Teru Teru Bozu

The teru teru bozu, or ‘shiny shiny Buddhist priest’ is a small traditional doll from Japan made with a white cloth or paper and a rubber band or string. Teru, meaning shiny refers to sunshine while bozu refers to the baldness of Buddhist monks.

Japanese farmers made these during the Edo period when they became popular, being hung outside a window by a string. When upright it is said to stop rain, when upside down it is said to help bring rain. When good weather is desired and hung upright a chant is said, “Fine weather priest, please let the weather be good tomorrow.”

Interestingly, the teru teru bozu has influenced modern culture though non-Japanese may not have realized it. It is the Pokemon known as Castform to which was based off this little amulet. While the teru teru bozu is a common sight in Japan today it isn’t in other countries, so many outside of Japan are likely to not know what Castform is based off.

It is even claimed that the origin of the teru teru bozu is that a monk promised good weather to a village that was getting too much constant rain. When the monk failed, he had his head cut off after being tracked. The majority of historians think the story developed after the teru teru bozu became widespread.

There is even a nursery rhyme in where the teru teru bozu is promised a golden bell and sake for the success of a sunny day, failure means off with the head. The rhyme goes:

Teru teru bozu, teru bozu
Do make tomorrow a sunny day
Like the sky in a dream sometime
If it’s sunny I’ll give you a golden bell

Teru tero bozu, teru bozu
Do make tomorrow a sunny day
If you make my wish come true
We’ll drink lots of sweet rice wine

Teru teru, teru bozu
Do make tomorrow a sunny day
But if it’s cloudy and you are crying
Then I shall snip your head off

Sun Wukong

Sun Wukong goes by several names and titles which includes Monkey King, Monkey, Sun The Novice, Great Sage Equalling Heaven, and Protector of the Horses. His story starts when he was born from a stone on the Mountain of Flower and Fruit.

Sun Wukong became a king of a group of monkeys after finding a cave behind a waterfall called Water Curtain Cave where he became known as the Handsome Monkey King. Sun Wukong realized he was only mortal and feared death, so he travelled on a raft over seas, finding civilisation where he learnt to talk and walk just like a human. He eventually found an Daoist sage called Bodhi. This sage named the Handsome Monkey King Sun Wukong, ‘Monkey Aware of Emptiness’. From then on, the Handsome Monkey King went by the name of Sun Wukong.

Bodhi taught Sun Wukong magic, how to ride clouds, seventy-two transformations and the Way of Immortality. Sun Wukong, after years of training under Bodhi was expelled for showing off where he went back to the Mountain of Flower and Fruit where he found his subjects were under some trouble with a monster that Sun Wukong defeated. Back at where he ruled as a king he ruled over an army of monkeys and befriended demons.
Sun Wukong, knowing just magic wasn’t needed to defeat others wanted a weapon, which he got of the Dragon King‘s along with some armour. The Golden Banded Cudgel is he weapon which he used to defeat many demons.

Later, Sun Wukong got his hands on the Book of Life and Death. He took the name of himself but also the names of the monkeys he knew making himself and all the monkeys he knew immortal. The Dragon Kings and the god of death, Yen Lo Wang made a complaint to the ruler of heaven, the Jade Emperor.  The Dragon King’s complained of rudeness and theft while Yen Lo Wang complained of the names wiped out in the Book of Birth and Death.

The Jade Emperor was advised to pardon Sun Wukong and give him a post in Heaven, which was Protector of the Horses where he was the head of the heavenly stables. When Sun Wukong found the post was low in rank he left in anger and from then on hated it when he was referred as Protector of the Horses. The Jade Emperor ordered heavenly troops to capture Sun Wukong who were defeated. Sun Wukong asked for the title of Great Sage Equalling Heaven and the Jade Emperor again pardoned him plus gave Sun Wukong the title he asked for.

He was then put in charge of the peach orchard to keep this monkey busy, but Sun Wukong couldn’t resist the peaches of immortality and ate them. When Sun Wukong wasn’t invited to the peach banquet by goddess Queen Mother of the West so he went to the banquet before anyone arrived and ate the food and wine. Drunkenly Sun Wukong went to the home of the founder of Daoism, Lord Lao Zi, and gobbled up his pills of immortality. After this, Sun Wukong went back to the Mountain of Flower and Fruit.

