Voices under the Sun 陽光下的聲音

Doing research while trying to review the beautiful illustrated children’s book Once I Was a Giant (2025) by Melbourne-based author-illustrator Zeno Sworder. The story begins with a pencil stub reminiscing about her past as a giant tree in the forest and how a character called the Wanderer used to visit her.

Some reviewers describe the Wanderer in the book as a “forest sprite” or “wood sprite”. According to Wikipedia, sprites are supernatural entities mainly in European mythology and often depicted as fairy-like creatures.

Immediately thought of the kodama in Princess Mononoke (1997), which are “children of old trees and a sign that the forest is healthy”. Interesting how these cute little guys are very different from the kodama depicted in the Illustrated Night Parade of a Hundred Demons (1776) by Japanese artist Toriyama Sekien. Described as a “supernatural bestiary”, the book is “a collection of ghosts, spirits, spooks and monsters from [Japanese] literature, folklore, and other artwork” and is followed by three other books (here, here and here).

Anyway, upon his illustration of the kodama, Sekien commented that once a tree reached a hundred years of age, a divine spirit (kami) would come and live inside it. While it is said that cutting down such a tree would bring misfortune, I would imagine that cutting down any sizeable tree should be considered a crime…

Enjoyed browsing through the many illustrated demons in these ancient Japanese books, which are said to have drawn inspirations from earlier scroll-paintings as well as the Classic of Mountains and Seas dated as early as 400 BCE. There are so many similarities between Japanese and Chinese myths and folklore, which reflect how ancient people responded to the mysterious and unknown in their natural environment.

I love this little guy, Yamabiko (image below), which literally means “mountain boy”. Apparently the term “yamabiko” describes “a delayed echo” in mountains and valleys, which is said to be the spirit answering. This phenomenon can also be called “kodama” as the answering voice of a tree spirit. Compared to the nymph Echo in Greek mythology who loves but is rejected by Narcissus, at least Yamabiko is more proactive.