Home Moon Rabbit in India Moon Rabbit in China Moon Rabbit in Japan

1. Origins of the Moon rabbit in Japan

The culture of the rabbit on the Moon is found in many Asian countries. Japan is no exception. Although the exact date is not specific, the Moon rabbit has already been known in Japan at least in the 7th century (the Asuka period). A craft called Tenjukoku-mandara (天寿国繍帳) and a Buddhist instrument called Kondo-kanjo-ban (金銅灌頂幡), both of which were made in the 7th century, are decorated with a pattern of the Moon rabbit (jade rabbit) and the laurel tree) [1].

Unlike the Chinese tradition, however, the Tenjukoku-mandara and the Kondo-kanjo-ban do not depict the lunar toad. A Moon image is also found in Tamamushi-no-zushi (玉虫厨子), which was also made in the 7th century, but unfortunately, the image is unclear [1]. It is uncertain why there is no toad in the Japanese Moon images during the Asuka period. Although the number is limited, several images without toad have been found in eastern China and Korea. Thus, the Japanese Moon rabbit might be introduced to Japan via Korea rather than directly from China [1]. However, we do not know the exact reason. It may simply be that people in the Asuka period did not like toads. However, from the Nara period (8th century), a hare and a toad began to be depicted in Japanese Moon images [1].

2. History of the Japanese Moon rabbit and pounding rice cake

The interesting point about the Japanese Moon rabbit is that it pounds rice cake. The Chinese Moon rabbit pounds not rice cake but elixir for immortality. In this section, let us consider the history of the Japanese Moon rabbit and the relationship between the Japanese Moon rabbit and rice cake.

2.1. Relationship between the Chinese Moon rabbit and elixir for immortality

Before we consider the Japanese Moon rabbit and pounding rice cake, let us see the Chinese Moon rabbit that pounds elixir for immortality because it is the basement of the Japanese Moon rabbit.

In China, in the stones from the Han Dynasty, we can see the Moon rabbit holding a mallet and pounding elixir for immortality (Fig. 2). This Moon rabbit is a servant of the Moon’s goddess Xi-Wang-Mu (西王母) [3,4]. In addition to the rabbit, the toad and nine-tailed fox are also often depicted as servants [4]. In China, there is an old tradition of the Divine Immortals. Xi-Wang-Mu is regarded as a goddess in this belief. The origin of Xi-Wang-Mu is not well known, despite much research [5]. In “Classic of Mountains and Seas (山海経),” an ancient Chinese geography book, we know that Xi-Wang-Mu is a monstrous being with a leopard's tail and tiger's teeth, and she lives in a mountain called Kunlun Mountain (崑崙山) [3,6]. This monster gradually became the nymph of Kunlun Mountain as the belief in the Divine Immortals grew. Since the Kunlun Mountain is considered a sacred mountain where dead people go [4], the character of a nymph must have changed to the goddess. Why did the Moon rabbit become a servant of Xi-Wang-Mu? The exact reason is uncertain, but it seems that Xi-Wang-Mu is not only a goddess of the Divine Immortals but also a goddess of the Moon [5]. Therefore, rabbits and toads, which are thought to be found on the Moon, may have been Xi-Wang-Mu's servants.

Another interesting point of contemplation is that several features of the Kunlun Mountain is similar to the character of Mount Sumeru (須弥山), a sacred mountain in India [7]. It is believed that Mount Sumeru is believed to be the home of the god Indra (Teishakuten in Buddhism), who painted a picture of a rabbit on the Moon in Jataka (see the section Moon Rabbit in India). This suggests that if Sumeru influenced the conception of Kunlun, then the relationship between Indra and the Moon rabbit might have been incorporated into Xi-Wang-Mu [7]. However, about the relationship between Mount Sumeru and Kunlun, more research work is required.

What about the relationship between the Chinese Moon rabbit and the elixir for immortality? As mentioned above, the Moon rabbit is a servant of Xi-Wang-Mu, and Xi-Wang-Mu is the goddess of both the Moon and the Divine Immortals. Thus, it seems natural that the servant began to make elixir for immortality. However, there is one important hypothesis. In the images in the Han Dynasty, in addition to the Moon rabbit, feathered immortals (羽人) are also shown, and they also make immortality elixir [3]. These feathered people have large ears and are similar in appearance to rabbits. From this point of view, it might be the feathered immortals (羽人) who were closely associated with elixirs rather than the rabbit. Then, the Moon rabbit with a similar appearance began to make elixirs because they were confused [3]. However, because the origin of Xi-Wang-Mu and the process of her becoming the goddess are not well understood, the detailed relationship between the Moon rabbit and the elixir for immorality is also uncertain.

2.2. Relationship between the Japanese Moon rabbit and rice cake

We have seen the relationship between the Chinese Moon rabbit and the elixir for immortality. So, let us consider the main topic in this section, the relationship between the Japanese Moon rabbit and pounding rice cake. As a reason why the Japanese Moon rabbit comes to be thought that it pounds rice cake, the typical hypothesis is that the name of full Moon in Japanese "Mochizuki (望月)" is similar to "mochi-tuki (pounding rice cake)" [8]. However, there is no evidence to confirm this hypothesis. So, let us consider another possibility by seeing Moon images in Japan.

