastern Japan), and come out to scare lazy and misbehaving children so that they act properly. They are famously celebrated in a New Year’s festival in Oga.

There is a legend that over two thousand years ago, the Han Emperor came to Japan with five of these demons, and they began to terrorize the area, stealing young women and crops from the villages. The villagers tricked them by making a deal: if the namahage could build a 1000-stone staircase, the villagers promised to give up all of their young women. Otherwise, they had to leave, never to return.

The namahage went to work quickly, but as they finished the 999th stair, a villager imitated a rooster to signal dawn, and the namahage quickly ran away.

Now, every year, young men of Oga dress up as namahage, wearing large, vicious masks with long hair and straw coats, and wielding a wooden bucket and a knife (which we see with the Bucket and Blade Namahage) and run around the villages bursting into people’s homes in search of children, new wives, and other new members of the community. In a practiced throaty yell they seek to ensure that the newcomers work hard and obey their parents or in-laws. The other members of the house are supposed to come protect the victims, assuring the namahage that these are good people, and sating them with a little food and sake.

Oga also celebrates a Sedo Matsuri, or Demon Mask Festival, in mid-February. The festival begins at Shinzan Shrine, where dozens of men are given masks purified by Shinto priests, and then “become” namahage, and climb up the mountain. Dances and performances are held at the shrine, and the festival finishes with the spectacular descent of the namahage horde bearing torches down the snowy trail. They walk among the visitors and receive mochi roasted by priests on the Sedo fire, and return to the mountain.

Of Okami’s namahage, only the Cannon Namahage embodies traditional namahage, as it seeks to scare the lazy and cowardly into action and courage. Physically, they act and make guttural cries like namahage, but otherwise their behavior has nothing to do with the kind known to Japan. In fact, the regular Namahage regards the lazy as allies. Even though they are not endemic to Hokkaido, as they are to Kamui, their relationship to northern Honshu and the snowy winter mountains (not to mention their warm, protective straw coats) makes them a suitable demon for the location.

Sources (info + images)

-Namahage Museum

-Namahage Oga

Videos of Namahage Dancing + Terrorizing Children

(P.S. the Sedo festival is supposed to be very visitor-friendly. I really want to go…)

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, namahage, yokai, demons, bestiary

The Tale of Genji

[ Posted Fri, 11 Oct 2013 16:45:06 ]

Okamiden brought in the main character from one of the most famous novels of all time—in fact, the oldest novel of all time,Genji Monogatari or “The Tale of Genji”. The book is a classic of Heian-period literature and offers a valuable window into the culture of the time.

When Shikibu—shortened from Murasaki Shikibu, the author of the Tale—laments that she “shouldn’t have written that romance novel!”, she is referring to the Tale of Genji. Prince Hikaru Genji is the main character. He is described as beautiful to the point of being mistakable for a girl, especially when he is young, and his face is almost radiant. The first part of the book focuses on the romance in the early years of his life. He is involved with many women, sometimes when he shouldn’t be. He is not without his faults, but by Heian standards he is rather thoughtful, cultured and gentlemanly. However, in modern-day reinterpretations of the story, it seems common to depict it as a tale of beautiful romance and drama, with Genji as the dreamy protagonist. Looking at the novel, though, especially by today’s standards (even in Japan), Genji is kind of a jerk, and today affairs and rape are not acceptable as they were then. (That is to say, they weren’t exactly seen as good, but they were commonplace and expected, and if you weren’t having affairs, people would think something was wrong.)

Which is why the way Okamiden presents Genji is pretty hilarious, in my opinion. He’s still super creepy, of course, but the idea that he was intended to be the perfect man and then something went wrong makes for a great parody (for lack of a better word) of the character. Then, of course, he was brought to life by a demonic power, and kidnaps Nanami.

Genji also kidnaps a girl in the Tale. He means well—the girl, the famed Murasaki, is not in an ideal position, and Genji has the means to bring her up as a fine, educated lady. (The first picture above shows when he “meets” her. He spies through the fence and glimpses her. Merely seeing a woman’s face was extremely rare and felt so intimate that love at first sight was entirely real, and only partially accidental.) After his request to take her and raise her himself is denied, however, he feels that he do so anyway, and takes her (and her nurse) away in the dead of night. Genji waits patiently for her to grow old enough to become his wife, and she grows up well and impresses those around her. Eventually, though, their relationship falls apart.

When Genji falls in love, he can’t stand to stay away, so his kidnapping of Nanami in Okamiden probably comes from this and probably also the kidnapping of Murasaki. As for his design, much of the Heian-ness of the character (poems, subtlety, etc.) was replaced with bluntness and sparkles, not to mention a fabulously ludicrous design. (Nanami subsequently beating him up was a welcome turn of events.) The symbolism of the hearts is obvious, but also echoes the heart shape of sakura petals. He wears an aristocrat’s eboshi hat (although, rather than solemn black, his is still garish) and an ornate carriage wheel on his chest. Fans were a common prop for all nobles, and were sometimes used to pass letters (which always included poems) to and from women, who were always hidden behind blinds and curtains.

[A Heian-style ox-drawn carriage in Kyoto’s Aoi Matsuri. This festival’s processions show off the splendor of Murasaki Shikibu’s world. x]

Tagged with: heian court culture was so convoluted and strange, I can't go into it here but I love it (and the gorgeous art), okami, okamiden, okamimythology, genji, shikibu

Tengu

[ Posted Fri, 04 Oct 2013 16:59:00 ]

Tengu are a kind of yokai that appear in several forms in Japanese folklore. In Okami, we also have a few different kinds of tengu: the Crow Tengu and the Great Tengu. Waka’s design is also heavily based on tengu.

Tengu originated from the Chinese tiangou, a deity depicted as either a black dog or a meteor that ate the sun during an eclipse. Even though tengu have nothing to do with dogs, the name still means “sky dog” or “heavenly dog”. How these changes occurred is unknown, but their image continued to change once they appeared in Japanese folklore. Tengu did used to be seen as destructive, but their image weakened over time. They were still considered powerful and dangerous, but sometimes even comic.

In appearance, tengu are a mix of human and avian. They typically have wings, and may have either a bird-like beaked face or a goblin-like face with a long nose. The former used to be more common, but it transitioned to the latter over time. (Smaller beaked tengu are often called karasu tengu, or crow tengu, which are still popular. Karasu tengu now typically resemble crows or ravens.) Now the tengu’s nose has become iconic, and is an important part of some stories. They often lord over mountains. In some stories, tengu are angered when humans trespass on their mountains. Mount Kurama is a mountain northwest of Kyoto that is famous for its tengu; it is said to be the birthplace of Sōjōbō, the king of the tengu, and the mentor of swordsmanship to Minamoto no

Yoshitsune (i.e. Ushiwaka).

Eventually, tengu came to be associated with yamabushi, Buddhist hermits who lived in the mountains, and now tengu are usually seen wearing clothing like a Buddhist priest’s. They also wield feathered fans which have the power to create great winds; infamously they may also have the power to change the length of one’s nose.

[Yamabushi costumes. source]

In Okami, the Great Tengu most closely resembles the tengu you find in art and tales. It has monk’s clothes, a red face, long nose, and even longer mask-nose that doubles as its feathered fan, bushy hair, wings, and bird feet. This is the kind of powerful tengu that would rule over mountain domains. Interestingly, the bestiary describes that the Great Tengu used to be a human who cloistered himself in the mountains, and trained until he achieved great powers. This is somewhat ironic considering that tengu usually disliked humans, it but gives reason to the monk’s clothes. The Great Tengu’s giant mask is based on actual tengu masks, which might be worn for a play or a festival.

The Crow Tengu also has fans and monk’s clothes, but is considerably more demonic, being a combination of a crow and a dead swordsman. With a bird’s face, four eyes, and wings, its only human characteristics are its swordfighting and its clothes. The white robe with red is typical of Shinto rather than Buddhist priests, though the hat and beads are Buddhist.

I won’t write about tengu stories or else this post will be miles long, but here are some links to tales and mischief.

A Few Short Tales

Karasu Tengu (stories and art)

Mt. Takao (famous tengu site + temple near Tokyo)

More general info on tengu

Sources [x] [x]

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, crow tengu, great tengu, tengu, karasu tengu, waka, there's so much info I could be forgetting so feel free to remind me of relevant info XP, demons, yokai, bestiary

Adagio Teas

[ Posted Thu, 03 Oct 2013 21:31:00 ]

Here is a $5 gift certificate to Adagio Teas: 136703359. Expires in 24 hours.

For people interested in getting Okami tea blends, or tea in general! (I’m happy to recommend things.) It’s meant for new customers. I want to fill the world with tea and happiness~

As a side note, it turns out that Adagio isn’t carrying osmanthus anymore, at least for the time being. It was crucial to my idea for Sakuya and I’m not sure what to do about that yet. For now, it’s unavailable. Sorry. ><

Tagged with: okami, pardon my tea fervor recently, it would really mean a lot to me if people bought them though *falls over*, okami tea blends

nimrodgirl1 answered: YES! Well, depending on where it ships.

I’m hoping to give two 3oz pouches of the winner’s choice. I would like to offer it internationally, but since shipping outside the US is kind of expensive, I might have to compensate by only giving one pouch to an international winner. Which is unfortunate, but at least it’s still free tea, right?

Otherwise, I can ship anywhere in the US.

Tagged with: nimrodgirl1, reply

I have 665 followers. I was considering doing an Okami tea giveaway earlier… Maybe at 700? :x Anyone interested?

fuckyeahamaterasu:

Okay, so I've been seeing this the past couple of weeks, and the people are either unaware or just don't care, but;

I'm just going to point out now that you should please source your art. A lot of pixiv artists take down their art because of the lack of sources, and it's VERY simple to source them. Please give them the credit that is due. You wouldn't want artists to take down their pretty art just because you were too lazy to source, do you?

Also, please do not credit yourself when the art is not made by you. It is rude and unnecessary. Give the artists due credit!! Here are some ways to find sources for art:

● saucenao is typically for finding pixiv art. Just upload the art and it should find the match. ● google images is another, you just drag the image into the searchbox whenever saucenao doesn't work for you. It should find the image, if it's still available.

There's no way to make anyone notice this or to stop them other than using Tumblr support, but please remember this is IMPORTANT and should be taken SERIOUSLY.

Shinshu Field

[ Posted Fri, 27 Sep 2013 15:35:00 ]

Shinshu Field corresponds to Nagano Prefecture, once known as Shinano or Shinshu. The name is a pun; the historic Shinshu is spelled “信州”, using the characters for “believe” and “state”, while Shinshu Field uses “神州”, with the character for “god” or “spirit”.

Nagano is home to a decently sized lake. I don’t know if it had any influence on Lake Harami’s design or purpose, but Nagano’s largest lake, Lake Suwa, is home to an unusual natural phenomenon. The lake sits over a hot spring, and when the surface freezes in winter, the difference in temperature between the surface of the lake and underneath result in large cracks. This phenomenon was thought to be caused by gods crossing the lake, and so is called o-miwatari, or “the gods’ crossing”.

The Emperor

[ Posted Fri, 13 Sep 2013 15:11:00 ]

The Emperor’s role in Seian politics is not terribly clear. In the game, he does not appear to be politically active, but his elegant palace is well-staffed with guards. The art book says that he was succeeded by Himiko, and one aristocrat says that he will have to succeed her after she dies. His wife says that he thinks this, but she would prefer to worry about things other than a successor. Some of the guards expect him to rule and worry about his love of treasure getting in the way. Himiko says that the Yamatai clan has ruled Sei-an forever and since there seem to be multiple opinions about the Emperor ruling, he probably doesn’t belong to the Yamatai. (Are there even any Yamatai left? We just don’t know.)

It’s interesting, though, that the emperor is expected to take a true role as the ruler. Since the later Heian period, emperors have mostly been figureheads with little actual political power. It was a prestigious and respected position, of course, but anyone who wanted power would not want to become Emperor, but rather manipulate the existing one, or maybe try to influence a retired emperor with real influence or an upcoming one. Though the Heian court based much of its structure on China’s, the power of the emperor was an important difference between them. Earlier, however, especially in the Nara period, emperors were considerably more powerful. (Fun fact: many of the Nara emperors were women, probably because Confucianism hadn’t been incorporated into the culture yet.)

His design is certainly the most significant thing about him. The biohazard motif on his robe is a clear reference to Blight. (In one book on colors in Japanese art I found a sample of a textile that used this symbol. It was designed by a company in 1996 so maybe it was a modern pattern done for fun. I’ve been puzzled by it ever since, though.)

Otherwise his theme is all about treasure. He has a treasure ship with rare goods atop his head, he wears a strand of Demon fangs, and his eyes are covered by large coins: all he can see is money. The gourds at his waist represent happiness and success, and perhaps abundance. Traditionally, these gourds have been used to store various things, including seeds. In addition to their interesting shape, it was said that seeds stored in such a gourd always bloomed, so gourds carry a very positive connotation.

Concept art for the Emperor depicts him with even more elaborate garb. His sleeves depict falcons, eggplants, and Mt. Fuji. Dreaming about these things the night before the New Year is said to be a sign of great fortune to come that year.

Sources: [x] [x]

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, the emperor, emperor

Okami Tea Blends

[ Posted Thu, 12 Sep 2013 13:18:26 ]

Tea and Okami are both incredible things and I am passionate about both of them, so I used Adagio’s fandom blend service to create a set of tea blends based on Okami characters!

I’m proud of this little project, so if you try any of them, I would love to hear what you think! Meanwhile, I’m trying to come up with one for Issun, maybe someone else…

(Sorry to plug, but I thought some of you might be interested in this. Stay tuned for a new post tomorrow!)

