Many of the characters seen in Dragon Ball were inspired by pop or traditional culture. It’s well known that Goku was inspired by the Monkey King from Journey to the West, as well as martial arts actor Jackie Chan. Likewise, there are characters throughout the series who were visibly inspired by the Terminator and Aliens films.

But not all of the characters’ points of origin are as easy to see.

In this article I will reveal for the first time the original inspiration for Kame Sennin.

You’ll learn who Kume Sennin is, hear his legend, and see how his transformation into a Japanese pop cultural figure was later emulated in cinema and then once again by Toriyama in Dragon Ball.

You’ll also learn why this legend is so essential to the Dragon Ball story, and how it’s so well integrated that you may never have realized it.

Who is Kume Sennin?

Who is Kume Sennin and how is he related to Kame Sennin?

First let me briefly describe the Japanese term, “Sennin.”

Sennin (仙人, or せんにん) translates as “Mountain Man,” but generally refers to hermits, sages, or immortals who live alone in the wilderness. The term comes directly from Chinese Daoism, where the equivalent Xianren (仙人) originates.

Daoists were known for leaving society behind, with all its illusions and false concepts, and turning to nature in order to unlock supernormal powers, become one with the Dao and attain immortality. They usually lived alone or at most with a few disciples.

Since they lived on mountains, rivers, and islands, “Xianren” was coined to describe these people. The Japanese inherited the Daoist and Buddhist concepts from China, and transliterated the term as “Sennin.”

Kume Sennin (久米仙人) was one of these Daoists who chose to live in the wilderness and cultivate his heart.

From the results of his cultivation he gained the ability to fly on a magic cloud, just like Kame Sennin’s Kinto’un in Dragon Ball, known in the American dub as the Flying Nimbus.

In traditional Chinese culture, people that could fly through the air, such as Buddhist or Daoist deities or powerful cultivators, were illustrated as having clouds underneath their feet. It was believed these people could travel extremely quickly along the skies or mists, or teleport through space and time.

Sun Wukong’s magic cloud in Journey to the West (late 16^th century) is based on these beliefs, and therefore so is Goku’s Kinto’un in Dragon Ball.

Everybody attributes Goku’s magic cloud to Sun Wukong. But it actually goes farther back than that. Much farther back.

As you may remember, Goku was not the first to own the Kinto’un.

Kume Sennin’s Legend

Kume Sennin’s legend is recounted in classical works, such as Book 11:24 of Konjaku Monogotari (今昔物語集) a 12^th century collection of Buddhist Parables, and Essay 8 of Tsuregurekusa (徒然草), a collection of thoughts on life by the Buddhist monk Yoshida Kenko (1283 – 1352).

The legend says that Kume was traveling on his cloud when he suddenly noticed a young woman near a river washing her clothes. He curiously watched the woman and unexpectedly caught a glimpse of her white leg under her raised kimono.

Kume’s mind became filled with desire and he immediately lost the ability to fly. Heavy with lustful thoughts, Kume fell to the earth and crashed in front of the lady!

Smitten, Kume chose to marry the maiden. They made love for many years and started a family. Yet one day Kume realized the error of his ways, repented and set off to achieve the ultimate goal of immortality all over again.

According to the legend, Kume worked hard to redeem himself, regained his powers, and built (or inspired the building of) Kumedera Temple (久米寺)in Kashiara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. This temple dates back to the time of Prince Shotoku Taishi (574 – 622 AD) and still exists today.  This tells us that the Kume legend goes back at least 1,400 years.

Kume’s legend is well known in Japan, and his story has been considered part of pop culture for centuries, just like Journey to the West, the primary inspiration for Dragon Ball.

The Perverted Sennin’s

Kume Sennin was not the first Sennin to fall prey to temptations of the flesh. The lesson of his story was most likely inherited from China, along with other Buddho-Daoist beliefs.

Certain types of Sennin in China also had the dubious reputation of being lustful because of their infamously detailed sexual practices involving “Jade Girls.” The Sennin’s believed that through ritual sex acts these young virgins could help transform their “vital essence” into immortality elixirs.

Since this culture and concept of ‘perverted Sennin’ already existed, and because Kume’s legend existed for so long and was so popular in society, I surmise that his tale, along with similar stories, became synonymous with a certain type of Sennin in general. A type that is, shall we say, weak to women.

That means alongside the classical “8 Daoist Immortals” that were found in homes and worshipped with deep respect, there was also this type of Sennin, a lecherous old man who was always looking for his next young lady.

In other words, even if they had special magic powers and could perform amazing feats, this type of Sennin became a joke.

Kume Sennin’s legend was an iconic example, and it took root in Japanese folklore.

Thus these Sennin became common, formulaic characters.

The Cinema Influences Toriyama

By now you may be starting to see where this is headed in relation to Kame Sennin, but it gets even more interesting.

When Akira Toriyama decided to create Dragon Ball, did he receive all his inspiration for Kame Sennin’s character from this classic legend, or was there something else that played a role?

Consider for a moment that Toriyama was born in 1955 and was a huge fan of cinema, both domestic and abroad.

In 1963 a major cinematic feature was released in Japan called Dai Tozoku (大盗賊, The Great Bandit) known internationally as Samurai Pirate and in America as The Lost World of Sinbad.

Dai Tozoku was developed by Toho Co., Ltd., the makers of Godzilla (ゴジラ, Gojira) and other giant monster movies, Akira Kurosawa samurai films, and many Tokusatsu superhero films; All of which Toriyama has cited as inspirations for Dragon Ball. Toriyama grew up watching Toho’s movies, and they greatly affected his later work.

This particular action adventure film stars Samurai film legend Toshiro Mifune as Sukeza, a brave man who fights to regain his lost treasure from pirates and defeat a corrupt chancellor trying to overthrow the king. Along the way he meets many companions, including bandits, a princess, and a nameless Sennin.

This Sennin looks and acts shockingly similar to Kame Sennin in Dragon Ball. He’s an old Japanese man with no hair, a classic white beard and mustache, dressed in traditional Chinese hermit clothing and carrying a staff. The stereotypical Sennin outfit, actually. He also smokes from a long pipe and is missing several teeth.

When Sukeza encounters him for the first time, it’s on a beach, with the Sennin sitting in front of a giant clam shell. Sukeza says, “Who the hell are you?” The Sennin replies, “My ancestor was Kume Sennin! Haven’t you heard of him?!” Sukeza says, “Oh, it’s the man who fell to earth from the clouds when he saw a nude woman, isn’t it?” The Sennin smiles slightly and says, “That’s right. That’s the weakness that has run in my family for generations.”

The Sennin stands up to follow Sukeza, and as he crosses a bridge he sees a beautiful woman washing her clothes in a nearby river, copying the story of Kume Sennin. The camera zooms in on the woman’s cleavage and then cuts back to the widened eyes of the Sennin (just like a scene out of Dragon Ball). He becomes stiff as a board, facing the woman at a sharp 45 degree angle, as if his whole body were erect.

The Sennin suddenly screams as he realizes he’s fallen into the trap of lust. Sukeza runs back to help him, but the Sennin regains his composure and says, “Hey, don’t look at me with such contempt. It’s the blood of my ancestor at work.”

He tells Sukeza, “There are different classes of Sennin, you know. When my ancestor fell from the clouds tempted by a woman, he was demoted from the Heaven Sennin class to the Earth Sennin class. Since then, the Sennin of Kume family have devoted our lives to being promoted back to the original Heaven class.” He then sits down and crosses his legs in the full lotus meditation position. “To make up for the mistake I’ve just made, I need to train for three days.”

Like other Sennin’s, this Sennin has mighty powers. He has the ability to transform into a fly or even into other people, just like how Oolong and Puar can transform in Dragon Ball. Once, while transformed as a fly, he purposefully landed on top of a woman’s breasts in order to do some “research.” Keep that point in mind as we continue.

And to make the comparison to Dragon Ball even stronger, the Sennin fights against an evil old witch named Baba.

That’s right, Baba the Witch. She’s a fortune teller who performs magic and can fly, just like Kame Sennin’s older sister, Fortuneteller Baba (占いババ, Urunai Baba), the witch in Dragon Ball. Baba the Witch in Dai Tozoku looks somewhat similar to and even talks like Fortuneteller Baba. In Dragon Ball she’s made more comedic by wearing a stereotypical witches hat, but otherwise these two Baba the Witch characters are strikingly similar.

There are a lot of other similarities between Dragon Ball and Dai Tozoku, such as bandits, Sun Wukong’s giant red staff, and more, but that will have to wait for another post.

Suffice to say it’s my belief that Toriyama must have seen this movie as a child and was heavily influenced by it.

Toriyama had always been into comics, fantasy, animation, giant monster movies and action adventure films. He grew up on these films and soaked up their influences like a sponge. Dai Tozoku was a blockbuster with well known stars and cutting edge special effects. Since he was 11 years old at the time, it seems very likely that he would have seen this movie and then later used it as inspiration in his comics.

