If it’s about myths, folklore, and legends, Japan is a country with a lot to offer. From stories based on local traditions up to those derived from foreign influence through cultural assimilation, the country has developed a rich collection of tales that are mirrored in today’s pop culture.
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Cerberus' only mythology concerns his capture by Heracles. As early as Homer we learn that Heracles was sent by Eurystheus, the king of Tiryns, to bring back Cerberus from Hades the king of the underworld. According to Apollodorus, this was the twelfth and final labour imposed on Heracles. Gepettos toy store. In a fragment from a lost play Pirithous, (attributed to either Euripides or Critias) Heracles says that.
Belief in sacred beasts and spirits is one of the most popular themes. They are portrayed to exhibit heavenly powers. Arguably the most popular among these legendary creatures are the Four Beasts guarding Japan’s North, East, South, and West.
It is said that the origins of the Four Mythical Guardians come from Chinese beliefs and were adopted by Japanese folklore. Each of the beasts guards a cardinal direction and is said to embody specific elements that signify its major power.
1. Genbu – Guardian of the North
This beast is symbolized by a huge tortoise surrounded by a serpent that is sometimes seen as its snake tail. It primarily controls the water element and is associated with the winter season. Its mythical color is black but some game adaptations tie it in with the royal color, violet.
Genbu is enshrined at the northern part of Kyoto’s Imperial Palace and is known as a symbol of purity, long life, versatility, and intelligence.
2. Seiryu – Guardian of the East
Taking up the symbol of a blue dragon, Seiryu visually embodies strength and power. Its element is wood and it controls the rain. It is believed to guide the eastern part of Japan, especially Kyoto. In fact, the city’s Kiyomizu-dera Temple has a statue of the dragon at its entrance and holds an annual festival that honors the sacred beast. Legend has it that Seiryu once drank from the temple’s waterfall. It is also the symbol for the spring season.
![Divine beast symbols Divine beast symbols](https://kerensasreadingnook.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/hp-tattoo-4.jpg)
Seiryu is associated with the colors blue and green. He is a popular symbol of authority, luxury, unrivaled strength, creativity, and ferocity. In some storylines, Seiryu is considered as the leader of the guardian beasts.
3. Suzaku – Guardian of the South
Some claim that Suzaku is the most beautiful among the sacred beasts. With its fiery appearance associating the immortal phoenix, it’s easy to see why he stands out among his counterparts. The color associated with this guardian is red, fitting its element which is fire. He is also associated with the summer season.
Ancient capitals like Fujiwara, Heijo, and Heian each featured southern gates guarded by Suzaku’s symbol. These gates, however, are no longer visible today.
Suzaku is considered as a symbol of fidelity, will, kindness, and nobility.
4. Byakko – Guardian of the West
Byakko takes up the image of a white tiger and controls the wind. He is associated with the autumn season as well as the metal element. In myths, the white tiger primarily served as a protector and a preserver. Ancient burials of notable people like kings and army generals incorporate the placement of metal on top of the grave as well as a ceremonial rite associated with the worship of the tiger god.
Ancient burial sites in Nara has revealed paintings of Byakko on its tomb walls. Byakko is a known symbol of righteousness and bravery.
As time passed by, different adaptations, especially Japanese animation and games, added twists and engaging storylines to these sacred beasts.
As time passed by, different adaptations, especially Japanese animation and games, added twists and engaging storylines to these sacred beasts.
Mentions and references to these guardians appeared in anime like Fushigi Yugi and Yu Yu Hakusho. They were also featured in games like Final Fantasy XI.
While these guardian beasts remain a legend, there are religions that treat them with reverence. They have been a great source of stories that add to Japan’s already rich cultural heritage.
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(Redirected from Four Symbols (China))
In clockwise order: Black Tortoise of the North, Azure Dragon of the East, Vermilion Bird of the South and White Tiger of the West.
The Four Symbols (Chinese: 四象; pinyin: Sì Xiàng, literally meaning 'four images'), are four mythological creatures appearing among the Chinese constellations along the ecliptic, and viewed as the guardians of the four cardinal directions. These four creatures are also referred to by a variety of other names, including 'Four Guardians', 'Four Gods', and 'Four Auspicious Beasts'. They are the Azure Dragon of the East, the Vermilion Bird of the South, the White Tiger of the West, and the Black Tortoise (also called 'Black Warrior') of the North. Each of the creatures is most closely associated with a cardinal direction and a color, but also additionally represents other aspects, including a season of the year, a virtue, and one of the Chinese 'five elements' (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water). Each has been given its own individual traits and origin story. Symbolically, and as part of spiritual and religious belief, these creatures have been culturally important across countries in the East Asian cultural sphere.
