Moon rabbit

Moon rabbit
The image of a rabbit and mortar delineated on the Moon's surface
Chinese name
Chinese 月兔
Literal meaning Moon rabbit
Alternative Chinese name
Chinese 玉兔
Literal meaning Jade rabbit
Korean name
Hangul 달토끼
Japanese name
Kanji 月の兎

The moon rabbit in folklore is a rabbit that lives on the Moon, based on pareidolia that identifies the markings of the Moon as a rabbit. The folklore originated in China, and then spread to other Asian cultures.[1] In East Asian folklore, it is seen pounding with a mortar and pestle, but the contents of the mortar differ among Chinese, Japanese, and Korean folklore. In Chinese folklore, it is often portrayed as a companion of the Moon goddess Chang'e, constantly pounding the elixir of life for her; but in Japanese and Korean versions, it is pounding the ingredients for rice cake. In some Chinese versions the rabbit pounds medicine for the mortals.

History

An early mention that there is a rabbit on the moon appears in the Chu Ci, a Western Han anthology of Chinese poems from the Warring States period, which notes that along with a toad, there is a rabbit on the Moon who constantly pounds herbs for the immortals. This notion is supported by later texts, including the Song-era Taiping Imperial Reader. Han Dynasty poets call the rabbit on the Moon the "Jade Rabbit" (玉兔) or the "Gold Rabbit" (金兔), and these phrases were often used in place of the word for the Moon. A famous poet of Tang China, Li Bai, relates how "[t]he rabbit in the Moon pounds the medicine in vain" in his poem "The Old Dust."

Folklore

Asian folklore

The mythological white hare making the elixir of immortality on the Moon, from Chinese mythology. Embroidered onto 18th-century Imperial Chinese robes.
Sun Wukong fights the Moon Rabbit, a scene in the 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West, depicted in Yoshitoshi's One Hundred Aspects of the Moon.

In the Buddhist Jataka tales (Tale 316),[2] a monkey, an otter, a jackal, and a rabbit resolved to practice charity on the day of the full moon (Uposatha), believing a demonstration of great virtue would earn a great reward. When an old man begged for food, the monkey gathered fruits from the trees and the otter collected fish, while the jackal wrongfully pilfered a lizard and a pot of milk-curd. The rabbit, who knew only how to gather grass, instead offered its own body, throwing itself into a fire the man had built. The rabbit, however, was not burnt. The old man revealed himself to be Śakra and, touched by the rabbit's virtue, drew the likeness of the rabbit on the Moon for all to see. It is said the lunar image is still draped in the smoke that rose when the rabbit cast itself into the fire. A version of this story can be found in the Japanese anthology Konjaku Monogatarishū, where the rabbit's companions are a fox, instead of a jackal, and a monkey. The legend is popular and part of local folklore throughout Asia in China, Japan, India, Korea, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar.[3][4][5] The legend also gave rise to the Mid-Autumn Festival of China and Vietnam, Tsukimi of Japan and Chuseok of Korea which all celebrate the legend of the moon rabbit.

The reason why there's a rabbit on the Moon is explained in the buddhist fable Śaśajâtaka, whose name also remember one of the Sanskrit words for the Moon: शशाङ्क (śaśaŋka-), that literally means “(the one) whose mark (अङ्क-, aŋka-) is a hare (शश-, ʃaʃa-)”.

Indigenous American folklore

The Maya moon goddess is frequently depicted holding a rabbit.

Legends of moon rabbits exist among some of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. These legends were not influenced by Asian cultures.

According to an Aztec legend, the god Quetzalcoatl, then living on Earth as a man, started on a journey and, after walking for a long time, became hungry and tired. With no food or water around, he thought he would die. Then a rabbit grazing nearby offered herself as food to save his life. Quetzalcoatl, moved by the rabbit's noble offering, elevated her to the Moon, then lowered her back to Earth and told her, "You may be just a rabbit, but everyone will remember you; there is your image in light, for all people and for all times."

Another Mesoamerican legend tells of the brave and noble sacrifice of Nanahuatzin during the creation of the fifth sun. Humble Nanahuatzin sacrificed himself in fire to become the new sun, but the wealthy god Tecciztecatl hesitated four times before he finally set himself alight to become the Moon. Due to Tecciztecatl's cowardice, the gods felt that the Moon should not be as bright as the sun, so one of the gods threw a rabbit at his face to diminish his light. It is also said that Tecciztecatl was in the form of a rabbit when he sacrificed himself to become the Moon, casting his shadow there.

A Cree legend tells a different variation, about a young rabbit who wished to ride the Moon. Only the crane was willing to take him. The trip stretched the crane’s legs as the heavy rabbit held them tightly, leaving them elongated as cranes' legs are now. When they reached the Moon, the rabbit touched the crane’s head with a bleeding paw, leaving the red mark cranes wear to this day. According to the legend, on clear nights, Rabbit can still be seen riding the Moon.