Tagged with: okami tea blends

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Tagged with: ask, reply

Regular Updates!

[ Posted Fri, 06 Sep 2013 17:12:00 ]

This semester, I have three hours at work on Friday where I’m mostly chilling on the computer—so, I’m planning on updating this blog at least once every Friday! I will still answer asks as soon as I can. Enjoy!

Tagged with: maintenance log

Sakaki

[ Posted Fri, 06 Sep 2013 16:16:00 ]

You may not be familiar with the word, but you can probably recognize it decorating various shrines and Grand Origin Mirrors in the game—and being held by Queen Himiko. Sakaki is an evergreen tree with thick, smooth leaves, that is considered sacred in Shinto. The trees are sometimes planted at the entrances to shrines, and its branches are used as decoration, offerings, or decorated with paper shide and used as wands for purification (tamagushi). (As sakaki originally referred to evergreens in general, sometimes other plants such as cryptomeria are substituted.)

Sakaki is considered sacred due to its role in mythology. When Amaterasu hid in a cave, the other gods adorned the cave with sakaki decorated with “jewels, a mirror, and cloth” in an effort to draw her back out. In a similar fashion, some rituals involve decorating sakaki with jewels, mirrors, and sometimes swords, representing the Imperial Regalia, the three sacred objects of Amaterasu.

In Shinto rituals, priests are often seen carrying sakaki branches. Himiko also carries one; this gives her a similar air of purity and divinity as priests have, and perhaps emphasizes her loyalty and divine power.

In fact, much of Himiko’s design contains many Shinto symbols of purity—i just realized I didn’t consider this much in the original post about her, so I’ll discuss it here a little. As well as the sakaki, she wears a pyre for a crown; fire, as well as lightning, are strong forces for cleansing and driving out evil. She wears a white robe, the color of purity (purely white outfits are worn only by priests and the dead or dying), with a red sash reminiscent of a priest’s outfit. The red eye makeup may also represent purity or divinity somewhat, but I don’t know much about that kind of make-up… I’ve been told that red makeup ala Ammy/Kabuki/San from Princess Mononoke is thought to ward off evil.

(will add sources/photos when I’m on a computer that behaves)

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, sakaki, himiko, queen himiko

"Shinshu In Bloom is a fan made Okami remix album which takes the strong Japanese instrumentals of Okami's original soundtrack and supports them with punchy and rhythmic hip-hop beats. Nujabes fans will appreciate the work.

My friend Elie and I are trying to reach our goal on Kickstarter to make physical copies of this album. If you're interested in one, Click here and please back us on Kickstarter :).

If you dig, please share the word :). Thank you :D.”

I just saw this in my inbox, but I’ve been following this project ever since it was announced on Okami World. Check it out if you haven’t seen it yet!

[ Posted Mon, 02 Sep 2013 00:43:37 ]

Tagged with: okami, shinshu in bloom, music, submission

After seeing the posts about the junihitoe crowns I started to look around for them too since my curiosity was piqued and found some info! http://www.costumemuseum.jp/french/collection/j_komono/index.html

Here's the description from google translate, since my French isn't all that strong:

...Indeterminate age.

The hair used with costume ...juni-hitoe“ is called ...ôsuberakashi“ (hair hanging high). To achieve this hairstyle, a set of tools called ...kamiagegu“ (objects to meet the hair) is used.

At the top right is a flat comb ...Hirakushi“. It is the instrument which is used first. It is pushed horizontally in front of the wig called ...marukamoji“.

The object to the left of the image is called ...hirabitai“ (flat front), it is placed standing in the front of the wig, against the comb. To fix it, we use a ...hirakansaji“ (pin flattened in its upper part), which is passed through the holes that are at the center of ...hirabitai“. The ...marukansaji“ (rounded pins in the upper portion), the ends of the pressed ...hirabitai“ cords and purple for attaching the assembly is then used.“

—cmoy1026

YOU ARE THE BEST

Tagged with: okami, junihitoe, ask, cmoy1026, okamimythology

I did not find any answers concerning the junihitoe crown things. :(

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Tagged with: gomen for answering this late, ask, reply

I went to Eikando Temple today. These stairs looked kind of familiar. More ornate than the ones in that cavern in Taka Pass, but a similar character…

[ Posted Thu, 01 Aug 2013 06:31:28 ]

Tagged with: okami, taka pass, mine

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Tagged with: ask, reply, okami hd question

Tagged with: the art was one of the two main reasons I wanted to play Okami, the other being Amaterasu, wolf/ goddess/artist/badass, ask

Okami Favorites!

[ Posted Wed, 31 Jul 2013 00:55:00 ]

1. eclipticafusion answered: is easier to ask what´s not my fav in Okami. I love the music, the art, the graphics, the plot, the gameplay, the style, the characters, etc 2. 3. 4. shinyarcanine45 answered: Mine is the mythology behind it, and the witty humor. 5. 6. 7. meanwhile-in-canada answered: The art style! And the interaction with the world, how without talking, your actions can be understood and you can make a positive influence 8. 9. 10. headphones-and-applejuice answered: the story and art :D 11. 12. 13. noiiverns answered: oh god eveRyTHing the atmosphere, graphics, story, whimsy no like everything 14. 15. 16. kigurumijedi answered: I really love that I get to see the architecture. It's just so beautiful, especially in the watercolor-style that is Okami <3 So many happy thoughts. <3 Feel free to share yours too~

Tagged with: okami

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Tagged with: thanks c:, ask, reply, eclipticafusion

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Tagged with: me too, leioll, ask, okami

Hiatus

[ Posted Tue, 30 Jul 2013 02:13:16 ]

Officially on new content hiatus now that I’m in Japan for the next few weeks. I’m here until the end of August and hoping to learn some things!

But right now I’m curious: what’s your favorite thing about Okami?

Tagged with: feel free to reply or reblog or use the ask or submission box to share your answer!

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Tagged with: note the tails!, moon-lily, ask, reply, okami, rao, tsudzurao, blight, tamamo-no-mae

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How did I even manage to lose that post I am a dumb

Why don’t computers have the ability to keep multiple things available to paste at once??

Tagged with: this has been bothering me for years, sorry off-topic

celestialbrush:

I was playing Long Ass Tutorial: The Scene two days ago, and I noticed something curious. When Issun uses his sword-brush in the game, this red stamp/signature shows up afterwards. It's actually different than the one that shows up when we/Ammy uses her Celestial Brush (no screencap because you can't read it well). The words are their actual names in kanji; in the game they tend to be written in katakana, but in these stamps it's how you'd really write the goddess' name (天照) and Issun's (一寸 = one inch/sun). So every time they use a brush technique, it's insta-signed!

Fun fact: the sumi-e illustrations the Narrator shows when he's telling the story are signed by Issun, so they're all paintings he made. Don't believe me? Look for the kanji I showed you, it's always somewhere, and usually in this combination: 天道太子一寸¸ (Celestial Envoy Issun). Sometimes, it's 一寸法師. The English translation of the artbook translated it as ...Buddhist Priest Issun“ which makes little sense. But actually, it says Issun Boushi, (the one-inch boy) which is the name of the fairytale Issun is loosely based from. The confusion comes because boushi alone literally means priest.

SOMEHOW I MANAGED TO COPY THE WRONG THING HERE SORRY (for those of you wondering where that came from???)

I had an addition about chops (the red stamps) and their importance and I guess that’s all noped into the ether now so I’ll have to rewrite it tomorrow ugh

[ Posted Wed, 05 Jun 2013 21:48:00 ]

Tagged with: throws things, nothing works today, nevermind like two things worked and that was nice

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Tagged with: okamimythology, ask, reply, akanael

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Tagged with: ask, reply, anon, jomon culture, jomon period

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Important notice!

[ Posted Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:51:00 ]

You can look up posts on specific things by adding /tagged/ at the end of the main blog URL, followed by whatever subject you’re looking for (use dashes between words, e.g. /oni-island).

If you can’t find what you’re looking for, feel free to ask and I’ll add it to my drafts (or help you find it if I know it’s there). You can also use the archive. I’m more than happy to help people around, but I get a lot of asks for things I’ve already done so hopefully this helps!

Tagged with: ps king wada article coming soon, I haven't been feeling well recently but now I'm better and school's almost over so I can get back to making real posts XD

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Tagged with: the lore behind them always made me kind of sad though ;-;, okami, okamimythology, jiro, saburo, ichiro, ask, reply

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You can now see each post’s notes on its permalink page! This includes reblog comments and replies.

Tagged with: maintenance log

Tama

[ Posted Fri, 01 Mar 2013 18:47:00 ]

Tama, or Tamaya, is named after a famous guild of pyrotechnicians. During the Edo period, they competed with the Kagiya guild to produce the greatest fireworks for the annual summer fireworks festival, held over the Sumida River in modern Tokyo. The festival was originally started in the 1700s to soothe the spirits of the dead who had been lost to recent plague and famine.

The Tamaya guild came to be held in the highest regard, until a fire broke out, and they fell out of favor. But onlookers would still shout the names of their favorite guilds, and this practice continues to this day.

The tradition of guild rivalry in the festival also continues. Fireworks are sometimes even engineered to create patterns such as kanji or even characters such as Pikachu. We see Tama do this as well with the likenesses of Ammy, Issun, Mushi’s mama, and various other characters animals.

EDIT: I just realized that the cloth hanging from his belt actually reads “Tamaya”, with the same characters used by the guild in real life.

EDIT 2: His tattoo (粋) can be read as “iki”, meaning “chic” or “stylish”, or as “sui”, meaning “the best.” Someone thinks highly of himself…

Sources: x x x

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, tama, tamaya

Golden Gates

[ Posted Fri, 01 Mar 2013 18:07:12 ]

There isn’t really anything special about the Golden Gates that you can’t see, but the character written above them (zoku) means “continuation”.

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, real post coming soon lol

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Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, ask, reply, amaterasu, chibiterasu, shiranui questionanswer

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, shinto, buddhism, karmic transformers

Poll time!

[ Posted Sat, 23 Feb 2013 00:36:00 ]

If you lived in Nippon, where would you live and what would you do for a living?

Tagged with: I would run a teahouse in Sei-an or maybe Kusa Village?, I bet the best tea would come from Taka Pass, and the best water from Hitoshio Spring, okami, question

Hey, guys!

[ Posted Wed, 20 Feb 2013 22:19:00 ]

I don’t like to plug, but I’m trying to earn money to study abroad in Kyoto this summer, and this is really important to me. Thankfully, my work-study program will help me cover most of the funds, but part of my income also comes from selling art, so I would really appreciate it if you would check out my Etsy shop!

I sell buttons, prints, and folding fans, and a lot of my work is Okami-based, but I also do some Pokemon and other things. If you do buy something, thank you in advance!

Otherwise, thank you for being such great Okami fans. It’s thanks to Okami that my greatest passion is studying other cultures, especially those of Japan. That’s why this blog is so much fun for me, and I’m glad you all enjoy it. This game means a lot to me, and I love being in a community with so many other fans. You guys are great.

I wish you all the best of luck in following your own dreams. You can do it. :)

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Momotaro and Oni Island

[ Posted Fri, 15 Feb 2013 17:35:29 ]

The story of Momotaro is one of the most popular folktales in Japan. Of course, there are many variations, but the basic story goes as follows.

A long time ago, there was an old couple living in a remote place. They had no children and were lonely. One day, as the woman was doing laundry, a giant peach came floating down the stream. She hauled it out of the water and brought it home.

The old couple was just about to start eating the peach when suddenly it split in two to reveal a young boy, claiming he had been sent by Heaven to be their son. They named him Momotaro (after momo, meaning “peach”, and Taro, a popular boy’s name) and raised him lovingly. He practiced fighting, and grew up to become powerful, as well as kind.

Then he was told about demons from Onigashima (“Ogre Island”), who had been tormenting the people of the countryside. Though they were concerned at first, he convinced his parents to let him go and defeat the demons. The gave him some millet dumplings and off he went.

On the way, he met a dog, a pheasant, and then a monkey, who all asked him what he was doing. He told them about his quest, and that he had the best millet dumplings in Japan, which he would share if they accompanied him. They agreed, and he gave them each a dumpling.

Momotaro and his entourage reached Onigashima. Fueled by the dumplings, they fought off all the oni, until their leader begged him to stop. Momotaro and his companions left with a boat loaded with the treasure stolen from the villages the oni had raided, in exchange for letting the oni go in peace with a promise never to trouble humans again.

Although Momotaro’s story was ditched in the final version in the game, it’s thanks to him that we have the wonderful dungeon based on Onigashima, Oni Island. Remnants of this story still appear in Momotaro’s design and his subquest: the split-peach pants, monkey nose, pheasant headdress and wings, and the quest to retrieve his stolen Millet Dumplings from Hayazo. He likes to march around pretending to defeat the demons of Oni Island, and asks you—the dog—to play with him, offering his Millet Dumplings in return. He’s not quite as polite as his legendary counterpart, however.

The sign on his back reads “one kill a day”.

Onigashima is typically associated with Megijima, and island north of Takamatsu on Shikoku, whose summit is riddled with manmade caves where the oni were said to live. Okami’s Oni Island may be based on its depiction in the 80’s Famicom game “Shin Onigashima” (New Onigashima).

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, oni island, onigashima, momotaro

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celestialbrush:

Someone in the Okami tag was asking for the concept art for Gen so here it is,

I really wanted to make Gen a female scientist, but ended up going with an ...old boy“ look with dragging sleeves like Hakase, the scientist character from Oba Q. Initial designs have him looking quite intelligent.

Bonus: I can't find the character he's based on (and hakase means literally professor, to make things harder), but the historical figure the game references with him is this cool guy.

