Mizaru, Kikazaru, Iwazaru: Why three Japanese monkeys became a symbol of female wisdom. I don't see the monkey, I don't hear, I don't speak.

There are many assumptions about the place where the three monkeys appeared: they name China, India, and even Africa, but the homeland of the three monkeys is still Japan. Confirmation may be reading in Japanese the actions expressed by the composition: “I don’t see, I don’t hear, I don’t speak” (when written using the kanji 見猿, 聞か猿, 言わ猿 - mizaru, kikazaru, ivazaru). The suffix that gives the negation “-zaru” is consonant with the word “monkey”, in fact it is a voiced version of the word “saru” (猿). It turns out that the image of three monkeys is a kind of pun or rebus, a play on words understandable only to the Japanese. So....

The original religious significance of the monkey group is undoubted. It is often directly called a Buddhist symbol, but not everything is so simple. Yes, Buddhism accepted three monkeys, but it was not he, or rather, he was not the only one who gave birth to the three monkeys.

Religion in Japan has special properties: it is unusually malleable and at the same time elastic: throughout history, the Japanese have encountered many religious and philosophical teachings, accepted and processed them, combining, sometimes incompatible, complex systems and syncretic cults.

Cult of Kosin

The Three Monkeys are originally associated with one of the Japanese folk beliefs - Koshin. Based on Chinese Taoism, Kosin’s faith is relatively simple: one of the main postulates is that three certain observer entities (“worms”) “live” in every person, collecting incriminating evidence on their owner and regularly visiting him during his sleep. with a report to the Heavenly Lord. The follower of the cult, in order to avoid big troubles, needs to abstain from evil in every possible way, and those who have not succeeded in this, so that these internal informants cannot convey something unseemly “to the center” in time, at the estimated time of the “sessions” (usually once every two months) they need to abstain from sleep , hold vigils.

When the Three Monkeys Appeared

The question of the exact time of the appearance of the three monkeys, apparently, cannot be resolved, partly due to folk character a faith that has no centralization and no archives of any kind. Adherents of the Kosin cult erected stone monuments (koshin-to). Here it is worth looking for the oldest materially recorded images of three monkeys. The problem is that dating such monuments is difficult.

The most famous of the three monkeys provide some certainty. For the Japanese, this composition is known as the “three monkeys from Nikko.”

Three monkeys from Nikko

Nikko is one of the oldest and most famous religious centers in Japan. It is located 140 km north of Tokyo. The attitude of the Japanese towards Nikko can be assessed by the saying “don’t say kekko (Japanese: wonderful) until you have seen Nikko.” And the most famous attraction of wonderful Nikko is the Toshogu Shinto Shrine, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and in the National Treasures of Japan. Toshogu is a complex of buildings decorated with rich, expressive wooden carvings. The complex's secondary utility building, the stable, became world famous thanks to the three monkeys carved on it.

In addition to their general fame, the Nikko monkeys can give us an accurate upper bound on the appearance of the symbol. The construction of the stable with its decorations is confidently dated back to 1636, so by this time the three monkeys already existed as a single composition. One can carefully push back the time of the appearance of the three monkeys by 1-2 centuries before their depiction in Nikko; it is unlikely that the monkeys in the Kosin cult were borrowed from the stables of the sanctuary; it is more logical to assume the opposite direction of borrowing, and the symbolism should be sufficiently formed and widely known.

The meaning of the three monkeys

The meaning of the composition is often misinterpreted: it is easier for Westerners to see in the three monkeys a kind of collective ostrich with its head in the sand in the face of problems.

So what do monkeys symbolize? If we recall the Japanese reading-pun (I don’t see - I don’t hear - I don’t pronounce) composition, you can understand that it serves as a visual expression of the corresponding negations.

The basis that unites different religious and philosophical movements (including the cult of Kosin) is the goal of personal development - achieving enlightenment, confronting everything untrue (in English simply “evil” - that is, evil) inside and outside. For example, Buddhists have mechanisms that can be illustrated by monkeys, this is the development of peculiar “filters” that do not allow the untrue to reach consciousness; a Buddhist must “not hear” “evil”. One of the English-language versions of the name of the composition of three monkeys is “no evil monkeys”. If a person follows the principles portrayed by the monkeys, he is invulnerable. But in essence, the three monkeys are a reminder poster, like the Soviet “Don’t talk!”, a call to maintain purity (both ethical and aesthetic).

Sometimes a fourth monkey is added - Shizaru, symbolizing the principle of “do no evil”. She may be depicted covering her belly or crotch.

Well, that is, don’t let go of what’s below your belt yet...