In this case, to create Kame Sennin.

How Was Kame Sennin Created?

This is conjecture, but I can very easily imagine the following scenario when Toriyama was creating Kame Sennin.

Toriyama had read Journey to the West and wanted to create a similar story, as advised by his first editor, Kazuhiko Torishima. He had already turned Sun Wukong into Son Goku and now he needed a “master” character like Subodhi, who taught Sun Wukong the sacred arts, in order to teach Son Goku the higher level martial arts.

Just like Subodhi, he had to be a hermit who possessed mystical Buddho-Daoist powers. But because Toriyama is such a comedic fellow, he didn’t want him to be exactly like Subodhi, as that would be too boring. Subodhi was rather strict and unkind.

So instead he based him on Kume Sennin, the well known pop culture figure. By doing so, Toriyama would be free to make all the funny, perverted jokes that he loves so much.

But a direct clone of Kume would be boring as well, as he’d have to stick too close to the already established model. So he changed one letter and turned Kume to Kame.

The name made perfect sense. Daoist Sennin’s always had some type of unique characteristic or single animal familiar anyway, such as a fish, ox, toad, donkey or dragon, so basing him on turtle’s (亀, Kame) was a nice coincidence. Turtle’s also have great significance in East Asian culture, so it would serve as a rich source of ideas and symbols. For example, long life and immortality, which is what Kame Sennin exemplifies.

Like many of Toriyama’s creations, Kame Sennin fit within traditional culture while still being outlandish and funny.

It was also easier for his young audience to understand, since they could relate Kame Sennin with Kume Sennin.

Who is Kame Sennin?

Let’s take a moment to look at Kame Sennin (亀仙人, the Turtle Hermit), otherwise known as Muten Roshi (武天老師, or Master Roshi) and see how he compares to Kume Sennin.

As we all know, Kame Sennin is the old perverted master of martial arts that lives on Kame Island in the Kame House. Like other Sennin’s, he lives alone except for his acquaintance, Turtle (海亀, Umigame), a slow yet honest talking sea turtle that comedically represents his Sennin familiar.

Kame Sennin is very much a cross cultural creation. He teaches the boys martial arts in a Zen Buddhist style of self comprehension amidst physical suffering. Meanwhile, he dresses like a Daoist Taiji master when fighting or teaching. He knows Taiji Chuan and Chinese boxing styles, and helps strengthen his disciples’ ability to use Ki (Qi). On top of that, he emulates Jackie Chan as Jackie Chun, a traditional Chinese martial arts film star. He’s a mix of Buddhist, Daoist, Chinese and Japanese.

Kame Sennin is an immortal. It’s never explained exactly how he became immortal, but he is over 300 years old by the time Goku meets him as a child, and he never ages during the progression of the story.

Visually, like Kume Sennin, Kame Sennin is a bald man with a classic white beard and mustache, and carries a classic Daoist style Chinese staff. Like the Sennin from Dai Tozoku, he occasionally smokes from a long pipe and is missing several teeth.

Kame Sennin sometimes wears traditional Chinese clothing, but the first time he’s introduced he’s humorously wearing a modern tropical Islands shirt, shorts, flip flop sandals and a pair of sunglasses. Not the typical Sennin outfit you would expect a great master to be wearing!

This is Toriyama’s comedic style at work. A fusion of cultures across different time periods.

Let’s now turn our attention to the bigger links between the two.

Kame Sennin’s Magic Cloud

Just like Kume Sennin, Kame Sennin has a magic cloud, which he calls the Kinto’un (筋斗雲), and which shares similar Kanji to the one in Journey to the West, where it’s called the “Somersault Cloud.”

Kame Sennin is unable to ride the cloud, because like his predecessor Kume Sennin, his thoughts are impure and heavy, licentious and perverted.

In chapter 4 of the manga , Kame Sennin decides to thank Goku and Bulma for saving Turtle’s life (in the previous chapter), by giving Goku a gift.

He says, “COME TO ME, IMMORTAL PHOENIX!!!”

But nothing comes.

Turtle says, “Umm… the immortal phoenix died of food poisoning.”

Kame Sennin says, “Really?! Oh yeah, now that you mention it…”

Bulma asks, “It died even though it’s immortal…?”

Kame Sennin continues, “Hmmm… I was planning on summoning the immortal phoenix and granting you eternal life… Alright! Instead of that I’ll give you this…!”

“COME TO ME!!! KINTO’UN!!!”

Off in the distance a puffy cloud appears in the sky and with super speed zips toward the group. It stops on a dime in front of them.

Goku asks, “How do I eat it?” Kame Sennin responds, “Don’t eat my treasured cloud!!!”

Bulma says, “But why do YOU have this cloud? It has nothing to do with turtles…” He says, “It’s unbecoming of children to pay attention to such details…”

He tells Goku that it can be used to fly in the sky, but that “Only those with a pure heart can ride on Kinto’un!”

Kame Sennin tries to show him how to do it, jumping with both feet above the cloud. But he falls right through and hits the sand below!

“ARRRRGGGGH, m-my back!!!” Turtle asks, “A-are you alright? “Wh-what happened…?” Bulma points and laughs. Kame Sennin says, “Mumu… th-that’s strange…”

Goku jumps on top and becomes happy. “Yaaaay, I can ride it, I can ride it!!!” He then zooms around on the cloud at breakneck speeds, performing loop-de-loops in the air as if he already had years of experience.

Since Kame Sennin can’t ride the cloud anyway, he offers it to Goku as a gift. But then Bulma asks for a gift too.

Kame Sennin says, “Unfortunately there is only one Kinto’un. But I can give you something else in its place…….. As long as… y… you… SHOW ME YOUR PANTIES FIRST!!”

Turtle screams at him, “HOW CAN A SENNIN LIKE YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!”

He responds, “WH-WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?! Even Sennin’s want to see some panties once in a while!!!”

Turtle says, “Now I know why you couldn’t ride Kinto’un…” Kame Sennin glares at him, “SILENCE!!”

Bulma is shy, but decides to lift up her dress and show her panties in exchange for another great gift. Unfortunately for her, she wasn’t aware that Goku had innocently taken the panties off of her while she slept, just out of curiosity to see if she had boy parts like he does.

That means Kame Sennin and Turtle got an eyeful of the goods!

As a result, blood shoots out of Kame Sennin’s nose! Why? In manga this signifies that a man has an erection. The blood pressure becomes so high that it literally shoots out of their nose! It’s the same idea as the Sennin in Dai Tozoku standing erect at a 45 degree angle, but much more pronounced and visual.

In exchange, Bulma requests his Dragon Ball, the Three Star ball.

Kame Sennin gives it to her and then thinks to himself, “I should’ve brought my camera…”

He hops on to Turtle and rides back to his Island. He says to Turtle. “Wow, I still can’t believe what I saw today… I’m gonna live a long life!”

It’s as if Kame Sennin is implying his life is going to be extended because he saw Bulma’s naked body. Toriyama is basically presenting a child-like version of what the Daoist Sennin in China sought after, with their virgin “Jade Girls.” That is, the immortal elixir created by invigoration of their own “vital essence.”

Since the source of Kame Sennin’s immortality is never explained, perhaps this is how he became immortal in the first place!

And perhaps that is why he’s always looking for more pretty girls.

A Pure Heart and a Dirty Heart

Why was Goku able to ride the Kinto’un, while Kame Sennin was not?

Goku was pure hearted and simple minded, so the cloud supported him.

The ultimate goal of Daoism is to return to your original, true self. To return to the simple, pure hearted nature that we have as children, what Daoists refer to as, “The Uncarved Block.” Goku was already at this state, so he was able to ride the cloud.

Kame Sennin obviously no longer met that standard.

Consider the following question. Why would Kame Sennin have a flying cloud that he can’t ride?

To answer that, we also have to ask, how did Kame Sennin receive the Kinto’un in the first place?

It’s not explicitly shown, but it’s mentioned he got it from Karin, the Senbyō (仙猫, Hermit Cat or Immortal Cat) that lives in Karin Tower, the midway point between earth and Kami’s Lookout. Note that Senbyō and Sennin share the same first character, both referring to their hermit like nature.

Kame Sennin climbed up the impossibly tall Karin Tower, doing something that few people were ever strong enough to do. He also defeated Karin in combat and acquired the Super Holy Water. We are then led to believe that Karin gave it to him as a reward.

Why is this likely? Because in the original Dragon Ball series we see that Goku receives his own Kinto’un from Karin after performing the same feats. He had to replace the one that Kame Sennin gave him because it was killed by Piccolo Daimao’s child, Tambourine, a member of the Mazoku (Demon Clan).

Karin gave the Kinto’un to Goku because of his purity of heart and great inner qualities. That is the requirement for receiving it and also riding it.

Karin’s primary responsibility is to prevent the unworthy from going higher up and meeting Kami. The Kinto’un is unable to take a person higher than Karin’s Tower. To go higher, you need the Nyoibo staff that connects the top of Karin Tower to the bottom of Kami’s Lookout. But to even get the Kinto’un you first have to prove to Karin that you are pure of heart.