As mentioned above, the culture of the Moon rabbit was already introduced to Japan in the Asuka period. However, as can be seen in Tenjukoku-mandara (Fig. 1), the Moon rabbit does not use mortar. Instead, it uses a vase-like pot. This pot also appears in Moon images from the Heian and the Kamakura periods (Fig. 3). Clearly, this pot is not the tool for pounding rice cake. Perhaps these pots are based on the Chinese culture that the Moon rabbit pounds elixir for immortality. In addition, several paintings between the Heian and the Muromachi period (up to the 16th century) do not show even the pot and the laurel tree, and only the Moon rabbit is drawn (Fig. 3). Especially Buddhist paintings show this composition. Although the exact reason is unknown, the effect of the Buddhist story “Konjaku Monogatari (今昔物語),” which contains the story of the Moon rabbit in Jataka (see Moon Rabbit in India for details), might be significant. Anyway, considering these images of the Moon rabbit, from the Asuka period to the Muromachi period (up to the 16th century), it seems that the culture of making rice cake by the Moon rabbit was not widely accepted in Japan.

However, this situation changed drastically in the Edo period (from the 17th century). Illustrations in books show the Moon rabbit clearly using a mortar and a mallet. The laurel tree is also drawn at its side. This composition is similar to the Moon images in China from the Song Dynasty. For example, we can see a similar figure in the Chinese book "Sansai Zue (三才図会)" published in 1609 (Fig. 4). Thus, we can suspect that the image of the Japanese Moon rabbit was transported from Chinese books by intellectuals in Japan. From the end of the 17th century, we can see many Japanese books that contain the Moon rabbit using mortar.

Of these books that show the Moon rabbit, the most important ones are “Oh-zassho (大雑書).” Oh-zassho is the type of book describing auspiciousness and fortune-telling in daily life. Many editions of Oh-zassho were published and spread to households during the Edo period. Because many editions were published, Oh-zassho was a very important source for examining the Japanese Moon rabbit in the Edo period. When we look at the images in books, including Oh-zassho, we can find that many images show a mortar with straight sides between the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century (Fig. 5). On the other hand, the mortars gradually have curved sides since the middle of the 18th century (Fig. 5). In addition, several images show the wooden pattern on mortar. Thus, the mortars with curved sides seem to be regarded as “wooden” mortars. In Japan, in the case of mortar to pound grains, mortars with curved sides are the traditional style. It was not until the middle of the Edo period that mortars with straight sides began to be used to pound rice cake [13]. However, the Japanese Moon rabbit's mortars change from straight sides to curved sides, which is the opposite direction of the evolution of actual mortar (from curved sides to straight sides). What is the reason for this discrepancy?

I think this discrepancy is the key information to reveal the pounding rice cake by the Japanese Moon rabbit. As mentioned above, it is highly likely that the composition of Moon images in the Edo period was based on the image in Chinese books. Because the Chinese Moon rabbit pounds elixir for immortality, the rabbit uses a mortar with straight sides. Thus, the Japanese Moon rabbit also uses a mortar with straight sides. However, what the Moon rabbit pounds is not mentioned as a sentence in the books. The authors of the books themselves may have been aware of the Chinese culture that the Moon rabbit pounds elixir for immortality. However, when they see the Moon images, many people who read the books had to imagine what the Moon rabbit makes on the Moon. In Japanese society, typical people who live in towns and villages were more familiar with rice cake than elixir when they use a mortar and a mallet. Thus, they might think that the rabbit in the books makes rice cake. Thus, from the middle of the 18th century, following the understanding of people, pictures in books also changed to mortar with curved sides (the traditional shape of mortar).

Based on the change of mortar’s shape, for the question "When did the culture of pounding rice cake by the Japanese Moon rabbit begin?", the beginning of the 18th century (when people began to imagine the traditional mortar's shape) is my conclusion [14]. As a background for the culture of pounding rice cake by the Moon rabbit, the spread of books in Japanese society can be suggested [14]. In the Edo period, because Japanese society became stable, the number of people who read books increased drastically. Thus, many people other than intellectuals must see the images of the Moon with the Moon rabbit using a mortar and a mallet. However, the text does not mention what the rabbit makes with a mallet and a mortar. Thus, rice cake was imagined based on their daily lives, and pounding rice cake by the Moon rabbit became an important Japanese culture. This discussion is based on the guess from images of the mortar, and the number of books I checked is limited. If new data can be found in the future, we will be able to discuss this topic in more detail.

Reference

[1] 西川明彦　日像・月像の変遷 正倉院紀要16号 (1994).

[2] 谷 信一［編］：世界美術図譜 日本編　第6 集, 東京堂 (1944)。

[3] 小川博章　玉兎考-月の兎はどこから来たか 書籍文化 5, 5-22, (2003).

[4] 曽布川寛　崑崙山への昇仙 中公新書.

[5] 森雅子　西王母の原像：中国古代神話における地母神の研究　史学 56, 61-93, (1986).

[6] 山海経　平凡社ライブラリー.

[7] 荒川紘　須弥山と崑崙山　Katachi 形の文化史9 所収　工作舎.

[8] 吉野裕子　十二支 易・五行と日本の民俗　人文書院.

[9] 東京国立博物館　特別展　国宝 東寺-空海と仏教曼荼羅　図録.

[10] 国宝 三井寺展　図録.

[11] 神奈川県立歴史博物館　特別展　鎌倉の日蓮聖人 ー中世人の信仰世界ー　図録.

[12] 寺島良安　(訳注)島田勇雄、竹島敦雄、樋口元巳　東洋文庫447 和漢三才図会1 平凡社.

[13] 三輪茂雄　 ものと人間の文化史25　臼(うす) 法政大学出版局.

[14] 庄司大悟 月のうさぎはいつどのようにして餅をつき始めたのか．地質と文化 第4巻 第2号, 42-56.