chuunin_archive | Japanese Myth and Naruto (Reply)

Ok, I dunno if anyone will care, but... XD I'm writing a research paper on the influence of Japanese myth in manga and anime, and my major focus is Naruto, since it's chock full of referance to myths. Under the cut are a few things I've deduced from Japanese literature class lectures, various books on Japanese myth, and my own leaps of logic. A few of them are a pretty big stretch, but... it's possible, eh? XD Also, a lot of them are common Naruto fan knowledge, but just in case y'don't know... here they are :3

By the way, if anyone sees any huge errors, feel free to tell me about it :) I'm still a Naruto newbie and I'm sure there are things I've missed or messed up.

Possibly the most obvious myth referance (besides the kyuubi) involves Orochimaru. The Kojiki ("The Record of Ancient Matters", Japan's first recorded myths) tells of the hero/god Susano-o and his fight against the evil eight-headed/eight-tailed serpent Orochi. He defeated the snake by getting it drunk on sake and chopping off each of its heads. Susano-o then reicieved the sword Kusanagi (one of the Japanese Imperial Regalia) from one of Orochi's tails. There's no doubt that the creator was referancing this myth when he created Orochimaru - after all, the sword Orochimaru pulls from his mouth is called 'Kusanagi'.

Speaking of, Jiraya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru come from the story Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari, in which the gallent warrior Jiraiya falls in love with the beautiful woman Tsunade and has to fight against his one-time follower Orochimaru. Jiraiya can shapeshift into a toad; Tsunade knows snail-magic; and Orochimaru, of course, has mastered snake magic.

There is also a certain type of oni (demon) that has the ability to stretch its neck to ridiculous lengths to bite/harass people.

The Kyuubi doesn't really need to be explained. Foxes are very important in Japanese mythology and appear all over the place in anime, manga, and video games - Ninetails from Pokemon and the Keeton from the Legends of Zelda series are just two examples. I wasn't able to find anything about the nine-tailed fox demon itself, but there are tales of foxes posessing people and wreaking havoc. Also, one aspect of fox youkai tells of how they frequently trick humans by assuming the guise of beautiful young women. Sexy no Jutsu, anyone?

One of Itachi's jutsu, Amaterasu, comes from the name of the Shinto sun-goddess, Amaterasu.

Another legend tells of a young woman, Konohana, whose name meant something-or-other to do with leaves. I thought this was just a name meaning coincidence until I read further - apparently she secluded herself in a hut and set it on fire, and from that bore two fire-dieties. A woman named Konohana... surrounded by fire... sounds suspicious to me.

Zabuza might have something to do with kappa, or water demons, but that's a bit of a strech. Still, its worth noting that the kappa are famous for challenging men to single combat which the men cannot refuse... and that the kappa almost always wins.

There are also stories of water/pirate demons who wrap seaweed around themselves and lack body hair. Depending on the version of the story, this might be a referance to Zabuza's bandages and the way that Naruto calls him 'no-eyebrows guy'... also, quite a stretch, but worth mentioning.

While we're on the subject of Zabuza, it's of interest to note that in Japan (as well as other cultures), mirrors are closely linked to the condition of the soul. Clear mirrors mean a pure soul. Haku uses mirrors... and is 'pure as snow'. Also consider these Japanese proverbs -
"As the sword is the soul of a samuri, so the mirror is the soul of a woman."
"When a mirror is dim, the soul is unclean."

Another legend tells of Yayoi, a woman trapped in a well by a 'poison dragon' and forced by the dragon to kill anyone who approached the well. Eventually the poison dragon left and the woman's spirit was freed - her soul ended up residing in a small metal mirror found with her corpse at the bottom of the well. Sounds familiar, ne? Zabuza is pretty 'poison dragon'-like...

I still have to look into the actual definition of chakra in buddhist tradition, but I'm sure everyone's heard the term 'chakra' before reading Naruto.

And that, I'm sure, is just the tip of the iceburg. The amount of translated literature about Japanese myth and legend is depressingly small, so I'm sure there's a lot I've missed T__T