I see nothing, I hear nothing,
I don’t know anything, I won’t tell anyone anything...
“I don’t see anything,” words L. Oshanina, music O. Feltsman, popular artists: Edita Piekha And Tamara Miansarova

Many people know the ancient eastern symbol - three monkeys, one of which diligently covers its eyes with its paws, the second covers its ears, and the third covers its mouth. But where they come from, what they are connected to and what they mean is less known.

Place of Origin of the Three Monkeys

There are many assumptions regarding the place where the three monkeys appeared: they are called and China, and India, and even Africa, but the homeland of the three monkeys is still Japan. Confirmation may be reading in Japanese the actions expressed by the composition: “I don’t see, I don’t hear, I don’t speak” (when recording using kanji見猿, 聞か猿, 言わ猿 - mizaru, kikazaru, ivazaru). Suffix giving negation " -zaru" is consonant with the word "monkey", in fact it is a voiced version of the word " Sarah"(猿). It turns out that the image of three monkeys is a kind of pun or rebus, a play on words understandable only to the Japanese.

Religious roots

The original religious significance of the monkey group is undoubted. It is often directly called Buddhist symbol, but not everything is so simple. Yes, Buddhism accepted three monkeys, but it was not he, or rather, he was not the only one who gave birth to the three monkeys.

Religion in Japan has special properties: it is unusually malleable and at the same time elastic: throughout history, the Japanese have encountered many religious and philosophical teachings, accepted and processed them, combining, sometimes incompatible, complex systems and syncretic cults.

Cult of Kosin

The Three Monkeys are originally associated with one of the Japanese folk beliefs - Kosin. Based on Chinese Taoism, Kosin’s faith is relatively simple: one of the main postulates is that three certain observer entities (“worms”) “live” in every person, collecting incriminating evidence on their owner and regularly, during his sleep, sending a report to the Heavenly Lord. The follower of the cult, in order to avoid big troubles, needs to abstain from evil in every possible way, and those who have not succeeded in this, so that these internal informants cannot convey something unseemly “to the center” in time, at the estimated time of the “sessions” (usually once every two months) they need to abstain from sleep , hold vigils.

When the Three Monkeys Appeared

The question of the exact time of the appearance of the three monkeys, apparently, cannot be resolved, partly due to the folk nature of the faith, which does not have centralization or any archives. Adherents of the Kosin cult erected stone monuments ( Kosin). Here it is worth looking for the oldest materially recorded images of three monkeys. The problem is that it is hardly possible to date such monuments.

The most famous of the three monkeys provide some certainty. For the Japanese, such a composition is known as “three monkeys from Nikko ».

Three monkeys from Nikko

Biological species of three monkeys

There are many options for compositions depicting different monkeys (and not only monkeys), often, for example, chimpanzees covering their eyes, ears and mouth. Obviously, in Japan there must have been a different original source of the image. Most likely, the three monkeys were supposed to be depicted Japanese macaques(lat. macaca fuscata), who became famous in lately « snow monkeys", basking in winter in geothermal springs in Hell's Valley in the prefecture Nagano.

Picture of three monkeys

Three monkeys have now spread almost all over the world, they are depicted in souvenirs and on household items, used as interior decoration and in garden sculpture, in many settlements of the world there are monuments to the three monkeys, they are used by street artists in graffiti and cartoonists in political satire , which can be found on Somali coins and original Russian nesting dolls. It is impossible to describe all the options, so we will try to limit ourselves to only some classic solutions.

Composition options

Scattered figures

Beginning with the classic Nikko monkeys, artists can depict monkeys individually without being constrained by a general pose or arrangement. This solution leaves a lot of freedom and allows you to place the figures more lively and at ease.

Close group

The three isolated figures are too disconnected, so artists often want to show a closer connection, the commonality of the three negating principles. One of the possible ways of interaction is in which the monkeys cover each other's ears, mouth and eyes. One of the factors that pushed the composition towards a centripetal unification was the use of three monkeys in the form netsuke. Netsuke ( netsuke) - a piece of clothing, a keychain that allows you to attach to a belt kimono hang wearable items on a cord, for example, a wallet or writing instruments (kimonos do not have pockets). The functional purpose determines the dimensions and requirements for the shape of the netsuke: the keychain must be round and fit in the fist. Three separate figures do not fit into such requirements well. The monkeys are placed on top of each other, pressed against each other with their backs, and forced to roll into a single lump.

One for all

In any case, the composition of three monkeys turns out to be visually overloaded for the netsuke format, but the carvers have developed a “lighter” version: just one monkey uses all four paws to cover the eyes, ears and mouth (the eyes and mouth with the front limbs, and the ears with the hind limbs).

