Saiyuki: Saiyubito Comparative Analysis 5/10?
Previously: Kanzeon Bosatsu, Jiroushin, Three Aspects
I celebrate finishing final exams with translations! Gyuumaoh, Gyokumen, Kou, and Dokugaku
Gyuumaoh
☆ He is perhaps the most famous great youkai enemy within “Hsi Yu Ki”. But it seems that there are many who are unaware of the fact that, in the original “Hsi Yu Ki”, before Goku went to Heaven the two exchanged a vow of brotherhood. Upon ransacking Heaven and returning to the Lower World, Goku himself declared “From today forth I will be known as the Great Sage Equal to Heaven!”, and the six youkai who were with him at the time also declared, “Then, I will be…” and one after another began to call themselves by great names celebrating their existences. The one who called himself the “Great Sage Below Heaven” [Heiten Taisei 平天大聖] was Gyuumaoh. Gyuumaoh was the eldest brother among the seven sworn brothers. He called Goku “Smart Little Brother” and admitted inferiority to him.
☆ The reason I placed Gyuumaoh as a key player on the enemy side in “Saiyuki” was because he is the most famous youkai, and as a bonus Kougaiji and the other characters went along with him. In Saiyuki, he’s bound by cords and tubes and shows no sign of movement, but of course in the original he was alive and kicking, and also frequently went to visit his lover (Gyokumen Koushu).
Gyokumen Koushu
☆ She is Gyuumaoh’s lover in the original “Hsi Yu Ki” as well. Her true form is a tanuki youkai. However, the scenes she appears in in the original are very short ones. Her role is to fan the jealous flames of Gyuumaoh’s legal wife Rasetsunyo, and is quickly beaten to death by Goku.
☆ In “Saiyuki” I dared to seal away Rasetsunyo and Gyuumaoh, and make Gyokumen Koushu the top of the enemy side. Because she was in the best position to express the “self-centered desires” often discussed in Saiyuki, and because I had decided to draw the Sanzo Ikkou side and the Gyuumaoh side as parallels, she fell into this sort of setting. Saiyuki is basically a guys-only story, so I thought to station a mother-type figure on both sides (Kannon on the Sanzo Ikkou’s side, Gyokumen Koushu on Kougaiji’s side)…… that’s what I wanted, but in the end I made Kannon have both genitalia. There’s no point.
Kougaiji
☆ He is positioned as Gyuumaoh’s son in “Hsi Yu Ki” as well……. So saying, in reality he’s still a baby youkai (“Kougaiji” is a childhood name, and if you read the characters one by one it means Red Boar Child. His pseudonym is “Seiei Taioh” [Great King Baby Sage 聖嬰大王]). He is a youkai who appears before the Sanzo Ikkou in the midst of their journey, and even before Gyuumaoh does he fights the Sanzo Ikkou with a pin. According to the original description, he is “a child with bright red skin; wears an apron like Kintaro*; commands crimson fog; spits fire from his eyes, nose, mouth and ears; flies about on a crimson cloud” and the like…… He’s nothing if not a youkai. He makes a huge impact.
☆ In the original “Hsi Yu Ki”, many of Gyuumaoh’s relatives appear. After the Sanzo Ikkou defeats Kougaiji, of course Gyuumaoh and Rasetsunyo have to make an appearance, and it turns into a plot where even an uncle youkai bears the Ikkou a grudge and attacks.
☆ The reason I drew Kougaiji in that manner in “Saiyuki” was because I wanted to make a rival-type entity who would oppose the Sanzo Ikkou. Incidentally, in the “Hsi Yu Ki” original, after being defeated by the Sanzo Ikkou, Kougaiji becomes a godly apprentice called “Zenzai Douji” [Good Fortune Child 善財童子] by the mercy of Kanzeon Bosatsu. There is a description of Kannon, on that occasion, placing five gold rings around Kougaiji’s wrists, ankles, and neck, so for “Saiyuki”’s Kougaiji’s costume design, I placed five gold rings around his wrists and neck. His “serious and good-natured person” image, in contrast to the Sanzo Ikkou, is taken from the feeling of the image he had after becoming “Zenzai Douji”
* [Kintaro: http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/folk/kintaro/index.html]
Dokugakuji
☆ In the original “Hsi Yu Ki” he is a bull youkai character called “Great King Dokugakuji” who attacks the Sanzo Ikkou mid-journey. Of course here he has no relation to Kougaiji whatsoever. His actual true form is a blue bull that ran away from Heaven and changed into a youkai. There are many of these youkai characters appearing in Hsi Yu Ki who “are ____ that ran away from Heaven”. There isn’t really an explanation concerning this, but those who fall from Heaven to the Lower World generally become youkai, like Gojyo and Hakkai. This may be an expression coming from religious opinion, but it can be interpreted as the Heavenly world sending hardships to the Sanzo Ikkou…… in other words, sending them assassins one after another to harass them. This turns into a plot wherein this Great King Dokugakuji is extremely strong and, unable to stand up to him Son Goku and the others go so far as to call in support troops to defeat him.
☆ “Saiyuki”’s Dokugakuji has absolutely no link to the original, and it really feels like I only brought over the name (sweatdrop). He is supposed to stand as Kougaiji’s big brother figure (even though he’s subordinate……), and since in the original “Hsi Yu Ki” he’s a difficult enemy character for Goku and the others, I decided to use him. That’s all. I’m sorry.