[ Posted Sun, 03 Feb 2013 10:00:22 ]

Tagged with: okami, gen, gennai

The Divine Wind

[ Posted Tue, 29 Jan 2013 01:12:00 ]

"Divine wind" (kamikaze) was an epithet for Ise Province, now Mie Prefecture, where strong winds frequently blew in from the sea. The Kojiki states that Amaterasu favored Ise for this wind and so chose it as the location for her shrine.

Ise was probably the inspiration for Kusa Village as the home of the Divine Wind in Ôkami, as its location is roughly analogous to Ise Province. While the Gale Shrine doesn’t seem to have any connection to Ise Shrine in terms of location or prominence, it may have at least been an influence in the decision to make Kusa Village the home of Kazegami and the Divine Wind.

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, kusa village, gale shrine, kazegami, fact: I just learned this from my Japanese religion textbook and it was only the third reading, coming soon: momotaro

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Tagged with: jump-with-the-moon-and-move-it, ask, reply

The River of the Heavens

[ Posted Wed, 26 Dec 2012 23:38:01 ]

The River of the Heavens, or Ama-no-gawa (天の川), is actually the Japanese name for the Milky Way, because of its resemblance to a river of stars in the night sky. It’s easy enough to take the name literally in Okami, but it’s arguably the most enchanting landscape in the game, and for good reason. Beyond the falling sand, hazy light, and ancient architecture, this place is larger than life, a world on the shores of a galaxy…

[Photo: Wikipedia]

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, the river of the heavens, river of the heavens, just how beautiful is that though?

Komuso

[ Posted Mon, 24 Dec 2012 14:19:00 ]

Komuso is not a name, but rather a title, translating to “priest of emptiness” or “monk of emptiness”. The baskets they wear on their heads symbolize the absence of an ego, and they typically travel around on pilgrimages, collecting alms and practicingsuizen. Suizen is a meditative practice based on playing the shakuhachi, which requires years of practice and controlled breathing techniques.

Amaterasu may encounter this komuso several times throughout Nippon as he travels on his own pilgrimage. Okami’s komuso wears more colorful garb than usual, probably to set him apart and fit into Okami’s colorful world. He is keenly aware of things beyond normal human perception. It seems that though the basket may cover his eyes, he is far from blinded…

[Source: Wikipedia]

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, komuso

I fixed the image posts on the blog so they no longer show up as ugly white boxes stretching off into infinity. Hooray for images!

Tagged with: maintenance log

A (slightly late) post in honor of the winter solstice, the day in Shinto mythology when Amaterasu was said to have been drawn from the cave after a long, dark winter night, and the sun returned to the sky to warm the Earth.

[ Posted Fri, 21 Dec 2012 23:52:36 ]

Tagged with: okami, official art, shinto mythology

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pamandjapan:

ぬりかべ(Nurikabe)

Nurikabe is a yokai that manifests as a wall that impedes or misdirects walking travelers at night. Trying to go around is futile as it extends itself forever. Knocking on the lower part of the wall makes it disappear. It has been suggested that the legend was created to explain travelers losing their bearings on long journeys.

You might know them as Blockheads.

[ Posted Sun, 02 Dec 2012 12:04:08 ]

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Three Views of a Secret

[ Posted Tue, 27 Nov 2012 19:45:28 ]

Gaberian sent me this link to an English article on those Ten Sacred Treasures on which some of the Divine Instruments are based (thank you so much). It’s pretty interesting and not very long, so I encourage you to read it!

Tagged with: links, articles, okami, divine instruments

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Amaterasu Okami

[ Posted Mon, 26 Nov 2012 23:55:00 ] okami-amaterasu-ftw:

Format: Japanese (English)

● 鏡 (Reflector) Lit. “mirror”.

● 勾玉 (Rosary) Magatama, comma-shaped jewels originating in ancient times, said to

represent the human soul.

● 剣 (Glaive) Tsurugi, an old kind of double-edged sword.

● 真経津鏡 (Divine Retribution) Mafutsu-kagami, an alternate name for Yata-no-kagami,

one of the three imperial regalia. I think the characters were assigned phonetically, because

they make no sense otherwise.

● 神獣鏡 (Snarling Beast) An ancient kind of mirror decorated with gods and animals.

● 沖津鏡 (Infinity Judge) I cannot find anything at all in English on this, but this seems

to come from a set of ten sacred treasures (“十種神宝”). Googling this brings up a series

of images of ten objects or diagrams with some of these names—they seem to have both

Buddhist and Shinto influence. I can’t find anything more specific about them, not that I can

read… these characters literally mean “open sea harbor mirror”.

● 辺津鏡 (Trinity Mirror) Another one of the ten sacred treasures. Literally “harbor area

mirror”—I’m not sure if these characters are meant literally.

● 八咫鏡 (Solar Flare) Yata-no-kagami, one of the three imperial regalia of Amaterasu.

● 足玉 (Devout Beads) One of the ten sacred treasures. Literally “foot beads”.

● 生玉 (Life Beads) One of the ten sacred treasures. Literally “life beads”.

● 道返玉 (Exorcism Beads) This may be one of the ten sacred treasures, but the second

character is different. The original uses “反” (to oppose) rather than “返” (to restore).

Literally “path restoring beads”.

● 死返玉 (Resurrection Beads) Same deal as with Exorcism Beads. Literally “death restoring

beads”.

● 八尺瓊勾玉 (Tundra Beads) One of the three imperial regalia, literally “eight foot jade

magatama”.

● 都牟刈大刀 (Tsumugari) One of the three imperial regalia. Not sure what it’s supposed to

mean, so the characters are probably phonetic.

● 七支刀 (Seven Strike) A unique kind of seven-pronged sword.

● 草薙剣 (Blade of Kusanagi) “Grass-cutter blade”; another name for the sword of the three

imperial regalia.

● 八握剣 (Eighth Wonder) “Eight-handle sword”; one of the ten sacred treasures.

● 天叢雲剣 (Thunder Edge) “Heavenly gathering clouds sword”; another name for the sword

of the three imperial regalia.

I’ve added literal translations and some extra notes—all these translations are in the Garyou Tensei, and I was intending to write them up myself this week, but it looks like someone beat me to it. So thanks. ;D

And here’s a picture of those ten sacred treasures; if you have an eye for kanji, you can match them up, but some of them should be obvious, like Eighth Wonder. If any of you can help me figure out what their significance is, I’ll love you forever.

Tagged with: okami, okamiden, divine instruments

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kyotodreamtrips:

The Jishu shrine in Kiyomizu dera is famous for boys or girls seeking the perfect partner. It's always quite busy in this shrine. This statue is ...Okuninushino-Mikoto“ who is a Japanese god in charge of love and the perfect match. The rabbit beside him is a messenger of the god.

That’s Kuni, guys.

[ Posted Sun, 25 Nov 2012 20:36:17 ]

photo-link-url

Tagged with: kuni, kuninushi, okamiden

m17un4:

Well here we have it. I couldn't find a version of the Heno heno moheji seen in Okami, because I wanted a rip of it, particularly one of the ones seen when in Kusa Village [[Cursed]] and so I ripped it from the game at low-res and then remade it.

Here's a transparent clean version if someone wants

it .

Also for those who doesn't know what a Heno heno moheji is, it's a face using the symbols へのへのもへじ

Eyebrows: He

Eyes: No

Nose: Mo

Mouth: He

Head: Ji

I normally don't post things like these but I know someone else also asked for me to send it to them when I was done, but I don't exactly remember who said that, so I'm keeping it here for when they want the link. uvu/

Besides, I know some people has wondered what exactly that face floating above people's heads by default are. [Before their actual faces appear.] So, this is it!

[ Posted Sun, 25 Nov 2012 09:29:23 ]

Tagged with: okami, henohenomoheji, heno heno moheji, okami face

Kagu

[ Posted Tue, 20 Nov 2012 13:28:39 ]

Kagu is short for Kagura, a theatrical Shinto dance whose name means “god entertainment”. There are several different kinds of kagura, one of the major types being miko kagura, performed by miko (“female shaman” or “shrine maiden”).

Kagura starts out as a budding actress in kabuki, a fairly modern type of theatre featuring extravagant costumes, makeup, exaggerated voices and movements, dance, and music, with marked similarities to kagura. Kabuki plays often tell stories of brave warrior protagonists and gods. Over the course of the game, she chooses the path of the miko/shrine maiden instead. She changes into the traditional garb of miko—pleated red pants and a white haori (jacket), with hair drawn back in ribbons (or in this case, lightning-shaped shide and bells to chase away evil); red is frequently associated with the divine, and white symbolizes purity. During their dances, miko are said to channel the power of the gods to realize prayers, give thanks, or purify a space.

A miko dances at a town fall festival.

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, okamiden, kagu, kagura, miko, what kills me is that kagu means furniture

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Kamui

[ Posted Mon, 19 Nov 2012 19:31:00 ]

I’ve been trying to figure out what all place names in Kamui mean, since only a few are possible to find in English. I found a list of the Japanese names and their meanings, but the article is in Japanese, so I’ll translate the basics here, with my own notes.

Kamui: similar to Japanese kami, kamui are gods or sprits. Like the Ainu, the Oina seem to have an animistic religion. Perhaps Kamui could be considered the land of the gods… although it’s also the birthplace of evil. Well, positive thinking, right?

Wep’keer: from uepeker, a style of storytelling; a full post on this can be found here.

Yoshpet: yoshipetai, meaning roughly “stomach forest” (although I was told by one studying Ainu that it actually means ‘large forest’). In English it’s referred to as the “consuming forest”. I’ve seen speculation that Yoshpet is based on Aokigahara, the “suicide forest” at the base of Mt. Fuji. Also called the “sea of trees”, Aokigahara is known for its tough rock base, icy caves, and eerie quiet due to the curious absence of wildlife. I can’t confirm this correlation, but it makes a lot of sense.

Ezofuji: Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan, used to be called Ezo (or Yezo). Mount Youtei is sometimes called Ezofuji because of its resemblance to Mt. Fuji in Honshu, Japan’s central island. According to the article, it is said that the creator of the Earth descended here.

Wawku Shrine: from iriwaku, meaning “siblings”.

Affun Gate: in Japanese, affunbara, from affunrubara, meaning “entrance”. It also has the connotation of an entrance to the underworld.

Lake Laochi: rayochi, meaning “rainbow”.

Sewaprolo: if you forget where this name is from, it’s the charm Tuskle gives you to pass by the seal on Yoshpet Forest. Sewapororo are carved doll amulets similar to Japanese omamori. They are said to bring good luck, and the god Sewa will grant your wishes if you pray sincerely. (More on Ainu amulets here.)

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, ainu, oina, oina tribe, kamui, I'm so glad I found this because I've been dying to know these too

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Dojo Sign

[ Posted Sat, 10 Nov 2012 00:52:45 ]

Just spent ten minutes or so trying to figure out the meaning of the characters on the sign outside the dojo with one of my friends. XP We had to go back and forth between Chinese and Japanese kanji dictionaries to find the characters and transliterate them.

As it happens, this phrase, “色即是空” (shikisokuzekuu), is a term from Zen Buddhism, meaning “form is emptiness”. The idea of “form is emptiness, emptiness is form” is very prominent concept in Zen Buddhism, emphasizing the connections among and the non-duality of things. I guess this also means Onigiri-sensei is Buddhist.

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, not-quite-mythology

Poncles

[ Posted Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:37:37 ]

The Poncles are based on a race of small people from Ainu lore, the koro-pok-guru, whose name is interpreted to mean “the people beneath butterbur leaves”, as they are said to live in pits covered by butterbur leaves. Somewhat similarly, the Poncles live in a hollowed-out tree stump. The koro-pok-guru vary in size among descriptions, but generally they were not as small like the Poncles, maybe two or three feet high. The size of the Poncles was probably derived from Issun (as Issunboshi, the One-Inch Boy). The koro-pok-guru hated to be seen, but they were on good terms with the Ainu people until a curious man tried to capture one. After that, they were never seen again.

A statue of a koro-pok-guru holding a butterbur leaf.

The koro-pok-guru also made pottery, unlike the Ainu of the region, perhaps explaining the pots in the official art.

（图片损坏，摊爪）

There have been several attempts at explaining how the koro-pok-guru might have existed; perhaps they were linked to Homo floresiensis. You can read more about that and other theories here.

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, poncles, ponc'tan, koro-pok-guru

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Tagged with: ask, reply, anon, published since I can't reply otherwise XP

Sorry I haven’t been active here much. School and all… and now NaNoWriMo. I’m planning on updating soon, though. I have some ideas and a few things in my draft folder.

Meanwhile, since it’s NaNo… I’m working on a Moon Tribe fanfiction, with mostly OCs based on Japanese history and mythology but also Waka and Sugawara, and it’s going kind of slowly and needs more filler and stuff to make it interesting. So if anyone has any dares or ideas for fun things, Moon Tribe headcanons, whatever you want to submit… that’d be cool. It might make this story suck less so I can share it without feeling too ashamed of myself. :D

Sei-an City

[ Posted Thu, 11 Oct 2012 14:24:00 ]

Sei-an City, known as Seiankyô in Japanese (西安京, lit. “western peace capital”), is based on ancient Kyôto, which the capital city of Japan during the Heian period about a thousand years ago. Its name then was Heiankyô´ (平安京), meaning “peaceful and tranquil capital”. Sei-an City is located in roughly the same position as Kyôto, nestled inland near Lake Biwa. Although Sei-an City is actually located ON Lake Biwa (romanized as Lake Beewa), whereas Kyoto is a few miles east of it.