How did Kame Sennin ever get it? As a young man while training under Master Mutaito (alongside Tsuru Sennin (Crane Hermit)) he was already chasing after women and peeking at them through the bushes. Why would Karin give it to him if he was impure and couldn’t ride it?

The most likely reason is that at some point in his long life Kame Sennin climbed the tower, cultivated a pure heart and received the cloud from Karin. Karin tells Goku that it took Kame Sennin 3 whole years to defeat him. It took that much time to purify his heart and calm his mind.

Then later in his life he became licentious all over again, falling to the earth just like Kume Sennin!

Makes sense when you consider the inspiration for his character, doesn’t it? He cultivated well, received the blessings, then became lustful and lost his powers.

We never once get to see Kame Sennin ride the cloud that he rightfully earned.

But unlike Kume Sennin, Kame Sennin did not renew his cultivation. He stayed on his Island, living in comfort, watching the exercise girls on TV and reading pornographic magazines.

As a lonely old man unable to let go of his attachments, he continued to chase after every pretty girl he could find, for the rest of his life.

Forever alone.

Pervy Sage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MswXUj1UoCc

Kume Sennin’s story represents a transition point between showing immortals in a respectful way and showing immortals in a lustful and comical way. I surmise that over time, perhaps centuries, this then created a formulaic concept of Daoist Sennin’s being dirty old men who live in the wilderness and chase after pretty girls.

Meanwhile, Japan had a long history of slightly risqué art, depicting men peeking at women from a distance, or seeing underneath their skirts.

Toriyama then took these two humorous concepts to the extreme (as he tends to do) and made Kame Sennin, a blatantly lecherous immortal.

Kame Sennin is now such an iconic character that I would argue he is one of the most well known manga and anime characters of all time. Definitely not the most popular, but certainly well known. He is the martial arts master of Son Goku, after all.

Kame Sennin represents all the perverted, dirty old men of the world who also happen to be martial arts masters!

Of course there may not be many of those in real life, but just as Kume Sennin was iconic enough to inspire the creation of Kame Sennin, Kame Sennin was iconic enough to inspire the creation of Gama Sennin.

Who is Gama Sennin?

Toriyama’s Dragon Ball directly inspired manga author Masashi Kishimoto to create the Naruto series of Manga, often described as the spiritual successor to Dragon Ball. In Naruto, he created a character just like Kame Sennin, known as Gama Sennin (蝦蟇仙人, The Frog Hermit), also known as Jiraiya. And the titular character Naruto is a lot like Goku.

Toriyama’s influence on Kishimoto was profound, as Kishimoto has even stated that, “Toriyama is like a god to me.”

Kishimito, just like Toriyama, mined traditional Japanese legends for inspiration of his characters, while also having modern influences.

Going back in time to traditional culture, the Gama Sennin in Naruto was directly inspired by a 10^th century Sennin alchemist who learned the secrets of Immortality from a 3 legged toad. Like the Kame Sennin legend, Jiraiya is also the name of another Japanese legend, called Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari (The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya), a man who was a master shape shifting ninja associated with toads. He was one of three master ninja’s, the other two being Tsunade (associated with snails / slugs) and Orochimaru (associated with snakes). Together they made up the Sannin (Three Ninja’s). The giant toads and ninjutsu techniques in Naruto are a representation of his ancient background and Sennin powers.

In the modern sense, Naruto’s Jiraiya is directly inspired by Toriyama’s Kame Sennin, as a dirty old man who chases skirts, gropes women whenever he has the chance, and ogle’s girls from a distance through his telescope. Jiraiya takes Naruto on “research” expeditions, which involve hanging out at brothels, or peeking at women through the bushes, like Kame Sennin did as a young man, and like Kume Sennin’s descendent depicted in Dai Tozoku.

Jiraiya’s licentious ways are so obvious that Naruto gives him the nickname Ero Sennin, translated as “Perverted Hermit,” or the shorter, “Pervy Sage.”

Pervy Sage is now a term all its own, and refers to these types of formulaic characters: The super powerful old man who can kick butt and dispense wisdom, but also has an inherent weakness for the ladies.

These characters, Kame Sennin from Dragon Ball and Gama Sennin from Naruto, are regarded as two of the most iconic pervy sage’s in Japanese pop culture. They define the term.

After reading this article you can now see they had a predecessor in Kume Sennin. And the interplay between the three offers a fascinating look into ancient and modern Japanese culture.

A Popular Legend, Retold

Why was Kume Sennin a popular tale for thousands of years? Because he was a mystical, yet perverted hermit who finds redemption.

Kame Sennin is also a super powerful being who is human yet has relatable flaws. Plus he’s endearingly funny.

Successful in their cultivation or not, both of these perverted Sennin had this weakness of the heart and were relatable to the human condition.

Kume Sennin was an iconic Japanese Sennin figure, even though the majority of Sennin were inherited from the Chinese. And just like Journey to the West, where in Japan it became known as Saiyuki (西遊記) and received Japanese flavor, Kume Sennin was the Japanese representation of Chinese traditional culture and Buddho-Daoist beliefs. A cross cultural Chinese Daoist figure written about by Japanese Buddhist monks. That is to say, Chinese culture with Japanese characteristics.

Kame Sennin represents the same mix.

Let’s trace the path of inspiration. Ancient cultural beliefs in spiritual cultivation via Buddha and Dao led to Kume Sennin and Journey to the West. Then for Toriyama, Journey to the West’s Sun Wukong led to Son Goku, and its’ Subodhi figure led to Kume Sennin, which led to Kame Sennin. This then led Kishimoto to Toriyama’s Dragon Ball, which finally led to Naruto and Gama Sennin.

In all three cases the dirty old man became an iconic figure, and in all three stories the legend became popular among the masses.

The Kume Sennin story is extremely popular. The Kame Sennin story is extremely popular. The Game Sennin story is extremely popular.

Maybe the secret to success is being a dirty old man.

Returning to the Way and Ascending

The Kume Sennin legend tells of a man who achieved great heights, stumbled, and then found the Way again.

His legend shows the dangers of lustfulness, revealing that it will weigh you down in illusion and prevent you from rising to higher levels. It also shows the moral importance of remaining virtuous and returning to your true calling.

Unfortunately Kame Sennin was unable to do this. He fell down and stayed down, basically giving up on his cultivation after attaining immortality. He was undisciplined and succumbed to comfort and pleasure. Routinely failing the test of lust, he stayed fixed at the same level for the rest of his life.

Goku on the other hand, never had this problem. This is why he surpassed his master so quickly. Simply by being a pure hearted little boy, he did what Kame Sennin could not.

In the end of Kume Sennin’s story, he leaves his wife and kids behind. He decides that his own cultivation is more important. Through this action he lives up to the standard of a dedicated cultivator of those times. He cut his ties to the mundane world and let go of his attachments.

As harsh as that may sound, from a traditional cultivation perspective it was the right thing to do for his own salvation. He had to let go of sentimentality for family in order to escape from the cycle of life and death. All attachments had to be eliminated.

Goku, just like Kume Sennin, flies on a magical cloud, has supernormal abilities, and fell into the mundane world as he was essentially pushed into marriage by Chi-Chi.

Yet Goku is ultimately more focused on his own cultivation than he is on his wife and children. He prefers to train and refine his abilities rather than play the role of a family man. He fulfills some of his familial responsibilities, but at his core it’s not what drives him and truly makes him happy.

I honestly think that Goku would be happier living alone as a hermit, maybe with a single disciple, just like each of his martial arts masters. Goku is not concerned with staying around family for sentimental reasons. He doesn’t have that attachment. Like a true Saiyan (a true cultivator), he just wants to train. He understands that this is the purpose of his life.

In fact, this is exactly how Dragon Ball Z ends, with Goku finding his one disciple, Uub, among all the people of the world. He tracks down the reincarnated Majin Buu, unlocks his incredible power, and then flies away with his new student, leaving all of his family and friends behind. He even gives Uub the Kinto’un, and Uub can ride it.

Goku returns to the Way that makes him truly happy. He passes the magic cloud onto the next generation, and the two of them soar off into the distance to begin their training!

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Kame Sennin and Kume Sennin – The Perverted Hermits

The Potara Earring in Dragon Ball Z

The Potara earrings are a device in Dragon Ball Z introduced near the end of the Majin Buu Saga. They allow one character to fuse together with another and increase their power level dramatically.

Everybody knows and loves them. But is there more to these simple earrings than meets the eye?

When all hope seems lost, Goku is given a Potara earring by Eldar Kai (Japanese: Rou Dai Kaioshin) that allows him to fuse with another person. They look like spherical ball earrings suspended by silver beads attached to a hoop that is placed in the earlobe.

Goku and Vegeta Fuse Together

Goku convinces Vegeta to wear one of the earrings while Goku wears the other. Immediately they are drawn to one another and their two bodies slam together, creating a new superhuman warrior.

