Shōjō

A nihongo|shōjō|linktext|猩|猩 or linktext|猩|々 is a kind of Japanese sea spirit with red face and hair and a fondness for alcohol.Smith, Richard Gordon. (1908). "Ancient Tales and Folklore of Japan." Chapter XXXVIII, "White Sake," pp. 239-244. London: A. & C. Black. No ISBN. (Reprint edition, Kessinger, Whitefish, MT, no date; http://www.kessinger.net/searchresults-orderthebook.php?ISBN=1428600426; accessed September 18, 2008.) Text and illustrations in color are available at http://books.google.com/books?id=o8QWAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22Richard+Gordon+Smith%22&lr=&as_brr=0#PPA239,M1. (Accessed September 14, 2008).] Volker, T. (1975, reprint edition). "The Animal in Far Eastern Art and Especially in the Art of the Japanese Netsuke, with References to Chinese Origins, Traditions, Legends, and Art." Leiden: E.J. Brill. pp. 141-142. ISBN10: 90-04-04295-4. These pages, which also include some comments about the origin of the "shōjō", can be found [http://books.google.com/books?id=XyEVAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA141&lpg=PA141&dq=shojo+orangutan&source=web&ots=l5c3Og2H36&sig=nRnQU7ES7ukY0DB9kWhLol71FQM&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=12&ct=result#PPA141,M1 here] . (Accessed September 18, 2008).] The legend is the subject of a Noh play of the same name.Shogakukan Daijisen Editorial Staff (1998), nihongo|"Daijisen"|大辞泉 (Dictionary of the Japanese language), Revised Edition. Tokyo: Shogakukan. ISBN 978-4095012124.] There is a Noh mask for this character, as well as a type of Kabuki stage makeup, that bear the name. The Chinese characters are also a Japanese (and Chinese) word for orangutan, and can also be used in Japanese to refer to someone who is particularly fond of alcohol.

Chinese origins

" ("The Classic of Mountains and Seas"). Birrell [Birrell, Anne, translator (1999). "The Classic of Mountains and Seas". London: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0140447194.] , who translates the creature's name as "live-lively", translates the passages thusly:

It should be noted that the Chinese character Birrell translates as "green" ( [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%9D%92#Han_character 青] , qīng) is also used to refer to colors that in English would be considered "blue," (see "Distinguishing blue from green in language") and that illustrator Sun Xiao-qin (孫暁琴, Sūn Xiǎo-qín), in "Illustrated Classics: Classic of Mountains and Seas" (经典图读山海经, Jīng Diǎn Tú Dú Shān Hǎi Jīng) chose to portray the "xīng xīng" from this same passage as having blue fur. [Wang Gong-qi (王红旗, Wáng Gōng-qí), commentator; Sun Xiao-qin (孫暁琴, Sūn Xiǎo-qín), illustrator (2003). "Illustrated Classics: The Classic of Mountains and Seas" (经典图读山海经, Jīng Diǎn Tú Dú Shān Hǎi Jīng). Shanghai: [http://www.cishu.com.cn/ Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House] . ISBN 7-5326-1172-8.]

Birrell also includes the following note on the creature:clear

Nature, folklore, and popular culture

There is a tale involving the "shōjō" and white sake. There was a gravely sick man whose dying wish was to drink sake. His son searched for it near Mount Fuji and came across the red "shōjō", who were having a drinking party on the beach. The "shōjō" gave him some sake after listening to his plea. Since the sake revived the dying father, the son went back to the spirit to get more sake each day for five days. A greedy neighbor who also wanted the sake became sick after drinking it. He forced the son to take him to the "shōjō" to get the good sake. The "shōjō" explained that as his heart wasn't pure, the sacred sake would not have life-restoring benefits, but instead had poisoned the neighbor. The neighbor repented, and the "shōjō" gave him some medicine to cure him. The father and the neighbor brewed white sake together.