Like Heiankyô, Sei-an City is rectangular in shape and is surrounded by walls. It has a central road leading to the imperial palace at the north end of the city. The nobles and officials all live outside but near the palace. Two canals run through the city.

Model of Heiankyô from Wikipedia. Feel free to compare.

Also, from Himiko’s palace, you can see a famous Kyoto sight: a curious mountain with a giant 大 dai, the character for “large”, painted into its ridges. This mountain is based on Daimon-ji Mountain, where a similar giant 大 is set on fire during the Gozan Okuribi Festival.

Learn more about Gozen Okuribi here.

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, heiankyou, seiankyou, sei-an city

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Tagged with: shojisama, ask, reply

Nippon

[ Posted Wed, 10 Oct 2012 20:16:00 ]

This one might seem kind of obvious: Nippon is the Japanese name for Japan! It does look an awful lot like Japan, even though there are some major differences.

Technically, the Japanese call their country Nihon; “Nippon” has a certain cultural connotation, so while you use phrases such as “Nihonjin” (Japanese people) or “Nihonbashi” (lit. “Japan Bridge”, a famous bridge in Tokyo from which all distance measurements were made in the Edo period), you will see “Nippon” written on stamps and the like. It’s a little confusing to explain here, so the important thing to know is that these are just two alternate pronunciations for the same characters, 日本, meaning “sun origin”, and that the world of Okami is similar to but not exactly Japan. This name was given to the country by China some centuries ago, because China considered itself to be directly beneath Heaven, which was the center of the universe (hence the name 中国, “middle country”), and relative to China, Japan lies where the sun rises.

Before it was Nihon, however—way, way before, though I can’t say by how long—the people called their land Toyoashihara no Nakatsukuni, meaning “middle country of the reed beds”. It was the middle country because it was the land that lay between Takamagahara (the High Plain of Heaven) and Yomi (Hell), and the significance of “reed beds” is unknown. But it was believed at this time that long and poetic names would attract the gods and their blessings.

In the Japanese game, Nippon is referred to as Nakatsukuni, simply “middle country”. To the Japanese, this name is a clear throwback to the island’s very distant past.

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, nippon

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Tagged with: ask, reply, okamiden, akuro

Issun

[ Posted Fri, 21 Sep 2012 17:29:00 ]

Issun is based on Issun-bôshi, a character from a famous Japanese folktale. Issunbôshi is usually translated as “Little One Inch” or “One-Inch Samurai”; issun means one “sun”, a unit of distance slightly longer than an inch, and bôshi actually refers to a Buddhist monk. (Fun fact: ten sun make up a shaku.)

The story goes as such: there once lived an old couple who were very happy in every way, except that pray as they might, they were old and still had not borne children. But one day, the woman gives birth to a tiny boy: tiny enough to rest on her finger. They named him Saemon, but everyone called him Issunbôshi, because he only grew one sun high. Despite his small size, he had a big heart and grand ideas, and one day he decided to leave his parents in pursuit of such an idea. The next morning, he set out for the capital with a new suit, a sword made from a needle, a rice bowl boat, and a chopstick as an oar.

When he reached the capital, he found an ornate ox-drawn carriage travelling down the main road, and so he decided to follow it. It led him to the palace of the lord Sanjo. The guards didn’t even notice him entering the gates, so he kept quiet. Eventually he found Sanjo himself listening to his daughter singing. During a break, he called out to for Sanjo’s attention, but the man couldn’t find him. He called out again, and a maid found him and picked him up. He asked to be made Sanjo’s retainer. Sanjo was reluctant, but his daughter asked for Issunbôshi to be made her companion, and so it was.

Issunbôshi helped the girl by grinding ink, cleaning musical instruments, and accompanying her to temples to pray. He would stand guard outside, imitating the ferocious snarl of Fudo-myôô.

But one day, on their way back from a temple outside the city, they encountered a huge oni (ogre). The oni snatched up the girl without a word and ran off, but not before Issunbôshi could grab the hem of her robe and climb up to wrestle the oni.

The oni was stunned at this little thing fighting with his hand, but knowing better than to wait and ask questions, he simply threw Issunbôshi into his mouth. Issun, always a quick thinker, responded by drawing his needle-sword and slashing at the oni’s mouth. The demon coughed the little warrior out, but Issunbôshi simply climbed onto his face and began attacking his nose and eyes. The demon threw him off, dropped the girl and ran off in misery.

When the girl recovered, she stood and found a magical mallet dropped by the fleeing oni. Knowing it would grant her a wish, she made one and shook the mallet. The next thing they knew, Issunbôshi was a full-size warrior, and they were both quite pleased. When they returned to the capital, Issunbôshi brought his parents to live in the capital, and a marriage was arranged between him and the girl.

As is to be expected, much of this story has been subverted in Okami. Instead of the daughter of a lord, Issun partners up with, to some extent, with Kaguya after sneaking into the Emperor’s palace. And instead of being eaten by an oni and fighting his way out, Issun (with Ammy, of course) goes into the Emperor’s stomach to defeat Blight. And instead of Issun being brought to full size by the Lucky Mallet, Amaterasu is shrunk to his size. But Issunbôshi’s spirit is intact in Okami’s Issun.

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, issun, issunboshi, I can't find anything on Denkomaru either outside of Doraemon and Gundam but it's obviously from somewhere

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Chun and the Cutters

[ Posted Thu, 20 Sep 2012 14:38:35 ]

Chun, the Sparrow Clan, and Mr. & Mrs. Cutter are all based on the tale of the Tongue-Cut Sparrow.

Long ago there lived a kind old woodcutter and his greedy wife. One day, the old man found an injured sparrow and, feeling sorry for it, took it back to his house and nursed it back to health. His wife became resentful of the bird, jealous of her husband's care for the creature.

One day the old man had to leave to run some errands and asked his wife to care for the bird while he was gone. She neglected to feed it, thinking it a waste of food, so the hungry sparrow ate some starch that she had left out. When she discovered this, she flew into a rage, cutting out the Sparrow's tongue and throwing it out of the house to fly back from where it came.

The old man was very upset at the loss of his friend and went searching for it. When he was ready to give up, a group of sparrows appeared and lead him to an old house with a lovely garden hidden inside a bamboo grove, where he was reunited with the sparrow he had rescued. The thankful sparrow offered the man food and drinks, and the other sparrows sang and danced to show their gratitude.

Before he left, the sparrows presented him with two baskets: one small, the other large and heavy, and asked him to choose one as his parting gift. The old man humbly chose the smaller basket. When he returned home and opened the small basket, he found that it was full of valuable treasures, gold and precious gems.

Upon seeing the riches, his greedy wife decided that she would go see the sparrows as well and take the larger basket, which surely contained even more. The sparrow politely let her in, but did not give her any food or drinks. When the woman realized that they were not going to offer a gift, she rudely asked for one. The sparrow obliged, bringing out a large and a small basket like before. She grabbed the large basket and left without so much as a ...thank you“.

As she carried the basket it seemed to get heavier and heavier until she could carry it no further. She stopped to rest, and eager to see her treasure, decided the peek inside. However, when she opened the lid, all kinds of horrific monsters spilled out and attacked her, tearing her to pieces.

Of course, a lot of these elements have been subverted in Okami. The kind old woodcutter is the voracious Mr. Cutter, who guards the house at night and runs even faster than Ms. Cutter. Ms. Cutter carries the basket of monsters on her back, and keeps Chun trapped inside. And instead of the greedy wife going to the bamboo grove (Sasa Sanctuary; sasa refers to the leaves of bamboo), or the sparrows coming to deliver a reward, Amaterasu and Issun visit to collect it themselves. Also note the sparrows on Mr. Cutter’s robe, and both Cutters’ shears.

The Sasa Sanctuary Inn is based on ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn featuring meals and tatami floors. They typically served travellers on highways, but were also attracted to scenic areas and hot springs. The beautiful setting and hot spring of Sasa Sanctuary make an ideal place for an inn.

Typical ryokan room designs have sliding doors & windows and a central table set, features shared by the rooms in Sasa Sanctuary. Access to an outdoor walkway is also a common feature.

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, sparrow clan, chun, the tongue-cut sparrow

cultural-escapist:

Etretat

The southern Ryoshima coastline, especially the hook-shaped rock, is based off this beach in France.

[ Posted Wed, 19 Sep 2012 13:30:55 ]

photo-link-url

Tagged with: okami, ryoshima coast, france, etretat, I promise I'm going to post some actual stuff soon, I have drafts on Komuso and some other people waiting to be finished XP, school is eating my life

buttbear:

Ubume is definitely a favorite too but she's super hellish to draw because there's just.. no clear images of her ?? No good clips of her cutscene or battles against her and her illustration is pretty vague, so I had to bullshit a lot of this alksdlf

The ubume is an actual yokai! They're the ghosts or manifestation of multiple ghosts of woman who have died in childbirth, or died without knowing what will happen to their children, etcetc. Apparent pregnant women and mothers are associated with birds, and that's why Okami's ubume is portrayed as a crane, even though they're described as women who were killed by samurai in the game ?? Who knows. The Okami artbook says they've dressed her like a courtesan! I want to draw them again sometime, they're really interesting and I love the game's take on the monster

[ Posted Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:02:44 ]

Tagged with: okami, fanart, ubume

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Tagged with: ask, reply, anon, okami, okamimythology, oni island, raijin, raiden

Okuni

[ Posted Fri, 07 Sep 2012 20:59:34 ]

You may not remember this little girl from the Aristocratic Quarter, but she's actually based on a rather famous figure:

fromthefloatingworld:

Izumo no Okuni (出雲の阿国)

Okuni invented the style of dance and drama that became kabuki theatre. She was thought to have been a miko (shrine maiden) at Izumo-taisha who was sent to Kyoto in order to get donations for the shrine. She became popular for her dances and skits, performing in a dry riverbed of the Kamo River. Okuni gathered a troupe of entirely women (many of them prostitutes) and taught them to act, dance, and sing. Her troupe became increasingly famous, and many other troupes of female performers appeared. This style of theatre became known as ...onna-kabuki“ or ...Okuni kabuki“. Okuni retired from performing in 1610 and disappeared. Her year of death is unknown. In 1629, the shogunate forbade women from performing in kabuki, thus creating the all male version of kabuki known today.

Note the kabuki costume elements, both male and female, of Okuni’s design. She has the red makeup and sword standard of a samurai protagonist, and the lush dress, ornate hair, and front-tied obi of an oiran.

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, okuni

One of the cool things about the Okami Garyou Tensei (lit. “Painting the Dragon’s Eye”, meaning “finishing touches” as the last thing Japanese artists would add to dragon paintings were its pupils) is that it has two pages listing almost all of the place names, weapons, and some items and characters in both their original Japanese and their English translations. Soon I want to post them to compare the English names with the literal Japanese translations.

Some of them are very intriguing. Solar Flare is actually called Yata-no-Kagami (“Eight Span Mirror”), the mirror with which Amaterasu was lured from her cave in legend. Divine Retribution takes this role in the game, so I find it interesting that the name is given to the final reflector instead… meanwhile, Devout Beads is originally “Foot Beads”. I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean.

Tagged with: okami, words, woohoo

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Tagged with: wakamolez, okami, okamiden, okamimythology, kuni, kuninushi, ask, reply

Kurow

[ Posted Thu, 30 Aug 2012 00:08:00 ]

The name Kurow comes from “Kurô” in the name Minamoto Kurô Yoshitsune, known as Ushiwaka in his youth. So, Kurow is named after Waka, and could be considered the “second stage” of Waka’s life. This also explains their design similarities, although Kurow’s design is derived straight from Waka, while Waka’s design is derived from the actual Ushiwaka, as well as tengu and Gatchaman.

Tagged with: okami, okamiden, okamimythology, kurow, moon tribe, and frankly this is a problem I have with all of Okamiden in which a LOT of the music/art/characters/etc. are based off of the Okami canon, instead of the mythology/history/art from which Okami itself was derived, and so it loses a lot of that authenticity and generally just makes me sad., also sorry for the hiatus, I'm more settled in now so I'll post some bigger stuff soon I swear, hooray for notes that are longer than the actual post

Sorry for my inactivity recently. I’ve been busy packing for school, going to school, moving in, and getting ready for class and such. This is just a notice to say it might be a few more days before I can post again. But I found my Okami art book, so I can finally reference it again!

Tagged with: classes start tomorrow, woohoo!

I also want to point out that Kurow has a shakuhachi, but he plays it sideways which makes no sense whatsoever.

Tagged with: Nor does taking off a biwa's head as a sword because all the strings would break, speshul moon tribe tech??;, anyway a transverse flute has to be closed on one end, the shakuhachi is open on both ends, like a clarinet

Some Observations on Yami's Theme

[ Posted Thu, 23 Aug 2012 12:10:22 ]

I was listening to the Emperor of Eternal Darkness’ Theme on the bus today and the shakuhachi suddenly drew my attention. The way it’s used in the song is sort of different than how it’s used in other Okami songs, and the ideas behind the shakuhachi itself add an interesting element to the song as well.

If you aren’t familiar with the shakuhachi, it looks and sounds like this. Listen for a moment and you should recognize the sound.

It is a traditional Japanese flute made from bamboo. It has only five holes, and the mouthpiece is a simple notch cut from the top. Air is blown over this notch at different speeds and angles to vibrate the flute and produce sound. This construction is both simple and incredibly versatile, allowing the shakuhachi to produce a wide array of notes, tones, and special effects. Pitch bending is one used frequently in Okami’s soundtrack. Often it simply adds a friendly sound to the songs, as the tone is soft and flexible, and the pitch bending is reminiscent of similar sound effects used in older American cartoons (think Looney Tunes). Obviously, its purpose in “Emperor of Eternal Darkness” is not to sound friendly. This is where the style changes and makes room for a more classical interpretation.

