After three weeks in Taiwan (and reading Geoffrey of Monmouth amidst typhoon-strewn logs on the Pacific shore beach), I couldn't resist hunting down Arthur-Asia links. My quest was futile, as the only things I could find were a link for King Arthur Industries, based in Taiwan, a book about the Orient — meaning Middle East — in early medieval romances, and Japanese anime.
So, I'll just have to forge my own connection.
While checking out link after link on Google, I found a site about the first recorded Japanese-Chinese relations (The Beginning of Recorded Relations with China). The content of the post did not interest me so much as one of the comments, which refers to Himiko, a female Japanese queen, as an Arthurian character. The commentator writes, "She is not necessarily mythic but grounded in just as much speculation and controversy as King Arthur."
It's interesting to see King Arthur used as a label to describe characters in other, completely different cultures' mythologies. It testifies to the power and predominance of the Arthurian legend and Western egocentrism — instead of saying Arthur is a Himiko-an figure (she predates Arthur by at least a hundred years, after all), we say every other mythical monarch is Arthurian, or every other knight-like figure who embarks on quests is Arthurian.
Now, as a Westerner, I'm going to arbitrarily slap the Arthurian adjective on another Asian cultural product: The Tale of Shuten Doji. Currently on exhibit at the Freer-Sackler Gallery and required viewing for members of Marcela Sulak's Poetry course, the Japanese artwork depicts a knight on a quest to defeat a giant ogre that's murdering young women. The knight, Raiko, lops off the ogre's head and brings it back in a basket.
Sound familiar at all?
A lot of the details differ, but the basic quest echoes Arthur's confrontation with the Monster of Mont-Saint-Michel in Geoffrey of Monmouth's The History of the Kings of Britain. Both knights set out on a quest to kill a tyrannical, lady-murdering giant and return with the giant's head.
Additionally, the Tale of Shuten Doji also incorporates elements common to Arthurian mythology: magic and the supernatural, and camaraderie among a band of knights that defers to a single knight's solitary encounter with the enemy. In both the Arthurian story and Shuten Doji, a group of knights embark on their quest together, but the predominant knight's companions hang back and let him do all the work.
It is interesting, indeed, that such similar mythologies sprang up at around the same time on opposite sides of the globe. Particularly legends rooted in truth, about historical figures. Some common element in human nature, perhaps, that drives us to produce and commemorate myths about heroic knights and quests?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Tara, I'm so glad you brought up the Tale of the Shuten Doji. I went to see the exhibit over the weekend (along with a few people in our class-Usha, Natalia, Lenny, Rocio) , and Usha and I found ourselves discussing Arthur in relation to the exhibit as well and thinking about comparative mythology.
ReplyDeleteI have to be honest though, I'm always skeptical when "human nature" is proffered as an explanation for similarities between different cultures. I tend to think that similarities exist between these different myths not because we all share some intrinsic qualities, but because the cultures themselves (out of which these myths grow) have more in common than one might suspect. Simply given the fact that both the Tale of the Shuten Doji and Arthurian tales grow out of a warrior/knightly culture goes a long way in explaining similarities. It seems plausible that in cultures where fighting is expected (indeed, sought out and even ritualized in games and tournaments), a similar ethos exists, and attributes like courage, knightly prowess and the like are valued. The similar quest theme can be seen as an extension of that similar value system: a knight must go on a quest to prove his prowess as a warrior.
Of course, the similarities between these cultures is only going to get us so far. True, Arthurian tales and The Shuten Doji both come from cultures that value fighting and the virtues that make one a good knight, but there are many differences as well. Given that Arthurian legend comes from a Christian atmosphere and The Shuten Doji doesn't complicates any further attempt to see similarities between the two culture's value systems. Additionally, (as you pointed out above) attempting to read the Shuten Doji in relation to Arthur can compromise the integrity of the unique culture that produced the text.
So, I just had another quick thought on this topic. Another way to look at similarities between the Arthurian tales and The Shuten Doji would be to apply Jung's ideas regarding archetypal myth and the Collective Subconscious. According to Jung, the Hero is an archetypal figure that exists in the universal subconscious of every culture (i.e. the Collective Subconscious). Arthur or Yvain or Erec and the hero knights in the Shuten Doji would, according to Jung, appear similar because they are all versions of the archetypal Hero that's embedded in the Collective Subconscious. I think this comes closer to what you were saying, Tara, about similarities in "human nature." It's a universal intrinsic explanation rather than a socio-historical one.
ReplyDeleteIt's really weird but I felt the same when I went a week ago to see the Shuten Doji exhibit. That Monday we were reading the Monmouth book and I thought about Shuten Doji when Hoel's neice was stolen. In fact standing there looking at the tale, my mind went back to Arthurian legend. In a way doesnt the young maidens weaving for the demons remind you of all the young women kidnapped by the demon? That reminds me, I wasnt very clear about the role of the father, mother and daughter in the Joy. Who exactly is holding the maidens? If it's the two demons, then what is the lord doing there?
ReplyDeleteTara,
ReplyDeleteI want to touch on 'Western ethnocentrism' for a second. I can't help but wonder whether the application of epithets like "Arthur-like" to non-Western characters isn't more a matter of translating for a Western audience the cultural prominence and literary content of similar legends whose titles are, to the average Westerner, arcane. Having said that, I'm left to wonder what Western imperialism would look like if it arose. At first blush, I'd say any Western reader looking for a translation of a tale such as "Shuten Doji" ought to seek one by an English-fluent Eastern scholar and check any translations by Western scholars against it. Ostensibly this will reveal any Western assumptions about the similarity of characters in Eastern legends to those in Western legends.
ALong