The three monkeys in Nikkō, Japan
The famous Tōshō-gū shrine in Nikkō, Japan, is home to a piece of art known worldwide. A carving of the three wise monkeys has been proudly placed above the door of the shrine ever since the 17th century. Made by the sculptor Hidari Jingoro, the carving is a pictorial maxim of the phrase, “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”.
The three mystical monkeys are known as the sanzaru and each one has its own name Mizaru (見猿), Kikazaru (聞か猿), Iwazaru (言わ猿): “not seeing”, “not hearing”, “not saying», without specifying what the monkeys do not see, hear or say.
See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil
The famous Tōshō-gū shrine in Nikkō, Japan, is home to a piece of art known worldwide. A carving of the three wise monkeys has been proudly placed above the door of the shrine ever since the 17th century. Made by the sculptor Hidari Jingoro, the carving is a pictorial maxim of the phrase, “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”.
It is believed that the maxim came to Japan from China in the 8th century, as a part of a Tendai-Buddhist philosophy. In the middle school of this sect, they represent the three dogmas which symbolize a person’s life. The panel with the monkeys is only one small part of a bigger series of panels made at the shrine.
The total of eight panels represents the ‘Code of Conduct’ developed by the famous Chinese philosopher, Confucius. In the Analects of Confucius, a collection of sayings of the philosopher, a similar phrase exists. Somewhere between the 2nd and 4th century BC, the wording, “Look not at what is contrary to propriety; listen not to what is contrary to propriety; speak not what is contrary to propriety; make no movement which is contrary to propriety” was added to the collection.
This explanation says that what the monkeys are really telling us is not to see evil, not to listen to evil and not to say anything evil. So according to this current, not only should you not say or do evil things, but if you enjoy seeing them and pay attention or listen to them, you will be internalising evil and will end up seeing it as something normal. These teachings, strongly rooted in China, would come to Japan through the Tendai Buddhist sect, which merged with traditional Shinto beliefs. The phrase attributed to Confucius quite possibly was shortened upon its arrival to Japan.
But it can also be seen as a code of conduct that advised prudence. The people submitted to the system by not seeing or hearing injustice and not complaining. A very self-serving reading, unless the people themselves had an interest in maintaining this state of affairs.
The three worms or the messenger monkeys
In China, it was said that keeping a monkey in a stable prevented horses from getting sick. This custom spread to Japan. This is another example of how monkeys were considered to have special powers. This may be why the famous Hidari Jingorō at Toshogu Shrine in Nikko (Japan) are found at the stable door.
The Chinese calendar consists of two elements: the juni-shi (the 12 animal signs of the zodiac) and the jikkan (the 10 stems representing things, grouped under the five elements). Duplications of the combinations of these elements are eliminated to obtain a cycle of 60 time units. Thus, each designated day occurs once every 60 days. The most magical of these days is called koshin no hi, one of the monkey days. Years ago, on the night of this day, it was customary in China to party until dawn.
This was because it was believed that the sanshi, three evil worms living in the body of each person, rose to heaven during sleep to report the person’s sins to the King of Heaven. The person’s remaining days on earth were reduced by a certain number of days depending on the severity of the sins. By staying awake all night, people tried to prevent the sanshi from leaving the body.
Whether in China or Japan, whether by a monkey or a worm, the sinner would be punished.
This belief passed to Japan with the local Shintoist cults of the various monkey-gods of Japan (Shomen Kongo, Taishakuten, Sarutakiko) where the worms were probably replaced by monkeys. The practice of staying up all night is known in Japan as Koshin Machi, it is the 57th night of every 60 days – the traditional Japanese calendar comes from the Chinese lunar calendar and each day has a particular meaning – keeping the same meaning as in China, but changing the animal. In Japan the spies also go to Mizaru to tell him the sins they have seen and, once defined, they are also responsible for inflicting the deserved punishment.
I prefer not to see, hear or watch, just in case...
The proverbial saying: «See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil», could be used sarcastically against those who, through selfishness or cowardice, choose to ignore wrongdoing.
There is a word for it: «Willful blindness». It refers to an individual that has the power to let light penetrate thought, in the form of new knowledge or data, and that individual chooses to remain in the dark. Sometimes they stay in the dark because it is the easiest thing to do, or they stay in the dark to avoid making a decision they are uncomfortable with. In fact, wilful blindness is when the light of «knowledge» is there, shining, and yet an individual reaches up, grabs the brass chain and turns off that light. There are different possible reasons for this, for example:
- A general sense of helplessness or powerlessnes;
- Concern over investing effort that does not pay off well;
- Fear of consequences (esp. if it challenges authority or social norms);
- Diffused civic responsibility (we think someone else will do something); or
- Expecting the authority to do something (it is no my responsibility)
We close our eyes to feel safe, to avoid conflict, to reduce anxiety and to protect our prestige. But better understanding leads to solutions, and Heffernan (author of Wilful Blindness) shows how, by challenging our prejudices, encouraging debate, discouraging conformity and not backing down from difficult or complicated problems, we can be more aware of what is going on around us and be proactive rather than reactive.
We have the choice to take action based on what we hear, but most of us just nod and «chop, chop» and do nothing. Some of us have jobs that require us to make decisions that affect our employers, our colleagues and perhaps even the world.
When we see ‘something’ that is wrong or slightly disturbing, do we act decisively, even if it means we might feel some discomfort? Most of us would answer in the negative. We choose ‘willful blindness’. We force ourselves to look away, or we hope that someone else will come forward, or that the problem that has been highlighted will quietly evaporate. Something quite usual (leaving with our eyes closed)… but that is another history.
...But, our Journey to the East continues so…. ...If you want to know how our Journey to the East continues, be sure to read the next post carefully … If you have any questions, comments, suggestions or input, please email us at info@danielecheverria.com. We will be happy to answer them.