Shakuhachi is the instrument of zen. It is practiced by many monks, especially komuso. Learning to play the shakuhachi is also a process of learning to achieve emptiness of mind, as in zen meditation. Take the phrase 'Form is emptiness. Emptiness is form.' This is a classic zen quote and applies to the shakuhachi discipline—its form, the music, is achieved through emptiness. It necessitates relaxation and 'becoming one' with the shakuhachi, as changing the sound requires moving your body: your fingers, your mouth, your head, perhaps more. You do not move the flute. It might as well not exist.

We can abstractify this slightly and call it the instrument of emptiness. Along with the trumpet, it leads most of Yami’s theme. And as you might recall, Yami’s original name was Empty Death. If Yami is a representation of emptiness, and so is the shakuhachi, then in this context the instrument itself represents Yami.

Furthermore, the long, constant sounding of the flute is achieved by circular breathing. Buddhism tends to deal a lot with circles and cycles. When you go in a circle, in the end you gain nothing, and this turns into the concept of zero, which is also the basis for Yami’s form. The whole theme song seems to go in circles. Aside from the looping, which is a given for the game’s whole soundtrack, the theme is characterized by a steady but driving 3/ 4 time signature under a series of dramatic rises and falls in pitch. I don’t know about you, but when I listen to this song, I get the distinct impression that it rolls as literally as music possibly can. The shakuhachi’s pitch bends and ‘flares’ still a certain cartoony-ness, but what it does even more is amplify the chaos of the scene, hailing to a methodical destruction of the world… We also hear the instrument constantly soaring up or dropping down and trailing off into nothing in a way no other instrument can. It is not confined by form the same way. Other instruments, such as the organ and percussion, are confined, and they seem to reflect Yami’s mechanical form. The shakuhachi, organic but only transient, represents Yami’s true nature.

Life. Death. Rebirth. Circles. Emptiness.

Tagged with: okami, yami, okami music, shakuhachi, tokoyami no sumeragi, This has been an unnecessarily complicated analysis brought to you by yours truly. questionanswer

Tagged with: ask, reply, I put it in a box when I came home from school and then I don't know., I'm missing my Okami soundtrack too. D:

celestialbrush:

This is the first character I drew when I joined the Okami team. Initially, her name wasOmohikane and she existed separately from Tuskle. Omohikane means ...God of Knowledge“, so I tied her design to owls. Eventually, the scenario had Tuskle and Omohikane combine and become what you see today. The owls on her head are indeed alive, and it is quite possible that they are the ones doing the actual talking instead of Tuskle…

Okami: Official Complete Works, page 150

[ Posted Wed, 22 Aug 2012 22:44:13 ]

Tagged with: oina, info, okami, tuskle, oina tribe

celestialbrush:

(Above) The idea that the Oina tribe members could transform into wolves came up mid-development, and I remember re-doing this draft accordingly. This is also around the time he got his fiery red hair. The Oina tribe was influenced heavily by the Ainu peoples and the Native Americans. The masks they wear represent the divine spirit that they worship, and is their way of staying close to said spirit. The masks were definitely not just a cover-up for us to avoid the hassle of designing more faces… no, they carry a very deep meaning.

(Below) An early Oki. At this point, he did not have the ability to transform into a wolf, and I was drawing him to look a little younger. The fact that he is wearing short sleeves despite being from a very cold region is an idea left over from this early stage in development. In the end, I feel it suits his hot-blooded personality perfectly…still, looks a bit chilly.

Okami: Official Complete Works, page 147

[ Posted Wed, 22 Aug 2012 22:43:01 ]

Tagged with: oina, info, okami, okikurmi, oina tribe

Himiko

[ Posted Wed, 22 Aug 2012 14:13:29 ]

Himiko (lit. “Sun Priestess”), also called Pimiko, was a shaman ruler of Yamatai, a region of Japan thought to be located in present-day Yamato province. She ruled almost two thousand years ago and is said to have been instated as ruler after a long line of male leaders produced years of war and conflict. Himiko was in contact with the Wei kingdom of ancient China, and so most of what we know about her today comes from Chinese records of the time. This quote comes from the Account of the People of Wa:

The country formerly had a man as ruler. For some seventy or eighty years after that there were disturbances and warfare. Thereupon the people agreed upon a woman for their ruler. Her name was Himiko [卑彌呼]. She occupied herself with magic and sorcery, bewitching the people. Though mature in age, she remained unmarried. She had a younger brother who assisted her in ruling the country. After she became the ruler, there were few who saw her. She had one thousand women as attendants, but only one man. He served her food and drink and acted as a medium of communication. She resided in a palace surrounded by towers and stockades, with armed guards in a state of constant vigilance. (tr. Tsunoda 1951:13)

All of this (except for the warfare and her brother, unless he’s the Emperor?) should be familiar. This belief that she bewitched her people is reflected in Issun’s suspicion that she caused the plague in Sei-an City. She was rarely seen in the public, as she preferred to keep to her palace (both in legend and in the game), which bolstered his suspicions. Her palace is massive, sprawling and with a tall central structure, and of course is surrounded by guards and walls. Inside are only handmaidens. Her alleged shamanistic abilities are also seen in her command of the crystal ball. The branch she holds is of sakaki, a sacred plant used in Shinto rituals. As for the holy burning pyre on her head… the art book merely says they wanted “something a little extra”.

After Himiko dies, four massive stones are erected behind the palace as a memorial. The real Himiko was also given a massive burial mound. In fact, the Chinese records say that she was so loved, over one hundred attendants, both male and female, killed themselves. Perhaps in grief, perhaps to attend her in death, I’m not sure.

Aside: The throne went to a king after her death, which drove people to the murder and assassination of hundreds until it was given to another female. This could make a really interesting post-game fanfic…

Sources: Wikipedia (there’s tons more information there, actually)

Heritage of Japan (lots of other into here too, plus models of an ancient building style we see in Princess Fuse’s house. Himiko’s palace was originally modeled in this style, but they updated the design to a grander Heian style of architecture.)

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, himiko, queen himiko, CONSTANT VIGILANCE

While I’m typing up this next article, I made a Samickle RP blog recently and need some more people to interact with. Would anyone mind suggesting some good RP blogs to follow?

Tagged with: I don't like advertising but I need help here XP, thank you in advance

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Tagged with: ask, otherwise I agree with this, it's still headcanon so don't take my word for it though

Well, this blog now has as many followers as my main blog… know that you will never be alone as an Okami fan on Tumblr, as there are over 220 members in our ranks!

Tagged with: YEAH, okay I'm logging off for a while I need to recharge, but man I love running this blog

Yami

[ Posted Sun, 19 Aug 2012 14:00:18 ] celestialbrush:

okamimythology:

The most I know about its background is that its original name was Empty Death, which the designer loved but I guess was changed to fit more with the mood of the game or something. Tokoyami no Sumeragi (lit. Emperor of Eternal Darkness) does work much better in this sense, but at the same time, meeting your doom at the hand of Empty Death sounds horribly tragic.

However, Yami's design still revolves around this idea of emptiness. The circular shape represents the number 0. I suppose the fetal shape within could represent an emptiness of soul, locked within a mindless machine created solely for destruction. Any design analysis beyond that is purely speculation.

I think the art book had more info—since I can't find mine, if someone else is willing to look this up and send me any other information, I would really appreciate it.

Hey, I'm going to reply here because this will be too heavy to send it to your askbox and I think you can't leave links/HTML. I adore your blog, by the way!

About Yami, people already told you what the artbook says. I was searching all afternoon for more stuff. When looking for the Pearl Archives the designer used, the Okami wikia mentioned it was the Pearl Hermitage Archive of Daitokuji in Kyoto. I'll go back to this later.

The kanji for ...empty death“ in the Japanese artbook is 空亡. I can't speak Japanese so I had no idea how to romanize it, so I googled a bunch of stuff until I got a better idea. I got stuff about divination. I added the kanji for youkai, then I got to this page in the Pixiv glossary and this other in a blog (even in comments). I'm not sure what they say because we know how online translators are. However, it seems the illustration the designer was talking about could be this one.

Now with the name of the illustration in these websites, I could filter it better.

● The images are in 真珠庵, Shinju-an, a subtemple of Daitoku-ji in Kyoto. Shinju-an translates to ...pearl

hermitage“ indeed. ● It's from the Muromachi period (14th-16th century)

● The image scrolls are 百鬼夜行 and it's the famous Hyakkiyagyou from said temple. The ...Night Parade

of One Hundred Demons“ is a popular concept of Japanese folklore and art. This must be the earliest version of it. So in conclusion, I still couldn't find anything about the ancient demon-eating ...Empty Death“ demon that inspired Yami. However, now we know from where the designer got the inspiration for most of the monsters, from the good old imps to the Lord of Darkness himself.

Well, there you have it. The “Demon Parade” scroll is probably the basis for the in-game Bestiary, too, and some of the other paintings.

Tagged with: okami, yami, tokoyami no sumeragi

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Tagged with: ask, reply, this blog is getting deep guys

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Yami

[ Posted Sun, 19 Aug 2012 11:40:00 ]

The most I know about its background is that its original name was Empty Death, which the designer loved but I guess was changed to fit more with the mood of the game or something. Tokoyami no Sumeragi (lit. Emperor of Eternal Darkness) does work much better in this sense, but at the same time, meeting your doom at the hand of Empty Death sounds horribly tragic.

However, Yami’s design still revolves around this idea of emptiness. The circular shape represents the number 0. I suppose the fetal shape within could represent an emptiness of soul, locked within a mindless machine created solely for destruction. Any design analysis beyond that is purely speculation.

I think the art book had more info—since I can’t find mine, if someone else is willing to look this up and send me any other information, I would really appreciate it.

EDIT: I think Yami was actually based on Amatsu-Mikaboshi, the god of evil and of the stars, whom was mentioned only in passing in the ancient Japanese text Nihon Shoki. Very little is known about this god—he is as shrouded in mystery as Yami itself. (Thanks to Jashu for reminding me!)

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, yami, tokoyami no sumeragi

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Wep'keer

[ Posted Sat, 18 Aug 2012 22:57:00 ]

(More Chuggaconroy LP screenshots!)

Wep’keer is a stylization of uepeker. This was the village’s name in Japanese, but uepeker is also an Ainu word: it refers to a conversational form of storytelling, one of several styles of traditional Ainu storytelling, another being oina, epic poems.

The Ainu culture has a rich tradition of storytelling. If you’re interested in learning more, check out Project Uepeker. (In fact, the posts on the main page right now relate to stories of the owl god, referencing the same elements on which Lechku and Nechku were based.)

As for the totem poles in the image, the Ainu do have totem poles, which seem to be in clusters much of the time and are frequently topped with birds, especially owls, or bears.

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, wep'keer, uepeker, oina tribe, ainu

Ainu Mukkuri (by michirustar84)

A traditional Ainu instrument made of split bamboo, featured in Issun’s Theme.

Keep listening, it gets really cool.

[ Posted Sat, 18 Aug 2012 21:49:00 ]

Tagged with: okami, issun, ainu, music, mukkuri

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Kokeshi Dolls

[ Posted Fri, 17 Aug 2012 20:18:00 ]

((I got a request to make this rebloggable, so here it is!))

Ah yes, the dolls…

The same doll after using Power Slash…

(Sorry for the poor quality, the only way I could get an image of them was to take a screenshot of Chuggaaconroy’s LP. Which is hilarious, if you haven’t watched it.)

I can tell you that these dolls are based on kokeshi dolls, a traditional wooden doll, with many variations found throughout Japan. But the exact purpose of kokeshi dolls is unclear. In some places, they were thought to bring good harvest or the favor of the gods, and generally they were expressions of local culture and artistry. Today, their purpose is mostly aesthetic.

Honestly, the most convincing conjecture I’ve heard so far is that the dolls’ behavior are a reference to another Capcom game, Genma Onimusha, which contains a killer demon doll which is apparently also freaking scary. Okami also has several references to one of Clover’s other games, Viewtiful Joe. I don’t know what other references there are, but I suppose this explanation has some potential.

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, kokeshi dolls

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Tagged with: haveaninfluence, okami, okamimythology, kokeshi dolls, ask, reply

Archives!

[ Posted Fri, 17 Aug 2012 13:07:00 ]

I’ve added an archive link to the top of the main blog page so you can navigate posts more easily and search for specific characters/places/etc. Enjoy!

Tagged with: maintenance log

Sugawara

[ Posted Thu, 16 Aug 2012 13:31:00 ]

Sugawara no Michizane is one of the most popular Heian figures in Japan, but not just because of his excellent Chinese-style poetry. He was also a beloved politician and Confucian scholar, powerful and beloved by almost everyone in the court. Almost. There were those who were jealous of his success, and managed to get him exiled. (Technically, he was reassigned as a governor in Kyushu, but to be given a post so far away from the capital as to be worthless was considered as bad as exile at the time.) There Michizane died, and over the next few years, the capital Kyoto, then known as Heiankyou, was beset by numerous natural disasters. Draughts, floods, earthquakes, and fires—the most fearsome disaster in ancient Japan—destroyed much of the city, and the people came to believe that these were the acts of Sugawara’s angry spirit. In order to calm his spirit, they enshrined him as Tenjin-sama, the Supreme Heavenly God (Sometimes he is also called the God of Fire and Lightning.), and began to pray to him. Legends soon arose that Tenjin could bestow incredible gifts and miracles, and his worship became very popular. Today, shrines dedicated to Tenjin are the fourth most numerous in Japan. Every year people flood the shrines with prayers for success, including thousands of students praying to get into top universities.