When the Jade Emperor found out about this, sent his army to deal with  Sun Wukong. After much troubles capturing Sun Wukong he was finally caught, with whatever attempt to execute him failing. Soon Lord Lao Zi put Sun Wukong into his furnace for forty-nine days. Sun Wukong survived and his eyes smoked over the many days spent in it giving him the ability to see far and through disguise, illusion and transformation, but his eyes were highly vulnerable to smoke for this very reason.

After getting out of Lao Zi’s furnace Sun Wukong fights the heavenly soldiers all by himself. Lord Buddha was called upon and made a bet with Sun Wukong, if Sun Wukong wins he will rule over heaven but if Lord Buddha wins the bet he expects an apology. All Sun Wukong was asked to do was to jump off Lord Buddha’s hand, and Sun Wukong jumped off of it where he found himself in front of five pillars where he pissed on a pillar. When Sun Wukong saw Lord Buddha again he thought he won the bet, but Lord Buddha proved him wrong, the very piss that put all over a pillar was actually Lord Buddha’s finger.

Sun Wukong thought Lord Buddha was doing a trick on him and he was put under Five Elements Mountain where a paper talisman was placed on it, stopping Sun Wukong from escaping. Sun Wukong was under Five Elements mountain for five centuries where he was fed molten copper and iron pills.

The Bodhisattva Guanyin got Sun Wukong to become the disciple of a Buddhist monk by the name of Sansang, who was the one who released Sun Wukong from under the mountain. Sansang was given a headband (which he tricked to get put on Sun Wukong’s head) and a spell by Bodhisattva Guanyin. The spell was known as the Band-Tightening Spell, which when recited gave Sun Wukong much pain and it helped much to keep this troublesome monkey in control.

As a disciple of Sanzang, Sun Wukong found two others that promised to become Sanzang’s disciples and recruited them. They were known as Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing. A dragon ate Sanzang’s horse earlier on in Sanzang’s travel to the west for Buddhist scriptures, and this dragon was turned into a horse to serve as the horse he had eaten.

Over the long travel, Sun Wukong defeated many demons and after getting the scriptures his master, Sanzang, was after had attained Buddhahood with the title, “Buddha Victorious Against Disaster”.

Bottle Gourds

The calabash, or bottle gourd, is one plant that is considered quite lucky and has had much appreciation from the Chinese. It has a hard shell which can be used as a bottle and traditionally used to carry medicine, wine, water and elixirs. Not only was the gourds shell used to carry medicine but the plant has been used as medicine itself, and from what I have heard, makes a good eating.


Gourds is popular as use as a charm for warding off evil spirits and disease thanks to its Chinese name, hulu, which the character hu in itself means ‘protect’ or ‘guard’, but not only that but also ‘blessing’. Also, hu sounds like fu to which fu means ‘good fortune’ or ‘happiness’.

The legendary Sun Wukong himself once got word that demon were on their way to capture him with their magic gourd, so he disguises himself as an immortal before meeting them. These demons were unaware that this immortal was really Sun Wukong and these demons showed off their magic gourd to which Sun Wukong himself shows an ordinary gourd to these demons but claims it can hold the entire universe within it. These demons on hearing such a claim wanted to trade their gourd for this apparent universe containing one but on the condition that it is proved that it can be done. Sun Wukong, under permission from spirits, blocks out the light of the sun, moon and stars for a single hour and is able to trick these demons into thinking that the disguised Sun Wukong has bottled up the Heaven’s, thus being able to get a magic gourd for an ordinary one. This little story about Sun Wukong and these demons also is a good story to tell about how easily people can be fooled.

Gourds are also associated with old age and charms. Interestingly enough, old men many, many years back would frequently be seen carrying gourds on their backs. One old god known as Shou, also known as the Star of Longevity, is often seen carrying a Peach of Immortality and a staff of peach wood. Shou also carries a gourd himself to which people have disagreements on what is actually in it. Some say water, others nectar, I also have heard a couple claims of Shou carrying an elixir within his gourd.

The bottle gourd itself has many tales surrounding it within China and it is also a symbol of Heaven and Earth or the universe. It is also amusing as bottle gourds tend to be in the shape of the number eight, which is considered a highly lucky number in China.