The pair combined has the best of Vegeta’s pride and Goku’s rage, creating Vegetto, self-named after the combination of Vegeta and Kakarotto (Goku’s birth given Saiyan name).

According to Kanzentai.com, in The Super Exciting Guide: Story Volume, “On p.63 it describes the Potara fusion as being closer to multiplication rather than simple addition in the way it increases power. Supposedly, Vegetto’s battle power is equivalent to Goku’s battle power multiplied by Vegeta’s. Also according to the introduction of the Super Exciting Guide’s training section, all the information in it is based on data that was supervised by Toriyama, though we have no idea how extensive this supervision was.”

This makes Vegetto the strongest character in the entire manga.

But where did Akira Toriyama come up with the idea of Potara? What’s the story behind them?

Toriyama’s Explanation

Eldar Kai Hands Goku the Potara

In Daizenshuu 6: Movies & TV Specials guide (December 9, 1995), Toriyama is asked about the Potara in an interview.

Interviewer: “Fusion” is another way to power up, right? How was that concept born?

Toriyama: That, I think, as a concept, came out of a discussion with Katsura-kun [Masakazu Katsura, a manga creator] that ‘There is nothing stronger than Super Saiya-jin.’ We usually just fool around with each other, and he jokingly said at the time, ‘In that case, maybe the only remaining way to become stronger is to fuse together.’ I replied, ‘Hey, that’s a great idea! You do say good things sometimes. This is the first time you’ve helped me.’ (laughter) That’s how that idea was born.

The interviewer then asks him how he came up with the concept of Potara.

Toriyama: Well, that was just because fusion was being used up in the movies, and I was thinking, ‘What should I do?’ Since I had been drawing earrings, I wondered, ‘Can I use these somehow?’

Interviewer: So, you didn’t draw the earrings as a way to fuse together from the beginning?

Toriyama: Nope. They were initially just decorations.

Interviewer: Then it was a product of the circumstances.

Toriyama: I’ve long been walking such dangerous fine lines (laughter). However, when I’m cornered, my brain waves seem to sharpen, and somehow ideas start to flow. In addition, I’m good at forceful finagling (laughter).

And that’s all Toriyama is recorded as saying about the Potara’s origins. So he was drawing earring designs and decided to use them in Dragon Ball. Perhaps it was as simple as that. Many of Toriyama’s explanations for things are surprisingly simple.

But where did the word Potara come from? Toriyama does not mention this specifically.

My theory is that Potara actually has a cultural and historical origin.

Potala Palace of Tibet

Potala Palace of Lhasa, Tibet

The most likely source of the word Potara in Dragon Ball stems from the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet.

The now 13-story high Potala Palace in Lhasa was founded in 1645 AD. It served as the previous residence of many Dalai Lamas throughout history. It is the political seat of the Tibetan Government and house of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, also known as the “Yellow Hats.” The Gelug is the most politically powerful and well known of Tibetan Buddhist practices, and the Potala served as a Winter Palace for the Dalai Lama of that generation. In 1959 the Dalai Lama was forced to retreat from Tibet in response to the Chinese Communist Party’s assault. It has since been turned into a museum.

The Japanese refer to Potala as Potara. This is because in Japanese the R’s and L’s are often pronounced as opposites or both simultaneously, as a sort of R, L and D sound altogether. Other examples of this reversal in Dragon Ball include Shen Ron (instead of the Chinese Shen Long) and Porunga (instead of Polunga), the Divine Dragons that come out of the dragon balls.

Furthermore, the earrings designed by Toriyama are similar to a traditional Tibetan drop earring, which have a spherical shape embedded in a cap.

More than a Name – Dual Cultivation

A Male Tibetan Deity Holds a Female Consort

But there’s more to this theory than just a single name.

Tibetan Buddhism is an esoteric (secret) practice of Buddhism that is taught behind closed doors. It involves many ritualistic experiences of the Tantric order. One of these is known as “dual cultivation of male and female.”

This is a practice of dual cultivation, meaning that more than one person’s body is used to refine a practitioner. It is a Tantric act where two bodies become one. The male partner will hold the female in physical union. The female partner chosen is one of utmost purity, and the entire act is overseen by a master monk to ensure that the two are able to maintain their virtue and follow the ritual accordingly.

The union brings together the highest qualities of each practitioner and sends the pair into a higher state of awareness. Their enlightenment to higher states allows both of them to reach a plane of ultimate bliss.

The artistic representations of these acts are often seen in Tibetan Thangkas (Scroll paintings). They depict different male gods in physical union with female consorts. They are paintings of dual cultivation that are symbolic of the duality of the Tibetan Dharma.

The male wraps the female with his arms and holds the Bell (Female aspect) in the left hand and the Dorje (aka Vajra) (Male aspect) in the right hand. The two elements together balance the positive and negative and bring one to enlightenment. The two people essentially become one person, and with more ‘power’ than the original, as they can enter a higher level of Heaven. It is considered a sacred practice and one is that not disclosed to a lay practitioner.

Tibetan Earrings That Look Like Potara

From a Daoist perspective they would say this type of practice is one where “The Yin supplements the Yang, and the Yang supplements the Yin.”

In Dragon Ball Z anime episode 268, Goku places the earring on his left ear and Vegeta places the earring on his right. The two beings are forcefully drawn toward one another. When their bodies make contact a huge explosion of light and energy erupts from that point. Their bodies and minds fuse together and form a new being with a higher state of awareness and incalculable power that is even stronger than the gods.

At this point they are neither Goku nor Vegeta. With the voice of two beings united as one he says, “I wondered what was going to happen, but it appears as if they successfully combined together. Now then, let’s continue!”

Potaraka Island and Guan Yin

Bodhisattva Guan Yin

It is also possible that Toriyama referenced Journey to the West for this name, as the book serves as the literary wellspring from which Dragon Ball came forth. This is because in Journey to the West there is a mystical location known as Potaraka Island.

In Chapter 22 of Journey to the West, Monkey, Pig and the Tang Monk Sanzang experience difficulty in capturing the Sand Demon who guards the sandy river. Despite their best efforts at defeating the monster they still need to ask for help from Bodhisattva Guan Yin (the Buddhist Saint of Compassion).

“‘If you’re going to ask the Bodhisattva to come,’ Sanzang said, ‘don’t waste a moment, and be back as quickly as possible.’

“Monkey then somersaulted off on his cloud towards the Southern Sea, and before an hour was up he saw Potaraka Island. An instant later he landed outside the Purple Bamboo Grove, where the twenty-four devas came forward to greet him with the words, ‘Why have you come, Great Sage?’

“‘Because my master is in trouble,’ Monkey replied, ‘I have come for an audience with the Bodhisattva.’ The deva on duty that day asked Monkey to sit down while he went in to report, whereupon he went into the Tide Cave to announce that Sun Wukong was seeking an audience on business. The Bodhisattva was leaning on a balcony looking at the blossoms in the Precious Lotus Pool with the Dragon Princess Peng Zhu when she heard the news. She went back in her cloudy majesty, opening the door and summoning Monkey to her presence. The Great Sage greeted her with grave reverence.”

Jade Earrings Modeled After Potara Used for Cosplay

Outside of Journey to the West, there is a “Little Potala Palace” (Chinese: Putuo Zongchengzhi Si) in Chengde City, China, that was constructed in 1771 of the Qing Dynasty. As the largest temple of the Eight Outer Temples, the Little Potala Palace was constructed to commemorate Emperor Qianlong’s birthday. It emulates the original Potala Palace’s design.

The Little Potala Palace is also known as the Temple of the Potaraka Doctrine, as it is a Mayahana Buddhist School that studies the Fa of Bodhisattva Guan Yin.

So there is a temple in Tibet and a temple in China. But no temple in Japan named Potala. This means Toriyama most likely borrowed the word from somewhere else.

Also noteworthy is that there is a Potara in India. The Potara Kund is located in the city of Mathura in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Kund is the Hindi word for “tiny lake.” Potara Kund is a stepped red sandstone artificial water tank in which Krishna’s baby clothes were believed to be washed. Krishna is the highest level deity worshipped in India, and the Potara Kund is mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana and also the Bhagavad Gita, a Vedic tale of war and theology that recounts Krishna’s childhood.

So it’s equally possible that Toriyama found this word while researching the Vedic texts.

Conclusion

It’s unknown where Toriyama came up with the word Potara. But it is probably from one of the above named sources. The concept of dual cultivation and unification is also intriguing.

Maybe Toriyama will state the source of his inspiration one day.

In either case, now you know a little bit more about the Potara earrings.

Resources:

• http://blog.t2world.com/2009/06/potala-palace.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna
• http://www.chengdetour.com/chengde-attractions/templeofpotarakadoctrine.htm
• http://www.kanzentai.com/bp.php?id=guide
• http://monkeyking.lewisoft.net/MKW/en/journeytothewest_22.php
• http://www.tamashop.com/DragonballKaioshinPotaraEarrings.htm
• http://talesofwisdom.com/2009/07/09/an-allegory-of-cultivation-a-stubborn-water-bottle-2/
• http://www.toranahouse.com/BJthangkacat1.html

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Potara, Potala, Potaraka

Dragon Ball Z. How is it pronounced? Perhaps you never asked yourself the question, but it turns out there are a few different ways to say it. All because of the Z.