History[edit]
Depictions of mythological creatures clearly ancestral to the modern set of four creatures have been found throughout China. Currently, the oldest known depiction was found in 1987 in a tomb in Xishuipo (西水坡) in Puyang, Henan, which has been dated to approximately 5300 BC. In the tomb, labeled M45, immediately adjacent to the remains of the main occupant to the east and west were found mosaics made of clam shells and bones forming images closely resembling the Azure Dragon and White Tiger, respectively.[1]
The modern standard configuration was settled much later, with variations appearing throughout Chinese history. For example, the Rongcheng Shi manuscript recovered in 1994, which dates to the Warring States Period (ca. 453–221 BCE), gives five directions rather than four and places the animals differently. According to that document, Yu the Great gave directional banners to his people, marked with the following insignia: the north with a bird, the south with a snake, the east with the sun, the west with the moon, and the center with a bear.[2]
In Taoism, the Four Symbols have been assigned human identities and names. The Azure Dragon is named Meng Zhang (孟章), the Vermilion Bird is called Ling Guang (陵光), the White Tiger Jian Bing (監兵), and the Black Tortoise Zhi Ming (執明).
The colours associated with the four creatures can be said to match the colours of soil in the corresponding areas of China: the bluish-grey water-logged soils of the east, the reddish iron-rich soils of the south, the whitish saline soils of the western deserts, the black organic-rich soils of the north, and the yellow soils from the central loess plateau.[3]
Four Symbols in I Ching[edit]
Divine Beast Symbols
![All divine beasts All divine beasts](https://33.media.tumblr.com/f05c24a85701e30e343f0ac4217af80b/tumblr_inline_n25ihpflVY1r0zz7o.png)
The Four Symbols are closely connected with the yin-yang philosophy. Fuxi explained the Four Symbols as one of the stages of the creation of the world, in the following way:
Four images as Taijitu and digrams-yao
無極生有極、 有極是太極, 太極生兩儀, 即陰陽; 兩儀生四象: 即少陰、太陰、 少陽、太陽; 四象演八卦, 八八六十四卦。 | Wújí shēng yǒu jí, yǒu jí shì tàijí, Tàijí shēng liǎngyí, jí yīnyáng; Liǎngyí shēng sìxiàng: jí shǎo yīn, tàiyīn, shǎo yáng, tàiyang; Sìxiàng yǎn bāguà, bābāliù shísì guà. | The Limitless (無極; wuji) produces the delimited (有極; youji), and this demarcation is equivalent to the Absolute (太極; taiji). The Taiji (the two opposing forces in embryonic form) produces two forms, named yin-yang (陰陽) (which are called Liangyi (the manifested opposing forces)). These two forms produce four phenomena: named lesser yin (少陰, shaoyin), greater yin (太陰; taiyin, which also refers to the Moon), lesser yang (陽, shaoyang), and greater yang (太陽; taiyang, which also refers to the Sun). The four phenomena (四象; Sìxiàng) act on the eight trigrams (八卦; Bagua), eight 'eights' results in sixty-four hexagrams. |
Correspondence with the Five Principles[edit]
A Han-dynasty pottery tile emblematically representing the five cardinal directions
These mythological creatures have also been syncretized into the five principles system. The Azure Dragon of the East represents Wood, the Vermilion Bird of the South represents Fire, the White Tiger of the West represents Metal, and the Black Tortoise (or Black Warrior) of the North represents Water. In this system, the fifth principle Earth is represented by the Yellow Dragon of the Center.[4]
Four Auspicious Beasts | Five direction | Five seasons | Five colors | Wuxing | Four Symbols | Yao | Four Gods |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Azure Dragon | East | Spring | Green | Wood | Young yang | ⚎ | Kōbō |
Vermilion Bird | South | Summer | Red | Fire | Old yang | ⚌ | Zhurong |
White Tiger | West | Autumn | White | Metal | Young yin | ⚍ | Jokushū |
Black Tortoise | North | Winter | Black | Water | Old yin | ⚏ | Genmei |
Yellow Dragon or Qilin | Central | Midsummer | Yellow | Earth | Houtu |
Correspondence with the four seasons[edit]
Divine Symbols Images
The four beasts each represent a season. The Azure Dragon of the East represents spring, the Vermilion Bird of the South represents summer, the White Tiger of the West represents autumn, and the Black Tortoise of the North represents winter.[5]
See also[edit]
- Four Holy Beasts, the Vietnamese version
References[edit]
- ^'西水坡遺址里的圖案擺放,預示著古代某種神秘的星象'. KK News (in Chinese). 2018-04-30. Retrieved 2019-09-18.
- ^Pines, Yuri. 'Political Mythology and Dynastic Legitimacy in the Rong Cheng Shi ManuscriptArchived 2012-04-25 at the Wayback Machine'. Bulletin of SOAS, Vol. 73, No. 3 (2010), p. 515.
- ^N, Brady and R, Weil. [Elements of the Nature and Properties of Soil]. (2014). p. 89. Accessed 27 January 2015.
- ^A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations: Third Edition, Schirokauer, Brown, Lurie, Gay. (2006) ISBN0-534-64307-8.
- ^'The Hidden or Implied Meaning of Chinese Charm Symbols - 諧音寓意 - Differences between Chinese Coins and Chinese Charms'. Gary Ashkenazy / גארי אשכנזי (Primaltrek – a journey through Chinese culture). 16 November 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Four_Symbols&oldid=988539794'