THE RABBIT IN THE MOON


In Western cultures, we see a "man in he moon" when we look up to the full moon. In some Asian cultures, however, a rabbit is seen in the moon. In Japan, the image of the rabbit is pounding mochi (rice cakes). Mochi is a very important food in Japan, which is traditionally eaten during the New Year festival. It is made by putting steamed rice into a mortar and pouding it with a wooden mallet. In ancient Japan, rice was a very valuable food used only for special occasions. According to the Shinto tradition, each grain of rice symbolizes a human soul, so mochi represents millions of souls. The rabbit pounding mochi is also a play on words... the word mochitsuki describes the act of pounding mochi, while the word mochizuki refers to the full moon.

The legend makes itself apparent throughout the Sailor Moon series. We can see from the Japaneses characters in Sailor Moon's name, Tsukino Usagi, that it literally means Moon Field Rabbit. When spoken, however, it sounds exactly like the Japanese phrase meaning Rabbit of the Moon. Usagi is related to both rabbits and the moon in several ways. She is, of course, the Princess of the Moon, who lived on the moon during the Silver Millenium. She wears her hair in long pigtails which seem almost like a rabbit's ears. Her bedroom and many of her posessions are covered with rabbits. Other small jokes exist, such as the fact that her least favorite food is carrots, and that according the anime, she'd like to have a rabbit. In several translations of the Sailor Moon anime and manga, Usagi is given the name Bunny.

To see the rabbit pounding mochi, look at the picture below, which shows an unaltered picture of the moon on the left, and an altered image of the moon on the right (displaying the outline of the rabbit).

rabbit pounding mochi