For example, is it pronounced Dragon Ball Zee, Dragon Ball Zed or something else entirely? The title of the show represents a linguistic problem with various answers that depend on where you live and what language you speak.

Why does it matter? Because the show is an international phenomenon with no agreed upon standard for how to pronounce its name. And the differences stand as another example of diversity seen within the localized versions of the Dragon Ball series.

To really understand why this is the case we have to learn a little about languages and world history from within the Dragon Ball perspective.

The American Way

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c8FzDm4Gbo

Dragon Ball Z is a proper noun, the name of an entity, so it should be pronounced the same in every country, like how the band ZZ Top should be pronounced Zee Zee Top regardless of where you speak it.

But unfortunately this is not the case for DBZ, and the pronunciation varies around the world.

Americans are taught to pronounce the letter Z as Zee. We are taught to pronounce it this way in schools as well as on Sesame Street at home.  So we pronounce the show’s title as Dragon Ball Zee.

We pronounce it Dragon Ball Zee in the theme song, in the marketing materials, video games and everywhere else. For example, the original theme song to Dragon Ball Z in America has lyrics of, “Dragon, dragon, rock the dragon, Dragon Ball Zee!  Dragon, dragon, rock the dragon, Dragon Ball Zeeee-yah!”

Now, in the United Kingdom the people use the Queen’s English and pronounce the letter Z as Zed. They end their alphabet with a full stop; “X, Y, Zed.” So it is pronounced Dragon Ball Zed.

And Australian’s, while normally saying Zed if the letter stands alone, will still finish the alphabet with “X, Y, Zee.” Same with New Zealand. Yet in words they’ll pronounce it as Zed but without the d, so Zebra is not pronounced Zed-bra, in contrast to the American Zee-bra.

In Canada they have both French and English as national languages, but which English do they speak, the Queen’s English or American English? In this case, the answer is both, and it’s called Canadian English! Because the country is so large and geographically varied sometimes they will say Zed and other times Zee, depending on the region.

Yet this is not an English specific issue. To make things more complicated, the French also pronounce Z as Zed, so if Canadians decide to speak French, then they will say Dragon Ball Zed.

In other parts of Western Europe the Spanish may say Ceta, the German’s say Zed and the Swede’s say Zeta.

However, as a result of the popularity of the American Dub (and the intro along with it), the American pronunciation of Dragon Ball Zee was catapulted into the common fandom across the world.

A user by the name of “Super Sayian Prime” on the Daizex.com forums stated that he grew up in Canada where he was taught to pronounce Z as Zed, but he also grew up watching American Dragon Ball Z, which confused him because they always pronounced it Zee. He said, “This shows’ theme always screwed me up on the alphabet. I’d always say “Zee” instead of “Zed”.”

The same problem occurs in Australia where children watch the American’s Sesame Street alphabet song and are then corrected later by their parents to say Zed. The letter T (tee) rhymes with Zee, but it does not rhyme with Zed, hence the issue. Therefore, teachers that instruct children in the alphabet use the rhyme as a learning device but also teach them about Zed.

Americans might it find it strange to pronounce the Z as Zed, but the reasons why others do so is very rational and goes back thousands of years.

A Brief History of Z

The Greek Alphabet, source (www.uic.edu)

As mentioned, Zee and Zed are not the only pronunciations. In fact, Z has a rather involved past.

In ancient times when the Romans borrowed 21 of the 26 letters from the Etruscan alphabet, they included Zeta as the 7^th letter in the alphabet. But at some point after 250 BC the letter was dropped because Latin words no longer needed that particular sound. Then when Rome conquered Greece in the first century BC, the Z was taken back into Latin from the Greek so they could transliterate Greek words. This time they placed it at the end of the alphabet and pronounced it Zeta just like the Greeks.

The modern pronunciation Zed is derived from the Middle French Zède, which the French in turn derived from the Latin Zeta, which the Romans borrowed from the Greek. Today, some languages use Zed while others use a form closer to the original Latin and Greek.

The pronunciation Zee comes from America.

Noah Webster (1758 – 1843), an American lexicographer and author of the American Dictionary of the English Language (today known as the Merriam-Webster dictionary), proposed to change the pronunciation of the letter.

Why?  Primarily because he wanted Z to be pronounced in the same way as B (bee), D (dee) and V (vee). And perhaps as a point of national identity to distinguish from the British form of English.

There were other pronunciations as well, such as Izzard. In the 1755 Johnson’s Dictionary it states “Z… zed, more commonly izzard or uzzard, that is, shard.”

These pronunciations were rarely used up to the middle of the 20^th century alongside the more common Zee, but they were there all the same, and for a while their use could help could signify where a person was from. If a person said Zee then they were from New England and the North-Eastern colonies, and if they said Zed then they were from the South, where it was born from French or Spanish colonies.

As we know, eventually Zee conquered Zed.

Even so, then you might reply, “Our alphabet would no longer rhyme: T, U, V, W, X, Y and Zed?”

The thing worth keeping in mind is that the alphabet is not a poem and it does not have to rhyme. But we prefer that it does and creative people still find a way:

“….

O, P, Q, R, S and T

Read it back again to me.

U, V, W, X, Y, Zed

Now it’s always in your head.”

See?  And there’s a brief history of the letter Z.

But what about the Japanese?

The Japanese Z

The Dragon Ball Z Logo

How do the Japanese pronounce the letter Z? Dragon Ball Z was created in Japan so certainly the Japanese must know the proper pronunciation of their own show.

Not necessarily.

The letter Z is not part of the Japanese language, and the Japanese pronounce the Latin alphabet Z by saying Zetto, which is based off the original Latin Zeta.

To be specific, the Japanese say “Doragonbôru Zetto” from the katakana of ドラゴンボールZ.

To confuse matters further the developers and marketers of the shows’ related products occasionally say Zed as it is pronounced most everywhere else in the world, perhaps to cater to those markets. So they are inconsistent in the pronunciation of their own creation. Notably, they do not say Doragonbôru Zii.

Mike Labrie from Daizex.com said on a forum post about the topic, “Hell, I’ve seen tons of Japanese commercials with a narrator and the zed pronunciation, followed immediately by another one with Masako Nozawa and the zetto pronunciation. If the original country won’t decide on a pronunciation, you don’t have too much to complain about.”

Another important question, what does the Z in Dragon Ball Z even stand for?

The ‘Z’ was added to the title by Akira Toriyama to signify it as different from the original Dragon Ball, as well as to denote it as the final arc of the series.  He was tired of working on the show and wanted it to end, so he picked the last letter of the Latin alphabet thinking that there would be no further place to go afterward. The irony of course is that it lasted even longer than the original and was followed by another, known as Dragon Ball GT.

The Z series lasted much longer than Toriyama wanted it to, and the Z theme began to creep in, such as in the Z Sword, the Z Warriors, and Z TV. It became a part of the comic book and the show.

In regards to the Z Sword in particular, Americans (FUNimation) called it the Z (Zee) Sword, while the Japanese called it the Zetto Sodo. And as you might have guessed, the British called it the Zed Sword.

So, which Z is correct?

The Latin Z, from Wikimedia Commons

There is no correct one, per say.

It depends on where you live and how you speak.

I cannot base an argument for the American version being “correct” simply because it is the most popular in the West. Why not? Because it is an American translation of a Japanese TV show to begin with, and Zee is an altered version of both the original English Zed and Latin Zeta.

Likewise, I cannot pose an argument for Zetto being “correct” either because it is only the romanji pronunciation of the Latin letter, although it is the original pronunciation.

So what’s to do? Is there a solution to all this?

Fundamentally it is a linguistic concern that stems from Americans pronouncing the letter Z differently from everybody else. If we want a global pronunciation, then Americans will have to change their Zee’s to Zed’s, and the others that followed the American pronunciation will slowly change in turn.

But I have doubts that this will happen because it would involve a complete shift in our educational system.

If you’re an American, then as an individual fan you can certainly make the effort, but is it even necessary? Other international fans will know what you mean all the same when you say Zee.

Perhaps if you’re a hardcore fan of the Japanese you may even want to call it Zetto, but others might have a hard time with it.

Luckily, now if you’re talking with a fan and they say Dragon Ball Zee, Zed or Zetto, then you’ll be able to understand why, if you didn’t already.

Zee, Zed, Zetto, it’s all in the mind!