For the only monkey replacing three at once, the name of the author-inventor of the composition is known. With a fair degree of confidence we can name the master Masatsugu Kaigyokusai (懐玉斎正次) from Osaka, who worked in the 19th century. It is curious that such a composition seemed to be repeated in Russia in the workshops of Carl Faberge.

Fourth wheel

Quite often you can find groups of monkeys, expanded by a fourth or even a fifth figure. The “extra” monkey either covers the crotch and calls either “not to do” (evil) or “not to have pleasure.” Or the monkey sits calmly, not blocking anything from anything (the name “not thinking” is found). It is difficult to say when and where the addition occurred, but it is unlikely that it was a long time ago and unlikely in Japan.

Play a monkey

In Japan, compositions appeared that repeated the three monkeys, but without the monkeys, for example, pictures with geishas “I don’t see, I don’t hear, I don’t pronounce.” And nowadays it is customary to “be a monkey”: in large Internet photo storage services (like Flickr) it is enough to ask the query “three wise monkeys” or “see no evil” to see the faces of hundreds and hundreds of people. And the souvenir industry puts anyone in monkey poses; you can find “monkey” groups of almost all representatives of the fauna or characters of popular culture.

Sequence order

There is no one accepted order for the monkeys to appear in the composition. Just look at the monkeys from Nikko and compare them with the koshin-to stele or the photographs of modern works shown.

Cultural influence of the three monkeys

First of all, there is no doubt that the symbol of the three monkeys entered the world popular culture. The composition, if not popular, is recognizable in almost all corners of the Earth.

Mahatma Gandhi(Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi), a fighter for the independence of India, a teacher of the Indian people and an ideologist of non-violence, did not part with his beloved three monkeys, perhaps the only luxury he could afford. Now Gandhi's monkeys remain one of the main relics in the former residence Bapu Kuti in an ashram located in a model village Sevagram rural areas Maharashtra.

He left his personal impressions of the monkeys at the stables in Toshogu Rudyard Kipling Somalia 2006

Three monkeys were depicted on postage stamps Tajikistan And New Caledonia.

In the popular animated series Family Guy ( Family Guy) exists minor character Evil Monkey(English: “evil monkey” or “evil (vicious) monkey”). Embodying the childhood fears of one of the cartoon characters, Evil Monkey lives in the closet, scares and torments its owner. In the name of the monkey there is an obvious allusion and contrast to the English name of the three monkeys “no evil monkeys”: if there are “monkeys without evil”, then there must also be a “monkey with evil”.

Film by Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan ( Nuri Bilge Ceylan), which won the 2008 Cannes Film Festival for Best Director, is called "Üç Maymun" (Turkish for "three monkeys"). In the story, the characters are trying to get away from their family problems, trying not to notice and hush them up. That is, “three monkeys” are considered by the authors as a synonym for the “ostrich position.”

A number of English-language books and films use the phrase “I don’t see - I don’t hear...” in their titles, for example, the 2006 American horror film “See No Evil” (in Russian distribution “I See No Evil”), the 1989 comedy film . “See No Evil, Hear No Evil” (“See No Evil, Hear No Evil”), the autobiographical book of former CIA agent Robert Baer “See No Evil” (“Seeing No Evil”), etc.

In Erle Stanley Gardner's detective story The Case Of The Mythical Monkeys (1959), a silk scarf depicting three monkeys serves as the central piece of evidence. The three monkeys are often depicted on the covers of various editions of this book.

In the repertoire of the American group Sparks There is a song called “Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil.”

[...]
Hear no evil (Monkey 1 says you shouldn't hear it)
See no evil (Monkey 2 says you shouldn't see it)
Speak no evil (Monkey 3 says you shouldn't speak it)
[...]

Skeleton-like character, mascot mascot, adorning the album covers and posters of the American thrash metal band Megadeth, with his own name Vic Rattlehead ( Vic Rattlehead) is depicted with his eyes covered with a steel plate, his ears plugged with some metal objects, and his mouth tied with steel hooks.

Citizens of the ex-USSR know one of the variants of the name of the composition with three monkeys from the song “I See Nothing” by Oscar Feltsman and Lev Oshanin, which is included in the epigraph of this article. The song is popular in performances Tamara Miansarova ( Madeleine Albright), known for wearing brooches containing symbolic messages for interlocutors or audiences, wore a brooch with the image of three monkeys to a meeting with Vladimir Putin in 2000, as a sign of her attitude to the situation in Chechnya.

Politicians are often depicted as three monkeys different countries in the cartoons: the authorities are deaf and blind to the aspirations of the people and are prone to hushing up problems.