Several plants and animals have "shōjō" in their names for their bright, reddish-orange color. Examples include several Japanese maple trees, one of them named "shōjō-no-mai" or "dancing red-faced monkey" and another named "shōjō nomura" or "beautiful red-faced monkey."Vertrees, J.D. and Peter Gregory (2001). "Japanese Maples: Momiji and Kaede (Third Edition)". Portland, OR: Timber Press. p. 214. ISBN13: 978-0881925012. Here, Vertrees and Gregory translate "shōjō" as "red-faced monkey" rather than "orangutan."] Certain bright reddish-orange dragonflies are named nihongo|"shōjō tonbo"|猩猩蜻蛉, meaning "red-faced dragonfly."Dragonflies and flies: http://www6.ocn.ne.jp/~aoidayu/tadaima/200410syoujyou.htm. (Accessed September 18, 2008).] Other names with "shōjō" refer to real or fancied connections to sake, like the fly nihongo|"shōjō bae"|猩猩蠅 that tends to swarm around open saké.

The kyogen-influenced Noh play "shōjō" or "shōjō midare" features a "shōjō" buying sake, getting drunk and dancing ecstatically, then rewarding the sake seller by making his sake vat perpetually refill itself. [http://www2.ntj.jac.go.jp/unesco/noh/en/noh_plays/5ban.html] [http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-22944559_ITM] The "shōjō" from the play have been made into wooden dolls ("nara ningyō"), they are one of the "most common" wooden dolls derived from Noh plays. [Pate, Alan Scott, (2008) "Japanese Dolls: The Fascinating World of Ningyō" ISBN 9784805309223 page 167] "Shōjō" dolls are used to ward against smallpox. [Pate, Alan Scott, (2008) "Japanese Dolls: The Fascinating World of Ningyō" ISBN 9784805309223 page 266]

In Hayao Miyazaki's animated film "Princess Mononoke", talking, ape-like creatures struggling to protect the forest from human destruction by planting trees are identified as "shōjō". [cite journal |year=1997 |title=nihongo|Reading "Princess Mononoke"|『もののけ姫』を読み解|Mononoke Hime o Yomitoku |journal=Comicbox |volume= |issue= |pages= |publisher=Fusion Product |location=Tokyo |issn= |url= http://www.comicbox.co.jp/cbmnnk/cbmnnk.html|language=Japanese |accessdate=2008-09-21] [cite book |title=nihongo|"Princess Mononoke" Movie Pamphlet|『もののけ姫』映画パンフレット|Mononoke Hime Eiga Panfuretto |accessdate=2008-09-21 |date=1997 |publisher=Toho Company Product Enterprise Division |location=Tokyo |language=Japanese]

Shōjō appeared in a 2005 Japanese film "The Great Yokai War". [cite web | title=妖怪大戦争 official site| url=http://yokai-movie.com/index.html | publisher=2005「妖怪大戦争」製作委員会 | accessdate=2008-09-28] [cite web | title=yokai gallary 猩猩 | url=http://www.walkerplus.com/movie/special/yokai/gallery/23.html | publisher=(株)角川クロスメディア | accessdate=2008-09-28]

The Japanese artist Kawanabe Kyōsai, who was also known for his heavy drinking and eccentric behavior, [cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=bMMusu0O4zAC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#PPA34,M1 |title=Inexorable Modernity: Japan's Grappling with Modernity in the Arts |author=Hiroshi Nara |Publisher=Lexington Books |date=2007 |pages=34 p.|isbn=0739118420] humorously referred to himself as a "shōjō". [cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=TMCHpmDXUeIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=shojo+orangutan&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#PPA217,M1 |title=Copying the Master and Stealing His Secrets: Talent and Training in Japanese Painting |author=Brenda G. Jordan |coauthors=Victoria Louise Weston, Victoria Weston |Publisher=University of Hawaii Press |date=2003 |pages=217 p.|isbn=0824826086]

ee also

*Kami
*Inari

References