Resources

http://daizex.fanboyreview.net/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=8413&p=186738&hilit=Zed#p186738

http://daizex.fanboyreview.net/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7462&p=161336&hilit=Zed#p161336

http://daizex.fanboyreview.net/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4741&p=98900&hilit=Zed#p98900

http://dragonball.wikia.com/wiki/The_Z_Sword

http://www.halflife2.net/forums/showthread.php?t=110064

http://momm-eh.blogspot.com/2005/10/zed-versus-zee-love-letter-to-nancy.html

http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=20000707

http://www.teenspot.com/boards/showthread.html?p=13322594

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c8FzDm4Gbo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFOvKQPk9LI&feature=video_response

http://www.uic.edu/las/clas/style/greek_alphabet.gif

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-692114.html

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Dragon Ball Zee or Zed?

Welcome to the "Bloody Pond" from DBZ's Hell

Have you been to the Bloody Pond of Hell?  It’s a great place to visit… They have row boats.

Many fans of Dragon Ball may be aware of the Bloody Pond in Dragon Ball’s Hell, but how many of them know that you can actually visit it?

It turns out that there is a real Bloody Pond in a city of Japan, and that it was the most likely source for Dragon Ball’s version.

This Bloody Pond also has an interesting part to play in traditional Japanese culture and society.

What is the Bloody Pond and why does this matter in Dragon Ball?  And where exactly did Toriyama receive the inspiration for his Bloody Pond?

The Red Hot Boiling Blood of Hell

Sign post for "Bloody Pond Hell" in Beppu, Japan (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

The Chinoike Jigoku (Bloody Pond Hell) is a hot spring located in Beppu City, Oita Prefecture, Japan, and is one of Japan’s oldest, dating from as early as 700. A.D.

The Chinoike Jigoku’s (pronounced “Chee-no-eekay Jee-goh-ku”) most notable feature is its blood red water that boils at over 200 °C.

The blood red water appears to have led the Japanese people to believe it was a type of Hell erupting forth from down below.  Their version of Hell in this case is one derived from the Buddhist belief system, which believes in multiple layers of Hell’s, each with a different nature.

In Beppu City there are 8 other hot spring attractions, each with a distinct nature, such as boiling grey mud, hot blue water, milky water, or a hot geyser that erupts every 25-30 minutes.

The "Bloody Pond Hell" of Beppu, Japan. (Source: Panoramio.com)

Why is this one blood red?  The pond is blood red because of the high iron oxide (hematite) content in the sediment deposited at the bottom of the pool.  (Interestingly the word hematite is derived from the Greek word for blood.)  In this case, the red color of the iron fills the water and makes it change color, and when you combine this with boiling temperatures it looks like a scene from Hell.

The Bloody Pond has been a famous tourist spot for centuries.  It was also a place where they tortured and executed people.

Yep, moving on…

Bloody Pond in DBZ, Oni!

Gozu and Mezu from DBZ's Hell in episode 13

The Bloody Pond in Dragon Ball is first seen in the Saiya-jin Saga of DBZ.  It is shown in a pair of filler episodes (Japanese DBZ episode’s 12 and 13 (aired July 19, 1989 and July 26, 1989 respectively)) when Goku falls off the back of the heavenly street cleaner’s “zamboni” while traveling along Snake Way.  He becomes tired, rests on the zamboni, falls asleep and poetically falls from the way and lands in Hell.

When Goku lands he comes face to face with some Oni.

In Toriyama’s version of Hell the spirits are watched over (and tortured) by the Oni, demonic humanoid creatures with giant iron clubs and super strength.

The Oni in Dragon Ball are Toriyama’s representation of the Japanese version of demon’s found in Buddhist Hell’s.  It’s believed that within each Buddhist Hell are Oni to enact punishment on those who have accrued karma and must pay back their debts.  Each Hell has a different set of punishments.

Oni that stands near the "Bloody Pond Hell" in Buppa, Japan (Source: Webshots.com)

The same concept is depicted in Dragon Ball, only a little more comical and lighter in tone.

Oni are traditionally depicted with red, blue, or green skin, with one or two horns on the top of their heads.  They will also carry their club or torture instrument and wear a tiger skin (or other animal based) loincloth around their waist.  This is the traditional (and expected) version of an Oni in Japanese culture.

The two Oni that Goku runs into pretty much fit this description, except they are wearing modern clothes of T-shirts, shorts and sneakers.  The T-shirts have the words “HELL” written on them in giant letters, and one of them has a pair of black rimmed glasses.

But to meet our expectations we also get to see Goku run past a cardboard cut-out of a traditional Oni dressed in a tiger skin loincloth.  And this Oni looks almost exactly like the cardboard cut-out of an Oni that stands next to the real Bloody Pond in Buppa.  Red skin, loincloth, iron club, two horns and shaggy hair to match.

Unfortunately I’m not sure how old the cut-out next to the real Bloody Pond is, or which of these came first.

Goku stands in front of a traditional looking Oni cardboard cut out. From DBZ episode 13.

And that’s not the end of the story.  The two Oni he encounters are named Gozu and Mezu.

“Gozu-Mezu” is a Japanese term for the succinct version of Gozu Rasetsu and Mezu Rasetsu, the ox face and horse face demons that guard the gate of Hell and torture and feast upon the living.  They are typically depicted as red and blue counterparts, as they are also seen in DBZ.

We can see here how Toriyama took a classic Buddhist belief and made it modern and comical.

To make matters even more interesting, they were about to be outclassed by a “monkey” that fell from Heaven and ran amok in Hell, just like in the classic legend Journey to the West.

Escape from Hell

Goku asks for a way out of Hell so he can continue along Snake Way and journey to North Kaio’s planet for special martial arts training.  In response, One of the Oni challenges him to a race around Hell.  If Goku can catch the Oni he’ll be shown the way out.  If he loses, then he’ll have to stay in Hell… forever!  Goku agrees to the conditions.  Only thing is, nobody has ever won.

Goku and the Oni run around Hell and we get to see to the Bloody Pond in various scenes.

Spirits play on the pond aboard row boats! From DBZ episode 13

Strangely it turns out that some of the spirits in Hell (or at least in these couple of episodes) are allowed to roam around freely, as we see a pair of them on a rowboat out on Bloody Pond and others enjoying the Ferris wheel.

The main difference between the real Bloody Pond and the DBZ version is that the DBZ pond appears to be made of real blood.   And it has a nice fountain.

The similarities are that it boils just like the other one, has arched fences around certain sections of the perimeter, is guarded by Oni and is a “scene” from Hell.

They both have signs that say “Bloody Pond” on them, labeled “Chinoike.”  Since DBZ’s Blood pond is already in Hell, there is no reason to call it “Chinoike Jigoku” (Bloody Pond Hell).

Essentially, Toriyama takes the idea of the Bloody Pond Hell, a famous tourist attraction in Japan, and places it into his own artistic version of Hell seen in Dragon Ball.

Bloody Hell

The demon warped version of the "Bloody Pond." From DBZ Movie 12, Fusion Reborn

The Bloody Pond also makes a few other appearances in the series.

One of these is in DBZ Movie 12 (Fusion Reborn, Japanese:  Rebirth of Fusion, Goku and Vegeta).  In this movie a demon named Janemba runs loose in Hell and Goku has to travel from the Other World dimension to defeat it and re-establish order in the afterlife.

While fighting the demon Goku escapes to the Bloody Pond, which is now transformed into a solid cone of floating blood because of the demon’s powers.  He hides inside the pond to take a rest from the battle but the demon finds him anyway and starts carving it up with his sword.

We see the Pond once again at the end of the film as Vegeta’s body is turned back into a spirit, where he awaits further punishment in Hell to pay for his crimes.

The Bloody Pond also appears during the Freeza saga for a brief moment when the Ginyu Force members are summoned to North Kaio’s planet to assist Tenshinhan, Yamcha, Piccolo and Chaotzu with their training.  The four beat the Ginyu Force off of the planet and send them into Hell, where they land in the Bloody Pond and drown in hot blood.

So how exactly did the real Bloody Pond end up as the Dragon Ball Bloody Pond?

My guess is that Toriyama either heard of or visited the Bloody Pond in Buppa and used it as inspiration for his Bloody Pond in Dragon Ball’s Hell.

The 9 Hell’s of Buppa have been a famous tourist attraction for centuries before the creation of DBZ, so it’s quite possible that he didn’t have to go there directly to be inspired by it, but in any case, this seems the most likely source of the Blood Pond in Dragon Ball.

Akira Toriyama was inspired by or borrowed from a large amount of traditional Japanese and Chinese culture, so it makes sense that this particular feature of his Hell would also be derived from these cultures.

The Bloody Pond’s history as a well known tourist attraction and depiction of Hell makes it a prime candidate for source material in the Hell of Dragon Ball.

More Information and Resources:

http://www.chinoike.com/en.html

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4702.html

http://www.beppu-jigoku.com/ (Japanese)

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/3054780

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beppu_Chinoike-jigoku01n4272.jpg

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Dragon Ball’s Bloody Pond of Hell

Hitler Heil's Hello in DBZ Movie 12

There are many unique aspects to the Dragon Ball series and several may contain socialist and communist elements.  In this article I will introduce 5 of them.