Next: Lirin, Yaone, Koumyou and Ukoku
I celebrate finishing final exams with translations! Gyuumaoh, Gyokumen, Kou, and Dokugaku
Gyuumaoh
☆ He is perhaps the most famous great youkai enemy within “Hsi Yu Ki”. But it seems that there are many who are unaware of the fact that, in the original “Hsi Yu Ki”, before Goku went to Heaven the two exchanged a vow of brotherhood. Upon ransacking Heaven and returning to the Lower World, Goku himself declared “From today forth I will be known as the Great Sage Equal to Heaven!”, and the six youkai who were with him at the time also declared, “Then, I will be…” and one after another began to call themselves by great names celebrating their existences. The one who called himself the “Great Sage Below Heaven” [Heiten Taisei 平天大聖] was Gyuumaoh. Gyuumaoh was the eldest brother among the seven sworn brothers. He called Goku “Smart Little Brother” and admitted inferiority to him.
☆ The reason I placed Gyuumaoh as a key player on the enemy side in “Saiyuki” was because he is the most famous youkai, and as a bonus Kougaiji and the other characters went along with him. In Saiyuki, he’s bound by cords and tubes and shows no sign of movement, but of course in the original he was alive and kicking, and also frequently went to visit his lover (Gyokumen Koushu).
Gyokumen Koushu
☆ She is Gyuumaoh’s lover in the original “Hsi Yu Ki” as well. Her true form is a tanuki youkai. However, the scenes she appears in in the original are very short ones. Her role is to fan the jealous flames of Gyuumaoh’s legal wife Rasetsunyo, and is quickly beaten to death by Goku.
☆ In “Saiyuki” I dared to seal away Rasetsunyo and Gyuumaoh, and make Gyokumen Koushu the top of the enemy side. Because she was in the best position to express the “self-centered desires” often discussed in Saiyuki, and because I had decided to draw the Sanzo Ikkou side and the Gyuumaoh side as parallels, she fell into this sort of setting. Saiyuki is basically a guys-only story, so I thought to station a mother-type figure on both sides (Kannon on the Sanzo Ikkou’s side, Gyokumen Koushu on Kougaiji’s side)…… that’s what I wanted, but in the end I made Kannon have both genitalia. There’s no point.
Kougaiji
☆ He is positioned as Gyuumaoh’s son in “Hsi Yu Ki” as well……. So saying, in reality he’s still a baby youkai (“Kougaiji” is a childhood name, and if you read the characters one by one it means Red Boar Child. His pseudonym is “Seiei Taioh” [Great King Baby Sage 聖嬰大王]). He is a youkai who appears before the Sanzo Ikkou in the midst of their journey, and even before Gyuumaoh does he fights the Sanzo Ikkou with a pin. According to the original description, he is “a child with bright red skin; wears an apron like Kintaro*; commands crimson fog; spits fire from his eyes, nose, mouth and ears; flies about on a crimson cloud” and the like…… He’s nothing if not a youkai. He makes a huge impact.
☆ In the original “Hsi Yu Ki”, many of Gyuumaoh’s relatives appear. After the Sanzo Ikkou defeats Kougaiji, of course Gyuumaoh and Rasetsunyo have to make an appearance, and it turns into a plot where even an uncle youkai bears the Ikkou a grudge and attacks.
☆ The reason I drew Kougaiji in that manner in “Saiyuki” was because I wanted to make a rival-type entity who would oppose the Sanzo Ikkou. Incidentally, in the “Hsi Yu Ki” original, after being defeated by the Sanzo Ikkou, Kougaiji becomes a godly apprentice called “Zenzai Douji” [Good Fortune Child 善財童子] by the mercy of Kanzeon Bosatsu. There is a description of Kannon, on that occasion, placing five gold rings around Kougaiji’s wrists, ankles, and neck, so for “Saiyuki”’s Kougaiji’s costume design, I placed five gold rings around his wrists and neck. His “serious and good-natured person” image, in contrast to the Sanzo Ikkou, is taken from the feeling of the image he had after becoming “Zenzai Douji”
* [Kintaro: http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/folk/kintaro/index.html]
Dokugakuji
☆ In the original “Hsi Yu Ki” he is a bull youkai character called “Great King Dokugakuji” who attacks the Sanzo Ikkou mid-journey. Of course here he has no relation to Kougaiji whatsoever. His actual true form is a blue bull that ran away from Heaven and changed into a youkai. There are many of these youkai characters appearing in Hsi Yu Ki who “are ____ that ran away from Heaven”. There isn’t really an explanation concerning this, but those who fall from Heaven to the Lower World generally become youkai, like Gojyo and Hakkai. This may be an expression coming from religious opinion, but it can be interpreted as the Heavenly world sending hardships to the Sanzo Ikkou…… in other words, sending them assassins one after another to harass them. This turns into a plot wherein this Great King Dokugakuji is extremely strong and, unable to stand up to him Son Goku and the others go so far as to call in support troops to defeat him.
☆ “Saiyuki”’s Dokugakuji has absolutely no link to the original, and it really feels like I only brought over the name (sweatdrop). He is supposed to stand as Kougaiji’s big brother figure (even though he’s subordinate……), and since in the original “Hsi Yu Ki” he’s a difficult enemy character for Goku and the others, I decided to use him. That’s all. I’m sorry.
Next: Lirin, Yaone, Koumyou and Ukoku