Modern references

Spaceflight

  • The Chinese lunar rover Yutu, which landed on the Moon on December 14, 2013, was named after the Jade Rabbit as a result of an online poll.[6]
  • The Moon rabbit was mentioned in this conversation between Houston and the Apollo 11 crew just before the first Moon landing in 1969:[7]
Houston: Among the large headlines concerning Apollo this morning, is one asking that you watch for a lovely girl with a big rabbit. An ancient legend says a beautiful Chinese girl called Chang-O has been living there for 4,000 years. It seems she was banished to the Moon because she stole the pill of immortality from her husband. You might also look for her companion, a large Chinese rabbit, who is easy to spot since he is always standing on his hind feet in the shade of a cinnamon tree. The name of the rabbit is not reported.
Michael Collins: Okay. We'll keep a close eye out for the bunny girl.[lower-alpha 1]

Arts

Comics and animation

  • The eponymous Sailor Moon's human name is Usagi Tsukino, a pun on 月のうさぎ (Rom. Tsuki no usagi) which means Moon Rabbit in Japanese. Her daughter's name, Chibiusa means little rabbit.
  • The 1998–1999 Japanese-exclusive Transformers animated series Beast Wars II features Moon, a robotic rabbit who lives in the Moon with Artemis.
  • The story makes an appearance in the "Legend of the Stars" section of the Kamen Rider Spirits manga, told by Sergei Koribanof to his son Masim.
  • In the Dragon Ball animation, Son Goku fights against the Rabbit Gang and solves the issue presented in the episode by taking the enemy leader, an anthropomorphic rabbit, and his human companions, to the moon, where they are seen pounding rice cake mixture.
  • The overarching plot in Naruto ends in a finale where the main characters fight against Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, who is consumed by her powers and sealed by her children to become what would eventually be known as the moon.

Film

Literature

Music

  • The American electronic music act Rabbit in the Moon, founded in 1991, gets its name from this legend.
  • The German band Tarwater released the albums Rabbit Moon and Rabbit Moon Revisited.
  • The song "Moonrabbit" by Australian band Cloud Control.
  • The American emo act Jets to Brazil has a song "Perfecting Loneliness" which features the Apollo recording discussing the legend.
  • South Korean K-Pop group BTS included the moon rabbit in their music video "Idol" (2018).

Stage

  • The rabbit in the Moon is a major theme in the 2011 musical South Street,[8] with the rabbit appearing prominently in the Moon clock in Sammy's bar, and the main character being advised to "Look to the rabbit" for inspiration.

Video games

  • The character Reisen Udongein Inaba from the video game series Touhou Project, introduced in the 2004 game Imperishable Night, is a moon rabbit who escaped from a war between the Moon and the Earth. A later game in the series called Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom introduces two new moon rabbits: Seiran and Ringo.
  • Chang'e and the Jade Rabbit/Moon Rabbit are featured as playable characters in the video game Smite.[9]
  • Super Mario Odyssey features the Broodals, a villainous clan of moon rabbits that Bowser has hired as wedding planners for his scheme to marry Princess Peach.
  • In the video game Destiny, there is a weapon called The Jade Rabbit, which was created using parts from a former lunar colony within in-game lore, in reference to the myth.[10]
  • One of the celestial brush gods in Ōkami, Yumigami, is a rabbit who hid herself in the reflection of the moon on Agata Forest's lake's surface, which was swallowed by the legendary giant catfish Whopper. Instead of a mortar, Yumigami carries a mochi-pounding mallet, with which she makes mochi with Amaterasu.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ NASA transcripts had attributed the response to Aldrin (Apollo 11 Technical Air-to-Ground Voice Transcription. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Page 179), but corrected NASA transcripts attribute it to Collins.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Windling, Terri. The Symbolism of Rabbits and Hares. Archived 2012-04-24 at WebCite
  2. ↑ Source: (accessed: Saturday January 23, 2010)
  3. ↑ http://www.exoticindiaart.com/book/details/jatakas-birth-stories-of-bodhisatta-IDH502/
  4. ↑ https://books.google.com.au/books?id=cYrQnZT9JREC&printsec=frontcover
  5. ↑ https://books.google.com.au/books?id=VILAPXjjbhQC&printsec=frontcover
  6. ↑ Ramzy, Austin. "China to Send 'Jade Rabbit' Rover to the Moon". nytimes.com.
  7. 1 2 Woods, W. David; MacTaggart, Kenneth D.; O'Brien, Frank. "Day 5: Preparations for Landing". The Apollo 11 Flight Journal. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved 9 October 2017
  8. ↑ "Theater review: 'South Street' at the Pasadena Playhouse". LA Times. 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2012-07-28.
  9. ↑ Chang'e dances into Smite, brings Jade Rabbit with her. Archived 2013-07-26 at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ↑ Flatulator, Der. "Destiny Grimoire". destiny-grimoire.info. Retrieved 2017-11-28.
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