They are the following:

1. Red Army
2. Stars
3. Hitler
4. Hooked Cross Z
5. One World Government

The elements on this list are the results of watching the Dragon Ball series and seeing what is already there.  I am not making any of these up.

This article is not only here to reveal what was in front of us all along, but to also help explain how and why.

Red Star Hammer and Sickle

Please keep in mind that Dragon Ball is above all else a fun and lighthearted show with a heavy dose of silliness and martial arts antics.  These socialist and communist elements do not detract from the Dragon Ball experience in any way.

It’s possible you may disagree with some of the inherent meaning behind these elements within the series, and a lot has been said about one of them in particular, but that does not take away from the fact that they are there to begin with and left for us to explore and understand.

If you have any thoughts on their meaning and why the creator’s put them in, then please state your thoughts in the comments below.

Now let’s begin our adventure.

Red Army

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZs_mrR02MA

The Red Army is a term used to describe an army that gathers under the Red Flag, a militaristic symbol of a Communist force.

The term Red Army was first coined by its commander Leon Trotsky to refer to the newly created army of Soviet Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917.  The term continued to be used in Europe for the next several decades and became synonymous with violence, bloodshed and power.  Afterward, the term spread east when Mao Zedong created his own Red Army in China, which would later be known as the People’s Liberation Army.  Both of these army’s militarily dominated Asia for several decades, including several wars with the Japanese, the birthplace of Dragon Ball.

Commander Red

We find the Red Army in Dragon Ball in the form of the Red Ribbon Army, a spoof like representation of a unified military threat.  Most of the Red Ribbon Army and all of its leaders are “Foreigners,” i.e. Westerners (or talking bipedal animals).  They represent the stereotypical socialist or communist army trouncing across the country and taking whatever they want with their military might.

The Red Ribbon Army has a collection of foot soldiers, military experts, assassins, evil scientists, technicians, a mobile division (speeders, trucks and tanks), a flight division (planes, helicopters), a sea division (subs, boats), killer robots, androids and special operatives (scuba divers, flamethrower shock troops) and more.  Red Ribbon Army headquarters is a huge base surrounded by and filled with defensive weapons technology.

They appear to be depicted like the army of an evil villain in a James Bond film.  Though more accurately they are reminiscent of the Red Army of Soviet Russia, upon which many of the James Bond villains were based.

The main theme that accompanies the Red Ribbon Army contains the following lyrics (translated):

Dye a red ribbon in a sea of blood

Hands of demons creep through the wilderness

A screen which reflects the dark desires

The leader, Red, watches and laughs

Blue, Black, Silver, the sky is scorched

Yellow, White, Brown, a mechanical army

Only if we conquer everything in this world

will our supreme pride be fulfilled

Soldier Red Ribbon

We’ll drop the world into a deep terror

Soldier Red Ribbon

The demons that came from hell

Red Ribbon Army

All of the soldiers are dressed resembling World War II era troops with a minimum of personal equipment, consisting primarily of a jacket, baggy trousers, a rifle and high-top boots.  The Red Ribbon Army’s “RR” logo is placed on their chest and hat.  The elite soldiers wear colored “RR” logo armbands to denote their superior rank.

Red Ribbon Army's Red Flag

The “RR” logo stands for “Red Ribbon” and is usually seen as a symmetrical red ribbon with white text placed anywhere the logo could be applied, such as on a military uniform or tank.  But it is also seen on a Red Flag that is very similar to Stalinist and Nazi versions of the Red Flag.

Their leader is Commander Red, a short power obsessed man with a Napolean complex and a desire to gather all the dragonballs so he can make a wish to grow taller, and thereby (naturally) rule the world!  He also has bright red hair that is styled a lot like Leon Trotsky’s, the original commander of the Soviet Red Army.  It seems oddly similar, though this could just be a coincidence as Toriyama has never commented on his inspiration for the character.

General Blue

In addition, one of their leaders, General Blue, is based on the ideal disciplined soldier of Hitler’s eugenics program.  Blue is lean and strong with blond hair and blue eyes and it is implied that he is of German descent as he speaks German in one line of the English comic book, saying the phrase “Auf Wiedersehen” (Goodbye).  He is the strongest fighter of all the Red Ribbon Army soldiers and matches up against Goku for several episodes, employing super human strength and psychic abilities.  The funny thing is that in the anime Toriyama made him into a very effeminate (with implied homosexuality) character.  He loves his own appearance, stops to smell the roses and is disgusted by mice.  However in the comic book he is much more serious and clever.

The Red Ribbon Army is already well established by the time Goku comes along, and they have generated a healthy dose of fear and respect in the world community.

The Red Ribbon Army met its match time and time again at the hands of Goku, and he defeated them almost entirely by himself.  He had some slight assistance from a few companions he met along the way, but there were no other Z warriors or main characters of the series involved.  Just him against an entire communist inspired army.  And he won.

Stars

Red Star of Communism

Stars are another communist symbol, and they are frequently seen in the Dragon Ball series because each of the dragonballs contains stars.  Red five-pointed stars in particular carry the most symbolism.

The five-pointed Red Star is a symbol of communism and socialism movements in general.  There are different interpretations as to why this is, and the argument is often made that the five points represent the five fingers of the common worker’s hand, or the five major continents of the world that will one day be ruled under a communist government.  It could also be indicative of the five forces that would bring communism to power, namely the youth, the military, industrial laborers, peasants and intelligentsia.

The Red Star is a symbol used throughout all Communist nations, along with the Sickle and Hammer, and can be seen on national monuments and government buildings as well as flags and military uniforms.

Often times the Red Star will stand alone or be outlined in yellow on a red background.  Sometimes the stars will be completely yellow on a red background or feature multiple yellow stars arranged around one another, such as in the Chinese Communist Party flag.

Dragonball Collection

The seven dragonballs are a golden orange amber type color and the five-pointed stars inside them are all red.  The seven balls are named by the amount of stars that each ball contains, such as the 1-star ball, the 4-star ball and so on.  The dragonballs naturally play a major role in the series and so we see this imagery again and again.

But we also see stars elsewhere.

We spot a red five-pointed star time and again on Emperor Pilaf, another diminutive character with an out of control ego questing for more power, power that can only be granted by the dragonball’s.  Pilaf is a blue skinned impish character that repeatedly has his plans foiled by Goku’s presence.  Goku doesn’t even go out of his way to interfere with Pilaf’s schemes; they keep bumping into one another as if it were fated to be.

Pilaf wears a red and blue cap with a black band around the rim.  A red five-pointed star is placed on a yellow background front and center.

Emperor Pilaf

It’s possible that the star is there to represent his “Imperial Status” as stars have also been used throughout medieval history to denote royalty.  But once again Toriyama has left us with no explanation.

The shape-shifting pig Oolong also wears a Red Star on his hat in the beginning of the series.  He is a short and fat pig seen dressed in a green Chinese Communist style uniform similar to the one Mao Zedong would have worn.

It’s not known exactly why Toriyama decided to create him to look like a Chinese Communist soldier, but it’s possible that he was trying to take a jab at the CCP by dressing up a pig in their clothes and making him short, fat, obnoxious, loud and selfish.  What do you guys think?

Oolong in CCP Clothing

Goku and his traveling companion Bulma soon trick Oolong into traveling along with them on their quest for the dragonballs, and while Oolong never really improves his demeanor he does learn to tolerate his new friends, at least more so than he did initially.  He stays with them for the rest of the series.

In addition, we see the star in every episode of Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT, as they are featured in the logos.  Dragon Ball Z’s logo has a small orange 1-star ball standing in for the “O” in Dragon.  Dragon Ball GT’s star is placed inside the “O” of Dragon and is a red five-pointed star on a yellow background, like the one Pilaf wore before.  It can also be seen in logos of derivative works, such as the video game Dragon Ball Online where the red star inside a circle is used as the entire “O” of Dragon once again.

So why are there so many stars in Dragon Ball?

We are left to ponder.

Hitler

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSd4E1U1kzY

The biggest and most frequently talked about reference to socialism in Dragon Ball is Hitler himself.  Hitler is in Dragon Ball Z Movie 12, Fusion Reborn (Japanese title:  The Rebirth of Fusion!  Goku and Vegeta!) as a guest villain who comes back from the dead after a demon takes control of the underworld and the laws of life and death.

Hitler comes back to life with his whole zombie army and rolls his tanks through the city, crushing cars and barking out orders like the dictator he is.

He is depicted as a diminutive man (once again) dressed in a purple Nazi uniform with a red “X” armband wrapped around his left arm.  The red “X” is also on the front of his hat.  This is because the Nazi double hooked cross (German: Hakenkreuz), which we often refer to as a Swastika, was replaced by the red “X” for censoring issues.  Aside from those changes he looks just like his namesake, mustache and all.

Hitler starts to destroy the city and is challenged by Goku’s son Goten alongside Vegeta’s son Trunks.  Hitler orders his men to fire at the pre-teen boys and they dodge the hundreds of tank shells and bullets with ease.  The two pint-sized heroes make a mockery of his entire army while they punch and kick his tanks into tin cans.