Literature

• About three monkeys Japanese:
  中牧弘允 ISBN 4885915449
• On parallels with three monkeys in world religious and philosophical teachings:
  virgo_splendens Lectures on the Three Monkeys. Con. October - beginning November 2012
• About the three monkeys in netsuke:
  All about netsuke. Mythological subjects/Comp. S. Yu. Afonkin. St. Petersburg: SZKEO Crystal LLC, 2006.-160 p., ill. ISBN 5-9603-0057-5
• About three monkeys in the design of traditional Japanese edged weapons:
  Skralivetsky E. B. Tsuba are legends in metal. - St. Petersburg: Atlant Publishing House LLC, 2005.-328 p.: ill. ISBN 5-98655-015-3
• About the Taoist influence on Japanese beliefs and art, including the origin of the Koshin cult and the connection of the three monkeys with it
  Uspensky M.V. On the question of the role of Taoism in Japanese folk beliefs (based on materials from miniature Japanese sculpture of the 17th-19th centuries). Sat. Art and religion. Scientific works of the State University. – L.: Art, 1981, p. 59-75
• About the teachings of Confucius: any edition of Lun Yu (exists in many translations), for example:
  Confucius. Aphorisms and sayings.-M. LLC "House of Slavic Book", 2010.-320 p. ISBN 978-5-91503-117-2

It is believed that this proverb came to Japan from China in the 8th century, as part of Tendai Buddhist philosophy. It represents three dogmas that symbolize worldly wisdom. The carved monkey panel is only one small part of a larger series of panels at Tosho-gu Shrine.

There are 8 panels in total, which represent the “Code of Conduct” developed by the famous Chinese philosopher Confucius. A similar phrase appears in the collection of sayings of the philosopher “Lun Yu” (“Analects of Confucius”). Only in the edition, dating back to approximately the 2nd - 4th centuries AD, it sounded a little different: “Do not look at what is contrary to decency; do not listen to what is contrary to decency; do not say anything that is contrary to decency; do not do anything that is contrary to decency.” It is possible that this is an original phrase that was shortened after it appeared in Japan.

The monkeys on the carved panel are Japanese macaques, which are very common in the Land of the Rising Sun. On the panel, monkeys sit in a row, the first one covers its ears with its paws, the second closes its mouth, and the third is carved with its eyes closed.

Monkeys are commonly known as "see no, hear no, speak no" monkeys, but in fact, they have their own names. The monkey who covers his ears is called Kikazaru, the one who covers his mouth is Iwazaru, and Mizaru closes his eyes.

The names are likely a play on words, as they all end in "zaru", which is the Japanese word for monkey. The second meaning of this word is “to leave,” that is, each word can be interpreted as a phrase aimed at evil.

Together, this composition in Japanese is called “Sambiki-Saru”, i.e. “Three Mystical Monkeys”. Sometimes a fourth monkey named Shizaru is added to the famous trio, who represents the principle of “do no evil.” It is worth noting that according to the generally accepted opinion, Shizaru was added much later in the souvenir industry, only for commercial purposes.

Monkeys represent the approach to life in the Shinto and Koshin religions. Historians believe that the symbol of the three monkeys is approximately 500 years old, however, some argue that similar symbolism was spread in Asia by Buddhist monks, originating in the ancient Hindu tradition. Photographs of monkeys can be seen on ancient Koshin scrolls, at which time the Tosho-gu Shrine, where the famous panel is located, was erected as a sacred building for Shinto believers.

Contrary to popular belief that the three monkeys originated in China, "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" sculptures and paintings are unlikely to be found in any country other than Japan. The oldest kosin monument to feature monkeys was built in 1559, but it only features one monkey, not three.

Some netsuke depict Sambiki-sara - three monkeys, each of which covers either its mouth, ears or eyes with its paws. This plot is an illustration of the Buddhist idea of ​​“see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil.” In Japan, it is associated with the main Shinto shrine of the Japanese - Toshogu Shrine. It is located in the city of Nikko and is the mausoleum of the all-powerful feudal ruler of Japan, commander and shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa (1543-1616). Having seized power in the country, he stopped the bloody feudal strife that had tormented Japan until that time. After his death, the magnificent mausoleum, the construction of which lasted from November 1634 to April 1636, became a kind of symbol of submission to the central government. The exorbitant costs of building the temple weakened the financial possibilities local feudal lords that they could no longer plot intrigues against the institution of the shogunate.