This story, while changed significantly, definitely remains in spirit in Okamiden, where Sugawara tries to work for the good of Sei-an City but dies of illness from the stress of political infighting. It is Akuro’s doing that Sugawara’s spirit becomes a vengeful ghost, but the disasters he wreaks (or tries to) hark right to the legend. His spirit is finally calmed when Akuro is purged, and sealed once Kurow and the Lady Scholar fix his shrine. The fact that Sugawara is enshrined at all can be attributed to his identity as Tenjin.

I have nothing to say for his design, except that his hat is called a kanmuri and was only worn by nobility on formal occasions in Heian Japan. His mask as King Fury seems to be derived from Waka’s helmet, and the designs on his clothes have no apparent basis in Japanese design, though the general cut and layering of the robes is traditional. His instrument is called a biwaand it must be made with magical moon technology in order for the head to come off and become a sword without breaking the strings every time.

Sources: Sugawara no Michizane and the Early Heian Court

Here is a summary of a famous tragic play about the exile of Sugawara no Michizane, Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami.

Tagged with: okami, okamiden, okamimythology, sugawara, king fury, moon tribe

Yatsu

[ Posted Wed, 15 Aug 2012 12:00:35 ]

Yatsu, Princess Fuse’s husband, is based on Yatsufusa, the dog who married Fusehime in Nansô Satomi Hakkenden(outlined here). Rather than being a dog, Yatsu simply has hair similar to dog ears. Similar to the novel, he is, however, dead.

Yatsu wears traditional Shinto priest garb—and then some. (This is Okami, after all.) In place of the usual tall, stiff ceremonial had, he wears a windmill with a similar overall shape. In true Okami fashion, it shows that he is the priest of the Gale Shrine, and the swirls on his robe represent the Divine Wind that blows down Kusa Village. The shide, the zig-zag paper strips, hanging from his headdress mostly emphasize the fact that the windmill is a sacred place.

His belt, with multiple strands and the paper strip tied underneath, is based on mizuhiki, a Japanese style of decorative knot-tying.

Mizuhiki are made of tightly wound paper and often accompany cards. These cards have paper strips with inscriptions on top of them, which we see in Yatsu’s belt.

The wand Yatsu holds is called a haraigushi. It consists of numerous shide, which are typically used to mark boundaries (as in shimenawa), but as a wand they are used to sweep away evil spirits. Some believe the jagged strips snag on the spirits to remove them, and some believe it is their resemblance to purifying lightning. The shide also make a pleasant rustling sound when they move. They are used in many purifying rituals, such as at New Year’s to bless offerings, or to cleanse new cars of spirits which might cause accidents or other misfortunes. This is still a popular practice in Japan.

You can see the similarities in Yatsu’s design to traditional Shinto priest garb. In his concept art, Yatsu originally wore a white robe with designs in red, as most priests wear white as a sign of purity.

Sources:

Japan Arts and Crafts

Nihonbunka

Jeanne Beck

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, yatsu, yatsufusa, I do wish they had kept the long hair... questionanswer

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Princess Fuse and the Canine Warriors

[ Posted Tue, 14 Aug 2012 13:59:00 ]

Princess Fuse, or Fusehime, comes not from mythology but from an epic novel written by Kyokutei Bakin from 1814-1842, which he wrote to compete with the great Chinese novel Water Margin. The title, Nansô Satomi

Hakkenden, translates to “Legend of the Eight Dog Heroes of the Satomi Clan of Nansô”. Its length (106 volumes), elegant style, broad scope, and the fact that Bakin went blind before its completion (he finished with the help of his daughter-in-law) has made it one of the most popular stories in Japan ever since.

The story comes from eight obscure heroes from 15th-century Japan who helped the Satomi clan reclaim the Awa Province, now Chiba. In the novel, each of these heroes has the kanji for dog somewhere in his name. The Okami art book shows concept art for each of the Canine Warriors as humans, with dog ears of course.

I want to deliver the story behind the beads with the rest of the story of Fusehime, which I obviously won’t be able to cover in its entirety, but I’ll gloss over the important parts, because it’s pretty powerful—albeit bloody. It starts with Fusehima’s father finally becoming the ruler of Awa Province, and killing the former ruler’s wife after promising to spare her. But before her execution, she curses the Satomi family to become “dogs of worldly desire”. (In other words, bound to human nature and selfishness, in a sense, and unable to reach the Buddhist Pure Land.) A few years later, a male dog appears on his doorstep, and adopts him. He names him Yatsufusa, “Eight Spots”. They don’t know it for a while, but it turns out that this dog is possessed by the soul of the murdered woman, Tamazusa. Later, when the Satomi clan is at war, Fusehime’s father promises Fusehime’s hand in marriage if Yatsufusa can bring back the head of the enemy general. Yatsufusa does just this, and to the awe of Fusehime’s father, insists on marrying Fusehime. Her father doesn’t want to, but Fusehime tells him that a ruler should keep his word, and Fusehime is married.

She leaves with Yatsufusa to his mountain home, where she has a vision of eight dog warriors, who are to be her children. Having worked so hard toward Buddhist ideals and chastity, Fusehime cannot stomach the idea of having children, but she is magically impregnated nonetheless. This, paired with spending so long alone in the mountains, causes Fusehime to decide to commit suicide to end her suffering and reach the Pure Land. She plans, with consent, to take Yatsufusa with her, in order to free him from Tamazusa.

Fusehime’s father wants to marry her to his retainer Kanamari, but Fusehime doesn’t want this either. As it happens, Kanamari discovers Fusehime as they prepare to enter the river to die. He shoots Yatsufusa—but one bullet hits Fusehime as well. Before Kanamari can commit ritual suicide to atone for his horrible, though accidental, act, Fusehime’s father appears, sent by her mother who had a vision of her death. He gives Fusehime a string of crystal beads. The beads reveal the eight Confucian Virtues etched within them. He prays to their deity, and Fusehime is miraculously brought back to life.

She is utterly dismayed to realize that she is no longer dead, but then notes that the souls of pregnant women suffer a horrible afterlife. And still not able to grasp the idea of being pregnant, she slices open her womb.

Mist pours out and carries her string of beads into the air, where it breaks. Only the eight largest, etched with the Confucian Virtues, remain, circling and glowing like comets. A gust of wind roared down the mountain and swept them all away. Where they landed, they eventually became the eight warriors who would meet and save the Satomi clan.

Utterly relieved that she was not truly pregnant, she died again, this time in peace.

And thus we have the large beads that circle around Princess Fuse, and the colored beads of power, each marked with a different Confucian Virtue, with each of the Canine Warriors. The dogs are all named after their respective virtues. Their filial relationship to Fuse is probably reflected in just how much she cares for them.

At one point in the novel, Fusehime saves a boy from a thunderbolt because she’s awesome.

Finally, some notes on design: one of the main warriors from the story, Shino, disguises himself as a female for a while. Thus the original human design for Ko (the collie), who is based on Shino, is very effeminate. Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about the other seven warriors. I do know that each of the warriors had a peony-shaped birthmark on their navel, which may be reflected in the flower on Hayabusa’s haunch, though it’s not a peony.

As for the design of Fuse herself, the oval emblem on her sleeves is based on 見 mi, which is the last kanji in Satomi. The ears… are pretty obvious.

Source: Early Modern Japanese Literature

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, princess fuse, fuse, fusehime, canine warriors, satomi clan, satomi

Japanese Tales

[ Posted Mon, 13 Aug 2012 22:28:25 ]

If any of you are interested in Japanese folklore in general, I highly recommend Royall Tyler’s Japanese Tales. It’s a vast collection of stories from many times and many places around Japan. It’s not about the major mythology, such as the legends of Orochi or Amaterasu, but it includes some original tales of other familiar characters such as Sugawara no Michizane, Kaguya-hime, Urashima, and various demons. The variety is huge, from cool stories of dragons and foxes to those too bizarre and ridiculous for me to mention. But it’s a rather intimate view into Japanese myths and storytelling culture, and a great casual read.

Tagged with: japanese folklore, japanese tales, royall tyler

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Nagi and Nami, cont.

[ Posted Sun, 12 Aug 2012 14:36:00 ]

A special contribution from N. on Okami World! (It’s a great forum, guys!)

Concerning the artistic design of Nagi, note that he wears a magatama bead strung around his neck and his sword, which we of course know is named for the moon god born from his eye [Tsukuyomi], bears a crossguard which resembles various cloud and crescent kamon [emblems]:

Hantsuki (half moon)

Tsukini Kasumi (moon haze)

Aoki Hujino Yama (forested - literally “green tree”, after the forest at the base of - Mount Fuji)

See Tozando’s kamon index. Compare with Nagi here.

And Nami’s design, she wears a sake barrel decorated with shide and pierced with a ritual demon breaking arrow, hamaya (破魔矢), which of course parallels the marking of her house following her selection as the sacrificial maiden to Orochi.

(Compare with Nami here.)

I’ll add to it further by noting that the omamori (protective tag) tied to Nami’s hamaya has Orochi’s symbol written on it, in place of the name of a god or temple… that’s a little creepy.

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, nami, nagi, guest

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Dogu

[ Posted Fri, 10 Aug 2012 17:04:00 ]

Remember these weird clay aliens who are such a pain to fight? Yeah, I don’t want to either.

But the actual history of the dogu is really quite fascinating. Dating from the Jomon period (10,000 B.C.E. to 300 B.C.E), when Japan was populated by numerous hunter-gatherer cultures, but mostly found during the middle and late eras, there are many conjectures for the purpose of these ornate dolls.

Most agree that they were charms for health or good childbirth. Many of them have been found in pieces on trash piles, meaning they might have been broken either after a wish was fulfilled or if it failed to be. They could also have been representations of goddesses prayed to for food or health. And among other possible explanations, of course, there are those who believe they are sculptures of aliens, probably inspiring the way Okami’s dogu beam down from space. Meanwhile, their age alone was clearly inspiration for the gigantic dogu statues in Tsuta Ruins, and also why they only appear as enemies in the past.

（坏掉了）

There is a wide variety of dogu types and they have been found all over Japan. This is the main reason a singular purpose for dogu has been impossible to determine. This element of mystery is clear in Okami as well. The only definite thing was that their production ceased with the arrival of the Yayoi people to Japan, who eclipsed the Jomon culture. The scattered ruins in Okami hint at a similar—but perhaps less bloody—past. Of all the dogu types, though, the “goggles type” dogu, seen above, is certainly the most iconic.

More kinds of dogu. The second one on the left should look familiar.

Sources:

E-yakimono

Metropolis

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, dogu, jomon

The Spider Queen

[ Posted Thu, 09 Aug 2012 17:25:34 ]

In Japanese, her name is Jorôgumo—literally “prostitute spider”. In mythology, a spider is said to gain magical powers, including the ability to turn into a beautiful woman, when it has lived for 400 years. Jorôgumo usually use this human form to trick unsuspecting human prey. There are also a few stories of benevolent jorôgumo, including one worshiped in Kashikobuchi as a goddess who protects people from drowning. The most popular jorôgumo story, with many variations, involves a spider who inhabits a waterfall trying to ensnare a logger, who then puts the spider threads on a tree stump instead and escapes a watery grave. This waterfall story may be the inspiration for all the waterfalls in Tsuta Ruins. Another story from the Edo period told of a beautiful woman who lured men into a quiet shack and played the biwa, a Japanese lute for them, bound them while they were distracted, and ate them. This could be the inspiration for the biwa-driven music surrounding the Spider Queen’s lair.

In human form, a jorôgumo may still have many arms. The Spider Queen is obviously a similar blend of human and arachnid features. Curiously, she also has undead features—blue skin, based on the Japanese idea of “being blue” when you are sick or moribund, and a white robe, which is how the dead and dying are dressed for a funeral. I don’t know if there is a specific inspiration for this aspect of her design.

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, spider queen, the spider queen, jorogumo

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Camille and Camellia

[ Posted Wed, 08 Aug 2012 08:52:00 ]

Remember the story of Happyaku Bikuni (from my last post on Rao)? In one version, as the nun travels around, she plants camellia trees wherever she goes. Called tsubaki in Japanese, these trees have lovely flowers and are used to make tea.

Camille and Camellia’s ancestors, Peony and Peoni, did just this.

D’you live around here, wolf? We decided we wanted to plant a Guardian Tree in Nippon. So we set off on a trip with the seedlings of this Konohana tree. The Konohana tree’s revered as a sacred guardian where we’re from. Wherever it grows, happiness grows with it. And we heard Nippon was a place of sadness, so… I’ll be so happy if our Konohana tree helps even a bit. And the air in this village is so clean and pure. I’m sure it’ll grow into a beautiful, big tree.

I’m not sure of the specific symbolism of Peony/Peoni’s name, but peonies are popular in Asian art, and “white peony” is one of the most famous Chinese teas. But even though they planted peach trees rather than camellias, Camille and Camellia’s names are obvious throwbacks to the Happyaku Bikuni legend.

Sources:

Happyaku Bikuni

Okami script

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, camille and camellia, peony and peoni

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Rao

[ Posted Tue, 07 Aug 2012 11:11:00 ]

I’ve been looking forward to writing this because Rao has some very interesting ideas behind her. One of my favorite bits of trivia concerns her name—it’s the kind of thing that completely alters the player’s perception and expectations of her character depending on which version of the game they play. In Japanese, her name is Tsudzurao. In the non-Japanese language games, her name is shortened to Rao, which is awfully pretty but completely meaningless. Because Tsudzurao is, in fact, the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word for “nine tails”, referring to her true identity as a nine-tailed fox.

