Kodama Inspired Work

I had no idea how much people like these little tree spirits...I do have to admit they are very cute.
I am wanting to use these little Kodamas to make some sort of design for furniture or maybe a tshirt....anyhow here is my inspiration...

The first one reminds me a little of a famous artist know for his graffiti. Banksy is well know for his graffiti, but he usually has some sort of message.  

 

 Here is even an example of a tattoo of a Kodama. I would potentially consider some skin art myself only I would use the little kodama from the last picture.

Maybe even a Kodama themed bag set...or a blanket or something....these little tree spirits get so much attention I've got to do something.

Princess Mononoke - What is a Kodama? What is a mononoke?

Prince Ashitaka

In ancient times, the land lay covered in forests, where, from ages long past, dwelt the spirits of the gods. Back then, man and beast lived in harmony, but as time went by, most of the great forests were destroyed. Those that remained were guarded by gigantic beasts who owed their allegiances to the Great Forest Spirit, for those were the days of gods and of demons.

I have watched this movie time and time again to see if I could understand why it was called Princess Mononoke....but since the phrase was only refereed to once in Iron Town by the lady and the prince. I decided I would do some investigating to try and learn the whole story. First question for me to find was what in the world was a mononoke?

Mononoke - apparently a mononoke is a general term used to describe "a spirit of a thing" any sort of thing...an object or a monster or even a dead person. Usually the prisit of a bad or unfortunate unexplainable thing...so naturally the people of Iron town would consider San a spirit of something bad. The wolf girl is continuously trying to ambush and destroy Lady Eboshi, because the lady is trying to destroy the forest where the great forest spirit lives...so basically anything bad that happens is caused by malicious mononoke.
If you keep up with a Studio Ghibli you will notice that a Totoro is also a sort of a mononoke.

Forest God

 The Forest God may be considered a Mononoke...this god has the ability to give life and take life as he chooses.

Forest God

As he walks plants grow, but when he leaves
the plants wilt and die.

Kodama

Kodama -actually means "echo" but a literal meaning for the word is "tree spirit"...but because of the language it was written in could possibly translate into small ball or small spirit. If a kodama appears in front of you it is a sign of good luck and that the forest is healthy. In the movie Princess Mononoke there are literally thousands of these little spirits hanging around a great big tree. Kodama have the ability to turn transparent at will.
However some believe the kodama will lead the real forest spirit, a huge deer with a human face, right to them...

Princess Mononoke - Kodama

Princess Mononoke - kodama

Kodama

Forest Spirits

Prince Ashitaka and Kodama

Princess Mononoke - My favorite characters called Kodama

Princess Mononoke

"I have come to see with eyes unclouded by hate."

-Prince Ashitaka






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This is my all time favorite Studio Ghibli films. The main idea here is the greed of humans to kill off whatever is in the way in order to make a profit.

The movie starts with a young man riding a red elk in a hidden rural village. Apparently there is something wrong happening, but we don't know what. The prince goes to investigate and finds a demon about to attack his village. The prince distracts the demon from attacking some young villagers and in return he gets touched by this beast and is cursed. The curse begins to eat away at his skin and will eventually consume his soul. The village elders gather to try and help the prince decide what he must do. He cuts off his top knot and leaves his peaceful village forever in search of some cure. He begins to travel west and eventually he meets up with an odd traveler (Billy bob Thornton) who leads the prince to Iron Town.
 

The leader of the iron town is a malicious woman bent on world domination. She has taken a bunch of brothel women and people stricken by leprosy. The women pump the bellows to smelt iron and the lepers engineered guns that would use the iron retrieved from the nearby mountain.
There once were many large animals that would protect the forest that grew on the mountain, but the lady slowly killed them all.

Watch the movie if you really want to know what happens.
Anyhow my favorite part of the movie is when we get to see these little spirits called Kodama.






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