Toshogu includes the small but magnificently decorated Sacred Stable building. At one time it contained a horse, which, according to Shinto beliefs, was ridden by the gods themselves. In medieval Japan, the monkey was considered a kind of guardian spirit of horses. It is not surprising that the walls of the Sacred Stable are covered with openwork wood carvings, the main subjects of which are figures of monkeys. One of the central panels depicts three monkeys demonstrating their rejection of evil by their poses. These half-meter figures are widely known throughout Japan as the “Three Monkeys of Nikko.”

It is curious that in Japanese the phrase “see nothing, hear nothing, say nothing” sounds like “mizaru, kikazaru, iwazaru.” The Japanese word for "monkey" sounds similar to the ending of each of these three verbs - "zaru" or "zaru". Therefore, the image of monkeys, illustrating the Buddhist idea of ​​​​the rejection of evil, is the result of a peculiar play on words in Japanese iconography. Netsuke masters often reflected this theme in their works.

Three Mystical Monkeys with closed eyes, ears and mouth mean the following: “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.”

The question is complex and ambiguous. First, one should distinguish between the monkeys themselves and the three prohibitions they symbolize (not to see, not to hear and not to speak). Denial prohibitions are older than monkeys and their traces can be found in various religious and philosophical teachings of the world, in the most ancient literary works, in the culture of many peoples, see for example the category with parallels to the symbolism of the three monkeys in our Dictionary. It is impossible to determine any single center; it seems that three negations exist everywhere and always. Three monkeys are a different matter. There are several hypotheses for the origin of the symbolism of the three monkeys. It seems to us that the most probable and confirmed theory is about the Japanese homeland of the symbol. Culturally within the Ko-shin folk cult, “supervised” by the Tendai school of Buddhism, and geographically in the area of ​​Mount Hiei near the then Japanese capital of Kyoto. Japanese researchers believe that three monkeys in the form of an already established symbol were taken from the mainland - from China, but could come from other places: from India or from Ancient Egypt. There is no reliable evidence for such theories.

2. When did the three monkeys appear?

3. What are the three monkeys called?

Most likely, you are interested in the name of the composition of three monkeys “in the original”. If the "original" comes from Japan, should the name be Japanese? This may disappoint you, but in Japanese the three monkeys are called "three monkeys", 三猿, which is read as [san'en] or [sanzaru], and more literally 三匹の猿 [sambiki-no-saru]. Each of the monkeys has its own name: does not see 見ざる [mizaru], does not hear 聞かざる [kikazaru], and does not speak 言わざる [iwazaru]. IN English the names are more varied: “no evil monkeys”, “three wise monkeys”, etc. Wisdom sounds both in French - singes de la sagesse (“wise monkeys”), and in -Spanish – tres monos sabios (“three wise monkeys”). Only the Dutch distinguished themselves: the traditional name for such a composition is horen, zien en zwijgen (hear, see and be silent). Apparently in Dutch the three monkeys are combined with an independently existing close expression (cf. Audi, vide, tace). In India, the three monkeys are called “Gandhi’s monkeys” (it was Mahatma Gandhi who introduced monkeys to Hindus). In the Russian language there are no stable names: simply “three monkeys”, a borrowing from the Japanese “sambiki-saru”, a copy of the English “three wise monkeys”, and more often just words from the song “I see nothing, hear nothing, nothing to anyone” I won’t tell.”

4. Why is everyone going crazy about these monkeys? What do monkeys even mean?

It’s probably easier to start answering from the second part of the question. Monkeys have many meanings and everyone sees them differently. This may be an ethical symbol, remember Confucius: a noble husband is obliged to set limits for himself. The American understanding of symbolism is close to this: three monkeys do not see, do not hear and do not utter evil, obviously protecting good. Three monkeys can serve as a kind of talisman, a security amulet, protecting the owner from severe punishment for misdeeds. Some interpretations of symbolism are summarized in our “Philosophy” section. It can be added that we have repeatedly come across the everyday interpretation that monkeys symbolize an ideal wife, and a figurine in the house protects family peace. In addition, we should not forget about aesthetics. The image of three monkeys is a funny and exotic interior decoration. And here is the time to answer the first part of the question. Monkeys are popular because they are funny. In almost all cultures, a monkey is considered a parody of a person; human traits are reflected in it, like in a distorting mirror. Monkeys are understandable without words in any culture and at the same time allegorically carry a certain message, and the mystery always arouses interest.

5. What is the correct order of the three monkeys?

It is enough to look at any collection of images with three monkeys to understand that there is no exemplary order. Take, for example, the most famous monkeys in the world from Japanese Nikko, there from left to right: hear-speak-see, and such an order is rarely found. We can only name the most popular order for English-speaking and Western European countries: hear-see-speak, but in the post-Soviet space, monkeys often follow the Soviet song: see-hear-speak.