This means as soon as they meet her, that anyone who knows this will also know that Rao is actually an impostor.

Thing is, I don’t know how well-known this word is, so I can’t say whether most people who play the game will realize this or if most Japanese players are as unassuming as the rest of us. It could just be a given since kitsune are quintessential to Japanese mythology and Okami is… well, born of Japanese mythology. But the fact remains.

Moving on, Rao’s apparent mental maturity and extreme youthful beauty were inspired by the story Happyaku Bikuni (“Eight Hundred [Years] Nun”]. There are several different versions, but the basic story about a girl who accidentally eats the flesh of a mermaid and becomes immortal because of it. After everyone she knows has died, she decides to become a Buddhist nun and travels around Japan, bringing happiness with her. After eight hundred years, however, she wearies and returns to her hometown, and enters a cave to die.

Most mermaids weren’t especially pretty (although some certainly were).

Remember how Rao died was killed in a cave? Yeah.

And finally, Rao’s prayer slips are based on traditional osame-fuda, paper slips used as offerings at temples and sometimes pasted onto buildings to ward off evil spirits.

Sources

Happyaku Bikuni

Flickr

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, rao, tsuzurao, tsudzurao, happyaku bikuni

Just a notice that I’m going on a trip for a week (Olympic Peninsula and BC coast!), so it will get pretty slow on here. But I’m bringing my laptop, so I’ll try to update every once in a while.~

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Ankoku Temple

[ Posted Thu, 02 Aug 2012 21:04:00 ]

Ankoku Temple, where Rao probably practiced Buddhist rites, sits high on a hill on the southern Ryoshima Coast. It’s very small and unassuming as far as Japanese temples go. So is the real one. (Or ones?)

I’m not sure which Ankoku Temple this one is supposed to be based off of. There’s one in Hiroshima Prefecture, which is the one on Wikipedia, but my guess is the one in Hida Prefecture, known for being Hida’s only national treasure and also for its octagonal revolving bookshelf. I believe it has a large scriptorium, but I’m having trouble verifying this. It could be the inspiration for the huge scriptorium where Rao works in Sei-an City, however. Both of these Ankoku Temples seem to have a decent amount of stairs, too.

One of the most significant differences is in the characters used to spell the temples’ names. The real-life Ankokuji is written as 安国寺, meaning “Peaceful Country Temple”. But ankoku can also mean “darkness”, and I believe this is what Okami uses in Japanese—暗黒寺, literally “Dark Black Temple”, poetically “Temple of Darkness”.

Creepy.

Sources:

the Flickr photo

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, ankoku temple, rao, ankokuji

Oki

[ Posted Wed, 01 Aug 2012 21:54:00 ]

Oki is based on the Ainu hero Okikurumi. He is credited with teaching the Ainu, the native people of Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan, with the arts of hunting and fishing. He is the main hero of many oina, epic poems, and thus was also known as Oinakamui (god of oina). Furthermore, he is the son of the goddess of elm trees, which were commonly used by the Ainu for fire, and so Okikurumi is associated with fire as well. This is probably reflected in Oki’s hot temperament and fiery personality (and hair). And when he became an adult, his mother gave him a sword—which, when he took it, burst into flame and destroyed the dark beings around it. The sword was called kutoneshirika. (The only further information I’ve found is in Japanese I can’t quite read.)

As it happens, it seems that Yoshitsune (Ushiwaka) and Benkei went to Hokkaido, and they taught the Ainu how to hunt, fish, and do other useful things. Yoshitsune was called Okikurumi, and Benkei was called Samai un guru, which literally means “Japanese person”. Samickle’s Japanese name is Samaikuru. Coincidence? I think not.

Okikurumi faces a wind spirit.

Anyway, maybe this is a reason behind the constant Oki-Waka dilemma!

Sources:

Kunnesiri

Sacred-texts

Bonus picture: cool Ainu robe

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, oki, okikurumi, waka, ushiwaka, So when you ship Oki and Waka you're actually shipping one person with himself., Just keep that in mind kids.

Seven Strike

[ Posted Mon, 30 Jul 2012 11:49:00 ]

The rather gaudy glaive Seven Strike is actually based on the Seven Branched Sword, one of the National Treasures of Japan. It was forged in Korea and given to the Emperor of Wa, the ancient Chinese name for Japan, some time in the 4th century as a gift for alliance. The sword is believed to be ceremonial, as it lacks fittings for a hilt.

Ninetails’ sword is also based on this, but with an extra two prongs to reflect its nine tails.

Sources:

Wikipedia and this

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, seven strike, glaives, swords, seven branched sword, I think this is my favorite weapon btw, ninetails

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Amaterasu: An Addendum

[ Posted Sun, 29 Jul 2012 19:45:53 ]

Something I forgot to mention in my last post: the significance of the mirror. It is important to note that just as Amaterasu in legend was drawn from the cave by the mirror when she saw her face in it, Amaterasu in Ôkami was returned to life by the mirror created by Sakuya. In both stories, the mirror plays a major part in bringing Amaterasu back into the world, saving it and all its inhabitants from darkness and certain death.

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, amaterasu

viridiannet:

I feel like I experienced true Okami… O_O

Japan does that.

[ Posted Sun, 29 Jul 2012 19:10:49 ]

Tagged with: okami, <3, red ogre, mask, Japan

Amaterasu

[ Posted Sun, 29 Jul 2012 17:53:00 ]

In case you don’t already know the legend of Amaterasu, this is a good time to learn it, because it is key to understanding both Okami and a large portion of Shintô mythology. (Shintô, “The Way of the Gods”, is the native animistic religion of Japan.) Everyone and their mother knows this story in Japan, so it’s good to have context.

I mentioned in the legend of Izanagi and Izanami that she was born from Izanagi’s left eye, while her brother Tsukuyomi, god of the moon, was born from his right, and the storm god Susano-o was born from his nose. (The only significance Tsukuyomi has in Okami is in Izanagi’s moon-crested sword of the same name, which slew Orochi under the moonlight.) After Amaterasu was born, Izanagi gave her a necklace of jewels and put her in charge of Takamagahara (高天原), the Plain of High Heaven.

The storm god Susanoo was sent to rule the sea plain. Before going, Susanoo went to take leave of his sister. As an act of good faith, they produced children together, she by chewing and spitting out pieces of the sword he gave her, and he by doing the same with her jewels. Susanoo then began to behave very rudely—he broke down the divisions in the rice fields, defiled his sister's dwelling place, and finally threw a flayed horse into her weaving hall. Indignant, Amaterasu withdrew in protest into a cave, and darkness fell upon the world.

The other 800 myriads of gods conferred on how to lure the sun goddess out. They collected cocks, whose crowing precedes the dawn, and hung a mirror and jewels on a sakaki tree in front of the cave. The goddess Amenouzume began a dance on an upturned tub, partially disrobing herself, which so delighted the assembled gods that they roared with laughter. Amaterasu became curious how the gods could make merry while the world was plunged into darkness and was told that outside the cave there was a deity more illustrious than she. She peeped out, saw her reflection in the mirror, heard the cocks crow, and was thus drawn out from the cave. The kami then quickly threw a shimenawa, or sacred rope of rice straw, before the entrance to prevent her return to hiding.

Amaterasu’s emergence from behind the boulder is celebrated on the winter solstice, the darkest day of the year but also when the days begin to get longer. In Ôkami, this part of the legend is reflected in Amaterasu’s revival from a statue, which is located in a cave under a tree and surrounded by boulders tied with shimenawa.

The mirror referenced is the Yata-no-Kagami, and the jewels are magatama, curved beads which represent the human soul. Along with the sacred sword Kusanagi, which Susano-o pulled from the body of Yamata-no-Orochi, these two items are said to be kept in the inner shrine of Ise, which is dedicated to Amaterasu and is the foremost Shintô shrine in Japan. The inner shrine is closed to the public, and the priests cannot reveal the regalia to the public; due to their mythological origins, there is doubt that these items even exist, and there is no way to prove that they do. Below is an artist’s rendition of the imperial regalia.

And these became the base models for Amaterasu’s weapons: the reflectors, rosaries, and glaives.

Sources:

Encyclopædia Britannica (quote)

Various books

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, amaterasu

Divine Retribution

[ Posted Sat, 28 Jul 2012 16:50:00 ]

The flames of Divine Retribution are based on the flaming aura of the fierce Buddhist protector deity, Fudo-Myôô.

(It might be safe to say that her temperament in battle derives from him as well.)

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, amaterasu, fudo-myoo, seriously she's just two gods in one

Urashima and the Dragonians

[ Posted Sat, 28 Jul 2012 13:15:00 ]

Otohime, sometimes called Toyotama-hime, is the daughter of the sea dragon god Ryûjin, who is also known as Watatsumi or Wadatsumi. (The latter is King Wada’s name in Japanese.) Ryûjin controlled the tides with two jewels and lived in a palace of red and white coral under the sea.

He is described as having a very large mouth, hence the design of the Water Dragon. (The Water Dragon is also based on an oarfish—thanks to troutoforder for helping me there.) He can also transform into a human.

The beautiful Otohime married Hoori (Fire Fade), the third and youngest son of Konohanasakuya-hime and Ninigi- no-Mikoto, who was the grandson of Amaterasu. Together Otohime and Hoori birthed a child—Emperor Jimmu, the first emperor of Japan. After giving birth, Otohime turned into a wani (a type of sea dragon or serpent) and flew away.

^Otohime (left) and Hoori (right).

The most well-known tale of Otohime is the tragic legend of Urashima Tarô. In it, Urashima finds some kids bullying a turtle, and saves it and returns it to the sea. The next day, a giant turtle comes to him and tells him that the turtle he saved was in fact the the daughter of Ryûjin, who now wants to thank him. Urashima lets the turtle bring him to Ryûjin’s palace, and there are several explanations for how Urashima was able to breath underwater. Some say the turtle gave him gills, some say he took a magic pill. In Ôkami, he ate the flesh of a mermaid, which is said to grant immortality.

When he arrives, he meets Ryûjin and Otohime, who has returned to her form as a beautiful princess. He stays for a few days, but then grows concerned about his ailing mother. He asks to leave, and Otohime is sad to see him go, but she gives him a mysterious tatamebako (square box).She tells him that the box will protect him from harm, but he must never open it.

He returns home only to find that everything has changed. His home is gone, his mother is dead, and nobody is familiar. Nobody knows his name. It turns out that 300 years have passed, and out of desperation he opens the box. Suddenly his skin withers, his back hunches, and he grows a long white beard. Otohime’s voice rings out from the sea, telling him that the box contained his old age. In some versions, 300 years was too much for his body and he simply turns to dust.

The tatamebako (“Treasure Box”) can be found in Ôkami by blooming a dead patch of coral in the Water Dragon’s room after he dies. Return it to Urashima and he will become an old man in one of the most touching small moments in the game.

Sources:

Various books & websites

Dragon paintings

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, otohime, dragonians, urashima, king wada, I like to think that Otohime's child is going to grow up to rule Nippon, also this title sounds like a band name

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Snarling Beast

[ Posted Thu, 26 Jul 2012 18:05:00 ]

This ornate gold eight-spoked reflector Snarling Beast is almost certainly based on the Dharmacakra, a classic symbol of Buddhism. The eight spokes represent the Eightfold Path of Buddha’s laws. Which is ironic, considering that this is a weapon, albeit a holy one, and more so that it belongs to a Shinto-based goddess. It is not unusual, though, as Buddhism and Shinto have co-existed in Japan for centuries.

^A simplified Dharmacakra. Below are two more traditional/ornate examples:

（坏掉了）

The “beast” ornaments on the center knob resemble shishi, Chinese/Japanese guardian lion-dogs.

Photos:

Dharmacakra 1

Dharmacakra 2

Dharmacakra 3

Shishi

Tagged with: okami, amaterasu, reflector, snarling beast, shishi, dharmacakra, dharmachakra, buddhism

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The early designs for Waka portrayed him more like his historical counterpart, each with different aspects of his character in focus. (Samurai, trained by tengu, plays flute, has fancy sword, etc.)

[ Posted Wed, 25 Jul 2012 20:57:11 ]

Tagged with: Frankly I'm not sure I would have enjoyed him as much if he always flew/ran around with a robe on his head /instead/ of on his body., That sword would get pretty uncomfortable too..., okami, ushiwaka, waka, moon tribe

Waka, Benkei, and Yoichi

[ Posted Wed, 25 Jul 2012 17:07:00 ]

While these characters have absolutely nothing to do with each other in Ôkami, they’re all connected by Ushiwaka (Waka) in a few famous legends. To speak of him without speaking of the others would be like building a house without walls.

Minamoto no Yoshitsune, called Ushiwaka in his youth, is one of my favorite characters from Japanese legend because of his wonderful character and mystery. He’s also among the more popular figures in Japan. He was trained as a warrior by tengu on Mount Kurama, wore a coat on his head, played flute very well, and later became a general.

His connection to the tengu, bird-like humanoid creatures, inspired much of his design in Ôkami: the pom-poms on his shirt, the stilts, the bird helmet and wings—although the whole headdress was also based on the design of Japanese action heroes Gatchaman.

（坏掉了）

One of the most popular stories about Ushiwaka is his battle with Benkei. Set on the Gojo Bridge in Kyoto, the bridge is now complete with two statues of the two men fighting. It began at night, with Benkei standing on the bridge and the moon shining over them. He was on a quest to collect 1000 swords, and he already had 999. Then, to his luck, a man comes walking by. His face is obscured by a kimono on his head and he’s playing a flute. As Benkei admires the flute’s sound, he sees a beautiful sword at the man’s belt. He announces his quest to the man, and says if he gives Benkei the sword, he won’t hurt him. Ushiwaka removes the kimono, revealing a beautiful face, and states that Benkei is no better than a thief.