Hitler screams to “Destroy the infidels!” and the pair turn into golden Super Saiya-jin fighters in response.  Their hair and eyes change color and they are surrounded by golden flames.  Hitler looks at them in confusion and replies, “Blonde hair, blue eyes, super strength, I should be recruiting them.”  Then he yells, “… Shoot them down, they are no match for us, they are inferior!”

In the Japanese version after a bit more fighting with Goten and Trunks he says, “What are they, bright youths outshining the gods?”

These comments are in reference to Hitler’s philosophy and world perspective, as he stands looking at that which he pursued in life, a master race of perfect warriors that are superior to anything created on earth and powerful enough to conquer heaven.  Slight downside is he’s not in control of them.

The line about “bright youths” is also a comment from Japanese parents on counter culture youth dying their hair blonde and other colors.  The joke is that Hitler thinks they are rebellious kids.

Goten and Trunks kill Hitler and destroy his zombie army, sending them back to where they came from.

Hitler’s presence in the movie and the “golden haired supermen” that defeat him have led many fans online toward a presumption that DBZ is racist or has racist connotations.  There are other pieces of supporting evidence to their arguments within the show, but this Hitler reference will almost invariably be used at some point in an argument on the topic.

This isn’t an issue that will be settled any time soon unless Toriyama decides to join the conversation.

Yet so far we have seen how Goku, who is believed to be natively Japanese by the Japanese people, has crushed a Western Red Army, repeatedly stopped an Emperor from ever gaining power, changed the wicked ways of a fat Chinese Communist pig, and now defeated Hitler himself through his superior genetic offspring of “supermen.”

What’s noteworthy is that this scene was cut from the German and French versions of the film due to strict prohibition of Nazi emblems and references.  Likewise it was removed from the Hebrew version of the film to avoid the sensitive nature of the scene in relation to Holocaust survivors.  It was also removed from the American televised version shown on Cartoon Network’s Toonami block.

Recognition of these separate yet relatable events that are already within Dragon Ball has caused some fans to question Toriyama’s motives.

Did Akira Toriyama have ulterior motives?  Unfortunately the definitive answer to the question is unknown.

Keep in mind it’s a parody scene and is humorous, but it’s still there nonetheless.  Quite an odd thing to include in a major theatrically released animated film, and it’s not something you would ever see in a Disney movie.

Hooked Cross Z

Dragon Ball Z Logo

The Z in the Dragon Ball Z logo is very unique and unlike a regular roman alphabet Z.

The logo is something which has yet to be talked about on the net, and this may in fact be the first time anyone has discussed the logo in greater detail, at least from what my research has discovered.  I guess it’s just taken at face value, like many other logos.

This is my attempt to explain why the Z is drawn the way it is, as it is displayed promptly in every single episode, movie, video game and piece of related merchandise.   It is an iconic and easily recognizable logo and I am surprised no one has ever looked beyond its superficial value.

Perhaps you never gave it a second thought but it has some noteworthy aspects.

DBZ Logo Z

This Z has two unique elements.  These are notably the hooked cross ends and the slanted cross in the middle.

The hooked cross ends of the Z in the logo are the ends that point both diagonally up and down, like the German hooked cross (German: Hakenkreuz).  A normal Z does not have these, and these two ends appear similar to a single hooked cross.

Please remember that the Swastika was two hooked crosses placed on top of one another and inverted.  I am not implying that the Z logo is a Swastika, rather I am saying that it resembles a single hooked cross.  If you placed another Z on top of the original than it would resemble a stylized swastika, but this is never seen in the series and a presupposition like that should not be made.  The Z just is what it is.

The second element is the slanted cross in the middle of the Z.  The cross is slanted from the top left to the bottom right in a form similar to a Russian cross.

Russian Cross

A Russian cross is a variant of the familiar Latin cross, and is a three tiered cross (a Latin cross is one tiered).  The Russian cross’s first tier is a horizontal line near the top that stretches across half the horizontal distance.  The second tier is placed just beneath it and stretches all of the horizontal distance.  The third tier is short and placed near the bottom, where Jesus’ feet would have hung while on the Cross.  It is slanted from the top left to the bottom right.

There are different interpretations as to what the slanted cross means in the Biblical sense, but I’ll leave those to the Biblical scholars.

What does it mean in Dragon Ball Z?  Nothing as far as I can tell.  There does not appear to be any correlation between the slanted cross and the contents of the Dragon Ball series.

But in researching Z’s and their overall meaning I found that the Z is often associated with the lightning bolt, and a Z with a horizontal cross in the middle of it was once used by Hitler to denote his Socialist party, as seen in the yellow on black flag (pictured).

Crossed Z Hanging from the Wall of a German Town

In addition, the Z and S in the German language are used interchangeably, as seen in the symbol for “SS,” two sharp S/Z lightning bolt shapes next to one another.

Furthermore, a single S or Z with a horizontal cross in the middle of it was the precursor to the use of a full double cross Swastika.  This is the single hooked cross.  At some point the single and the double hooked cross began to be used alongside one another.

Moreover, a study of Hitler’s signature shows that in the late 1930′s and early to mid 40′s he signed documents with an S/Z shaped lightning bolt shape, this time with a slanted cross like in the DBZ logo and third tier of the Russian cross.

Now all of that may sound very interesting, but there are no hard and fast correlations between Dragon Ball and the socialist party of Germany or the Nazi party and I don’t wish to make accusations or lead anyone to assumptions based on a small amount of conjectural evidence.  This is simply the best explanation I’ve come up with so far for the Z’s unique shape.

SS Logo

It’s entirely possible that Akira Toriyama merely thinks this particular Z looks nice and that it has no deeper meaning.  This would be in line with his usual explanations of doing what is easiest.  If he comes out and says something to that effect, then the mystery is solved.  But until he does we are left to our own devices to try and figure out why the Z is drawn like it is.

We are each free to our own interpretations.  I like to ask “Why?” and Toriyama likes to stay quiet.  So far this is the best explanation I can produce and I’m totally open to it being refuted with logical arguments to the contrary.  If you have a rational alternative explanation, then please let me know.

What do you think?  Does this theory make sense?

Whatever the case may be, we march onward…

One World Government

Dragon World

The goal of communism is to unite the world in a communist controlled utopia, ruled by the people.  The goal of socialism is state ownership and control of the fundamental means of production and distribution of wealth, to be achieved through restructuring existing capitalist or political systems.

The government in Dragon Ball doesn’t exactly fit the communist description, as it is ruled by a King, but the concept of a single united world government is still strong.

In Dragon Ball the entire planet is ruled by the King of the Earth, a talking bipedal dog named King Furry (Japanese name: King Koku) who resides in the World Capital.  There are several capitals, such as the Northern Capital, Central Capital, etc, similar to a Dynastic Chinese feudal organization system (Beijing, Nanjing, Xi’an, etc.).

King Furry seems to run things fairly peacefully and everyone appears to get along rather well.  Of course the world is not without its problems by any means and there is an army established to suppress any serious evils (such as aliens and super villains that attack the kingdom or planet) as well as city employed police forces and systems of law to handle domestic issues.  There are individual mayors within the 43 districts of the complete landmass, but they all pay homage to the king.

There are no other countries on this planet, and because there is only one large landmass in Dragon Ball it means that there is only one world government.  One government is in charge of everything, including (presumably) banks, schools, large farms and production facilities.  Private and smaller enterprises like local village farms and residential areas appear to be managed without supervision, such as Goku’s house in the mountains, but city life appears somewhat regulated, as almost every city across the world looks the same.

I noticed this same thing while traveling through China in 2003.  Were it not for the traditional ancient buildings, palaces and natural landscapes, all of the cities would look the same.  Everything created by the government had the same style.

King Furry

So how was this socialist utopia formed?  The country must have been broken up at some point and then unified and placed under the leadership of a king at another.  It’s not known when this happened, but no world of such diversity, race and culture could have been unified at the outset.  There must have been some type of social change which led to this grand unification.  But we’re given no evidence or hint as to what this could have been.  A large threat or looming crisis?  Military conquest?  A slow and gradual shift of power toward the few?  It’s unknown.

Now granted that it’s an immense landmass with great differences in environment and ethnic people, but it’s all ruled by the same talking dog.  Whatever that talking dog says, goes!

Conclusion

These were 5 communist and socialist elements in Dragon Ball.

Hopefully this article helped shed some light on a few of the more unique aspects of Dragon Ball and helped you think a little more about the series and its creator.

Perhaps Toriyama had more in mind when he created this show then is visible at first glance.  There are definitely some unique aspects.  Maybe he’s trying to tell us something and provide a message.  If so, what is it?  The unanswered questions are food for thought.

The neat thing is that you can still find all of these elements there today, so please feel free to watch the show and come up with your own interpretations.  I’d love to hear them.

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

5 Communist and Socialist Elements in Dragon Ball