|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rabbit
In China and Japan, the rabbit is connected in myth to the Moon, hence
Usagi's name (Rabbit of the Moon), and all the inside jokes concerning
rabbits in BSSM.
"The Moon is also inhabited by a personage who is considered the Moon
goddess, Ch'ang-o or Heng-o. She is the wife of I, the Excellent Archer.
The gods had given him the drug of immortality, and while he was away his
wife took the opportunity to drink it. When her husband returned he became
so angry about this that she fled to the Moon. Her husband went after her,
and she asked protection of the Hare, who fought with I and made him give
up his intention of punishing his wife, who henceforth has lived in the Moon"
(Hamlyn, 395).
The story of Heng-o and Shen I represents the partnership of the Sun and
Moon. The story ends with Shen I receiving the Palace of the Sun and a
lunar talisman to visit the Moon, thus their union, and the union of yin and
yang (male and female).
Tsuki-Yomi is the Japanese name for the god of the Moon. "It is curious
to note that the Chinese picture of the hare in the moon preparing the drug of
immortality has passed into the iconography of modern Japan with certain
modifications. The Japanese represent the white disk of the moon with a
rabbit or a hare pounding rice in a mortar. This symbol is based on a pun. In
Japanese, Mochi-zuki means to pound rice for cakes, and Mochi-zuki also
means the full moon. Although the ideograms with which the two words are
written are entirely different, the identity of the consonants was enough to
produce the image" (Hamlyn, 422).
In legend, the hare's life is supposed to extend to no less than a thousand
years. It's fur, after five hundred years, becomes white.
Usagi has been nicknamed odango-atama (dumpling head) because of her
hair, by Mamoru, Haruka, and Seiya. The dumpling referred to is the mochi
or rice cakes.
A little last note on mochi, since it concerns a Sun and Moon
representation. These cakes are sometimes offered at Shinto shrines, with
one side colored red and the other white, possibly representing the Sun and
Moon.
Shiina from Vampire Princess Miyu is a pink rabbit shinma with a cute appearance but for a grotesque eye hidden behind an ear he keeps in front. With this eye Shiina can see through illusions and even detect shinma far away. He is a companion to Miyu. Magical rabbits are seen in other anime as well
such as Tenchi Muyo and Rayearth.
In the story "Daughter" (Petshop of Horrors) a couple after the funeral for their daughter decide to buy a pet to help in their sorrow. D shows them a rabbit, but the rabbit is in the appearance of their dead
daughter Alice. He warns them to only feed her fresh vegetables and water, but the mother, an indulgent woman doesn't listen and the rabbit grows greedy. This triggers a breeding
mechanism and Alice's womb explodes, killing the mother, with the birth of the babies. This goes on, the rabbits ravaging everything in their path, feeding and breeding, breaking
through the womb of the mother in a bloody mess. The mother of this tale had over-indulged her own daughter, who died finally of a drug-overdose. She repeated her mistake and is
ultimately killed by the rabbits when she cannot let go.
The name Alice could be a hint back to Alice from Lewis Carroll's work.