玉兎 Gyokuto The Moon Bunny 月の兎

The myth of the rabbit in the moon is ancient. The earliest written version comes from a 4th century collection of Buddhist legends written in Sanskrit. The legend was brought from India to China and it came to Japan in the 7th century where it was adjusted to fit local folklore.

A fox, a monkey, and a rabbit were travelling in the mountains when they came across a shabby-looking old man lying along the road. The old man had collapsed from exhaustion while trying to cross the mountains. The three animals felt compassion for him and tried to save him. The monkey gathered fruit and nuts from the trees, the fox gathered fish from the river, and they fed the old man. As hard as he tried, the rabbit couldn’t gather anything of value to give to the old man. Lamenting his uselessness, the rabbit asked the fox and monkey for help in building a fire.  When the fire was built, the rabbit leaped into the flames so that his own body could be cooked and eaten by the old man. When the old man saw the rabbit’s act of compassion, he revealed his true form as Taishakuten, one of the lords of Heaven. Taishakuten lifted up the rabbit and placed it the moon, in order that all future generations could be inspired by the rabbit’s compassionate act.

In Japan, the rabbit is described holding a wooden mallet which he uses to pound mochi (rice cakes). In China, the rabbit is believed not to be creating mochi but is instead mixing the medicine of eternal youth.

I love reading stories about yōkai (the supernatural spirits in Japanese folklore) and Gyokuto is one of my favourites! I love the story about the lucky cat too! Do you have a favourite yōkai?

- Bunny