Japanese lion ( 狼 狼 ) or okami ( 真 神 神 ) is an Old Japanese word for the Japanese wolf , which is currently considered an extinct species. He is a youkai and messenger of the gods, a popular character in Japanese folklore. Okami understands human speech and knows how to look into human hearts [1] .
Description
Unlike the wolf from European myths and fairy tales, who was a negative character: an insidious, evil and bloodthirsty monster, the eye in the Japanese "wolf legends" (okuri-okami) acts as a defender of forests and mountains, an assistant to people in need, he warns the inhabitants of villages about impending natural disasters, keeps fields from trampling by wild boars and deer , serves as a protector of travelers in mountain forests. In one story, he led a blind flutist out of a thicket [2] [1] .
As a rule, werewolf abilities, unlike kitsune and tanuki , do not possess. In only one legend does the wolf-bakemono devour a person and turn to him to replace him in the family. Okami is rather bashful, they cover their genitals with their tail, and if a passerby accidentally sees them behind a loving act, then in order for the okami not to feel disgraced, a person must open his clothes [1] .
The image of a wolf at the temple, according to popular belief, protected from fire and theft.
Cultural Influence
- An Okami named Horo (or Holo) from the wolf , manga and anime “ Spice and Wolf ” guards the crops of farmers who recognize her as a goddess, but after they forget about her, turns into a girl with an eye and travels with the wandering merchant Lawrence to the North , your homeland.
- In Hayao Miyazaki 's anime Princess Mononoke , the wolf-okami protects nature from being destroyed by people, she adopts a little girl who she brings up as her own daughter, but dies from gunshot wounds received in the last battle of people and animals for the forest.
- In the anime " Ookami-san ", Okami is a high school student named Otogi, she is engaged in boxing, and with great pleasure deals with hooligans bothering schoolchildren. One of the three main characters in this story.
- “ Wolf Rain ” - an anime and manga about wolves-oks living among people. The action takes place in the post-apocalyptic world on the territory of the former Russia.
- In the computer game “ Okami ”, the main character is the sun goddess Amaterasu in the form of a wolf-okami. The game has a sequel to Okamiden: Chiisaki Taiyo , dedicated to the adventure of the wolf cub Tibiterasu.
- In the manga and anime " Notebook of Natsume's Friends " by the name of Madara, Okami is one of the main characters, although for the most part it takes on the image of a maneki-neko .
- The film “ Wolf Children of Ame and Yuki ” tells the story of a family whose head is Oka, and her mother is a simple fragile girl. Their children, like their father, also became eyes.
- One of the characters in Andrei Ulanov’s fantasy novel "Revolver Day" is the eyes of Lissa Wei, posing as a Chinese woman.
- The protagonist of the computer game " Sekiro: shadows die twice " has the nickname Okami or Wolf
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Japanese legends about wolves on swampfox
- ↑ Plain Sheba and the Japanese Wolf // Part 4 - Japanese Wolf (Unavailable link) . Date of treatment August 20, 2012. Archived July 14, 2007.