The monk shouts loudly,

"Shut up! If you don’t want to give it to me, I’ll take it from you by force. It’s going to be mine any minute."

The young man who doesn’t appear to be afraid of the monk, says,

"Take it, if you can."

Then the monk raises his halberd over his head to threaten the young man. In most cases, his victims are scared of him, leave their swords, and run away. But the young man isn’t. He dodges the attack nimbly. The monk’s halberd slices nothing but air. He looks a little bit upset, and tries to do one more attack, but—-he loses sight of the young man.

"Where on earth is the boy hiding?"he shouts.

"Here I am, Monk." The voice is from behind.

"None of your impudence!" The monk’s face turns red with anger. He tries again. This time the young man jumps lightly like a bird and stands on the railing of the bridge. When he jumps, he knocks the monk’s halberd down with his flute. The monk is panicked and tries to pick it up, but before he does, the young man jumps down on the halberd.

"Now you know you can’t get my sword easily,"the young man says to his opponent.

"You win, I give up. Now I understand you must be famous in this field. Please tell me your name. I ought to have said first that I am a warrior monk called Benkei," he accepts his defeat gracefully, "I’ll be your loyal retainer from now on."

The young man says,

"My name is Ushiwaka. My father Minamoto-no-Yoshitomo was the head of the Minamoto family, but he was killed by the Taira family during the Heiji disturbance. Some day I should beat the Taira family completely. So I do need some loyal retainers. You can be the first of my own."

And thus Benkei became Ushiwaka’s loyal retainer.

And thus Benkei guards the bridge and is looking for swords in Okami! (And probably some of Waka’s attitude.)

Some time after this, he became a general of the Minamoto clan. Also called Heike, they warred with the Taira (Genji) clan during the Heian period in what is known as the Genpei War. While The Tale of Genji is famous for is lavish descriptions of court life, its less-known cousing The Tale of the Heike is a long, brutal, and tragic story of the war between these clans. Yoshitsune, as well as his lover Shizuka Gozen, play a significant role. Here is one of Yoshitsune’s most famous ploys:

In March 1185, with Noriyori preparing to invade Kyushu, Yoshitsune was authorized to return to the war. Intending to launch an assault on Yashima, he assembled a fleet of ships at Watanabe (Settsu province). During the preparations he argued with Kajiwara Kagetoki, one of his elder bother's closest retainers, about strategy, an incident which may very well have come back to haunt Yoshitsune later. On the stormy night of 22 March Yoshitsune decided the time was right to sail, and ordered his men to board ship. Observing that the weather was extremely bad the sailors refused to put to sea, and did so only after Yoshitsune threatened to kill any man who disobeyed his orders. Even still, not all of the ships followed Yoshitsune into the night. Unperturbed, Yoshitsune landed on Shikoku at dawn and set out for Yashima, some thirty miles distant. He learned from a local warrior that despite the importance of the fort, the Taira's garrison at Yashima was presently reduced owing to an expedition into Iyo, a welcome piece of news that prompted him onward.

At the time, Yashima was separated from the mainland by a narrow channel easily fordable by horse when the tide was low. The Taira base was situated on the beach facing the mainland, with their fleet moored within easy reach in the shallows directly in front. Alerted to Yoshitsune's approach by fires set in nearby Takamatsu and fearing that a much larger force was inbound that Yoshitsune actually had, Taira Munemori ordered an immediate evacuation of the fort and fled to the ships with the emperor Antoku. Yoshitsune led his men into a headlong charge into the channel and a fight ensued around the ships while a certain Minamoto worthy named Gotobyôe Sanemoto set the fort on fire. By the time Munemori realized how few men Yoshitsune had, the fort was in flames. The fighting thus continued in the shallows until the coming of dusk forced a lull, at which point the Taira moved out beyond the reach of the Minamoto's arrows. In a celebrated incident, the Taira, hoping to make their enemy waste arrows, hoisted up a fan on one of their ships and challenged the Minamoto to test their archery skill on it. A certain Nasu Munetaka, a young and diminutive warrior known for his skill with a bow, was summoned and Yoshitsune ordered him to make a try at the fan. Determined to hit the fan or commit suicide if he failed, Nasu rode out into the water and loosed a humming arrow, shattering the fan - much to the delight of Minamoto and Taira alike.

As a matter of fact, Nasu Munetaka is more commonly known as Nasu no Yoichi, who we all know as our favorite archer/guard/coward/apple guy we first meet at the City Checkpoint.

（替换坏掉的图，应该是这个）

After a lot of military strife, politics, and deception, Yoshitsune ended up trapped in the house of a Fujiwara lord, along with Benkei. But though the Fujiwara were allied with the Minamoto, some suspected Yoshitsune of treason and they attacked the house. Benkei held the soldiers off long enough for Yoshitsune to kill his wife and commit ritual suicide. The incredible honor of this form of death in Japan won him (and Benkei) a great place in the hearts of the Japanese people.

On the other hand, some believe that he escaped to Mongolia and became known as Genghis Khan.

Sources/Quotes:

Benkei tai Ushiwaka

Minamoto Yoshitsune

Tagged with: okami, okamimythology, waka, ushiwaka, minamoto no yoshitsune, nasu no yoichi, yoichi, benkei, by the way, the full name is Science Ninja Team Gatchaman

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Tagged with: god-of-heavens-light

Ninetails

[ Posted Tue, 24 Jul 2012 22:40:38 ]

Trickery, possession, shapeshifting, foxfire: these are all famous traits of the legendary kitsune. In fact, there are so many facets to kitsune that I may not be able to cover them all well in one post. This is also a testament to their popularity, though. Foxes are one of the most common creatures found in Japanese myths, and shrines to the fox goddess Inari (also the goddess of rice, agriculture, fertility, and success, typically called Ô-Inari-sama or “Great Lady Inari” out of respect) make up more than one third of the shrines in Japan, in both Shintô and Buddhist settings. (That’s 32,000 shrines, in case you were wondering.) Shrines to Inari are usually indicated by multiple red torii gates, and sometimes fox statues. Here’s one set right against an ultramodern building in Tokyo:

(Visit this blog page for the Google Street View of this shrine and a picture of a lush shrine in Akihabara!)

As for the actual folklore: kitsune, which really just means ‘fox’, are famous for their intelligence and for their magical abilities, which increase as they get older. They are known to help people, but they are particularly famous for playing tricks and for possessing and shapeshifting into people, particularly women. As tricky as a transformed fox could be, however, there are also several stories in which the foxes were helpful figures or even great lovers. In addition, the older and more powerful a fox gets, the more tails it grows—some say a fox only grows additional tails after living 100 years. Kitsune have a maximum of nine tails (kyûbi-no-kitsune), and are usually found with an odd number of tails in stories. When one grows its ninth tail, its fur turns white or gold. This is likely the basis for our Ninetails’ pale gold coloration in-game. The great power of nine-tailed foxes has led many people to worship them as deities. As such, it makes sense that Ninetails would wish to be worshipped as a god as well.

One unique aspect of Okami’s Ninetails is that its tails contain souls. In Japanese lore, kitsune have only one soul no matter how many tails they have. However, more powerful kitsune are almost always depicted with a sort of orb or pearl, which is said to contain their soul. When not transformed or possessing something, they usually keep these orbs in their mouths or tails (the beads on its tails, perhaps). When they are in a different form, these orbs are depicted floating around the kitsune, sometimes glowing with foxfire (kitsune-bi). From this we get the Tube Foxes’ foxfire. Kitsune-bi is also sometimes depicted as electricity, perhaps inspiring Ninetails’ association with lightning.

Lastly, I’ll touch on the mask. Kitsune masks are not associated directly with foxes themselves; rather, they were created for Japanese noh plays, wherein all the actors wear masks accentuating their characters and forcing them to tell the stories with their bodies. Except for when a kitsune character was present. The kitsune was seen with so much reverence that when akitsune was portrayed in a play, none of the other actors would wear masks.

Ninetails is an arrogant demon/spirit who wants to be a mighty god—it could very well be that Ninetails isn’t an actual nine-tailed fox at all, but an unusually powerful one-tailed fox who has shapeshifted into a more powerful- looking form, and used other forms of magic to accentuate its power. Considering its flair for drama, it is entirely fitting that Ninetails would extend its ruse by wearing a mask. Since the mask itself is also a symbol of power, though, Ninetails is essentially demanding respect by wearing it.

Sources:

Wikipedia

Kitsune Lore

Bonus images: Some paintings and a dance

Let me know if I left out anything important because there is a LOT of content on kitsune and it’s hard to keep it all straight.

Tagged with: kitsune, ninetails, okami, kyuubi, fox, yokai, okamimythology

Seriously, guys? 59 followers already? You’re the best.

Tagged with: After all Okami is the best, so I guess it makes sense :P, <3 you guys

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Tagged with: landofinkandglass

Meoto Iwa

[ Posted Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:25:00 ]

Remember these? These rocks are based off the Wedded Rocks (meoto iwa) by a town near Ise City in Japan. They represent the union of Izanagi and Izanami, with the larger rock being the male and the smaller rock being female.

Of course, the real-life meoto iwa are considerably smaller than those on Ryoshima Coast. The largest one is only around 9 meters high. The astonishing part is that the rope shimenawa tying them together weighs over a ton, and is replaced several times a year.

The shimenawa on Ryoshima Coast must weigh as much as a train. I wonder how it got there.

Tagged with: okami, ryoshima coast, meoto iwa, wedded rocks, okamimythology

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Tagged with: mondwoelfchen

Nagi and Nami

[ Posted Tue, 24 Jul 2012 11:25:00 ]

（图都坏了，摊爪）

Izanagi (He-who-invites) and Izanami (She-who-invites), while certainly not the first gods, were the ones given the task of creating Japan. Izanagi was given a divine jeweled spear, and standing from a heavenly bridge, he and his younger sister Izanami stirred the seas, and the drops that fell from the spear (typically a naginata) as he removed it became the first island, Onogoro.

They descended to this island and married. Izanami gave birth to eight children, who became the islands of Japan. After that, they created thousands of other gods to represent the islands’ mountains, valleys, rivers, waterfalls, and so on. Eventually she gave birth to a fire god, Kagutsuchi—but the god’s flames were so intense that they burned Izanami. As she died she created yet more deities, and even more were born from Izanagi’s grieving tears. Finally she died and went to Yomi, the underworld.

Izanagi soon followed her to Yomi, and they met in the shadows of the entrance. Izanami told him that she would arrange for her release, and forbade him to look at her. Of course, he lit a torch and saw her—a rotting corpse. Izanagi fled in horror. Izanami, angered by her husband’s betrayal, sent and army of gods and warriors to chase him, until he blocked off the pass with a giant boulder. There, Izanami met him once again and they broke their marriage.

Izanagi then purified himself from contact with the dead with a bath. As he bathed, the sun goddess Amaterasu was born from his left eye, the moon god Tsukuyomi was born from his right, and Susano-o was born from his nose. Izanagi left proudly with these three gods, who would soon come to reign over this beautiful new terrestrial realm.

The only connections Nagi and Nami seem to have to their mythological counterparts are their names (Izanagi and Izanami, originally) and their role in establishing the story. Otherwise, they’re just like Susano and Kushi.

Sources: MythEncyclopedia

Kojiki

Tagged with: okami, izanagi, izanami, okamimythology, nagi, nami

Yamata-no-Orochi

[ Posted Mon, 23 Jul 2012 22:55:00 ]

Known simply as Orochi in the English version of Ôkami, this legendary 8-headed monster is commonly referenced in Japanese pop culture.

Yamata-no-Orochi is also said to have eight tails, and stretches across eight hills and eight valleys. This mountainous size was the inspiration for the mountain on Orochi’s back in the game, complete with a temple and a bronze bell.

In legend, the uncontrollable temper of Susano-o, the storm god, got him in trouble with his sister, Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and ruler of all the gods of Heaven and Earth. (In short, he threw a pony at one of her maids and trashed their house and fields, and she sent him into exile while she ran away to hide from her disgrace.)

When Susano is in exile from the heavens, he finds a couple and their daughter crying by the river. They explain their sadness to him - that every year, the Orochi comes to devour one of their daughters. This year, they must give up their eigth and final daughter, Kusinada. [In the ancient book Kojiki, these people are in fact gods of the Earth.]

To save her, Susano proposes marriage to Kusinada. When she accepts, he transforms her into a comb which he can then carry in his hair. Kusinada’s parents must brew sake, he explains, and refine it eight times. They must also build an enclosure with eight gates, each of which includes a vat of sake.

When the Orochi arrives, he is lured in towards the sake, and dips each of his heads into one of the vats. The drunken beast is now weakened and disoriented, allowing Susano to quickly slay it.

As Susano cuts the monster into pieces, he uncovers a great sword that had grown inside the Orochi. This blade, the Kusanagi, is presented to Amaterasu as a gift to reconcile their dispute.

The blade Kusanagi (“grass-cutter”), of course, appears in-game as the jade glaive of the same name.

Source: Ancient Mythology: Yamata-no-Orochi

Bonus images: One Two Three

Tagged with: I can already see that some of these posts are going to contain overlapping information, OH WELL, okami, okami mythology, yamata-no-orochi, orochi, susano, susano-o, japanese mythology

I like Orochi. I’ll go with that.

Welcome!

[ Posted Mon, 23 Jul 2012 22:11:12 ]

Well, since there’s so much to post about, what would you like to learn about first? Is there a particular place, character, or thing you’re curious about?

Tagged with: if I don't get any suggestions I'm just going to start with Himiko or something, okami

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