In the opening credit sequence of Samurai Champloo, a great many images flash before the audience – little things such as roosters and fish, dice and mayflies that may seem as if they have no place in the ensuing anime. But, it would seem as if the opening credits are chock full of symbolism and may offer a deeper glimpse into the mindsets of our three main characters, as well as a deeper philosophical meaning of the Champloo universe.

This is a feeble attempt to explain some of these symbols. Granted, the things listed here are pure speculation, and may not have been intentional by any means, but it sure is interesting….

The three most prevalent symbols are those used in the introduction of the main characters. In order, they are the rooster, which is used as a backdrop to Mugen, the fish which swims behind Jin, and harvest which flows behind Fuu as she dances. Dissected separately or as all three together, these three symbols possibly tell us a great deal about the characters and their positions in the universe.

Part One: Mugen and the Rooster

Not only is the rooster a relatively prevalent figure in folk lore, but, if one takes a look at that little placemat at their favorite Chinese restaurant, the rooster is also an astrological symbol in the Chinese zodiac. The Chinese zodiac (though placemats will vary depending on the restaurant one goes to, this is an attempt to coagulate all those placemats into one solid description) describes the rooster as a headstrong creature, prone to eccentricity and determination. The Rooster is considered to be a loner and moody, and often seen as a boastful creature, but also very loyal to those he keeps within his company. He embodies recklessness, courage, and arrogance. An old proverb states that the animal sign under which one was born, is the animal that hides in one’s heart.

Associated with the rooster is also a vast well of folklore – from Aesop’s fables to a host of old wives tales centering from old British lore. Unfortunately, an online database of rooster tales seems to be lacking, and the ones that are available don’t tend to use the symbolism of the rooster (two of the most famous tales you’ll come across in online searches are those of Henny Penny and the Brehmen Town Musicians – but in both of these tales, the animals are merely personifications and are not involved in the symbolic nature of the animals).

The rooster is generally represented as an arrogant creature who sometimes crows louder than he pecks. However, this is not always the case. The rooster is not an animal to be so taken so lightly – often depicted as fierce (cock fighting, anyone?), a harbinger of change and the shifting of positions within the universe (think Peter and his denial of Jesus in the Bible), or as a wily, sly creature much like the fox (Hermes from Greek mythology is often represented as a rooster and the snake). The rooster can be a protector and ruler of his domain (the hen-house, tee-hee), or can be blind to his duties (again, the hen-house). And common lore will have the rooster act as a playboy and someone who acts irrationally and without thought.

One of the most prominent uses of the rooster symbol is that of the Greek trickster god, Hermes. For more on Hermes, please refer to the online Encyclopedia Mythica. While Hermes is interesting enough as a rooster figure on his own, there is another correlation to be made, and one that you can only find in your local library. Paul Radin’s book, “The Trickster: A Study in American Indian Mythology” is one of the most excellent resources if one wishes to understand the purpose and meaning of the Trickster. In his book, Radin consistently makes references between Nanabush (also Nanabhozo/Nanabozho, and a vast variety of other names) and Hermes, comparing and paralleling the two figures, and presents a very convincing argument that the two are parallel entities.

Nanabush is a polymorphous creature – capable of assuming many animal forms – usually associated with the fox, the coyote, or the hare, this trickster has also taken on the forms of the possum, the crane, and the raven. (I do recall reading a tale in which the Trickster was a rooster, but since I can’t recall what tribe it originated from, and can’t seem to find the tale itself, I’ve made the cross-reference to Hermes.) He is a mischievous creature, sometimes foolish and blind, and often getting into trouble.

Like Hermes, Nanabush is not necessarily a god of supreme ranking. Yes, there are many tales told about him, yes, he can be vengeful and frightening, and yes, it can be a boon to have him on your side, but he is not a god that one readily ascends to the ranks of heavenly ordinance. The trickster is a diety that floats between the realms of heaven and earth. Though his origin is that of heaven, his travels are earthly, not heavenly. Hermes often acts as a messenger between the Olympain gods and earth; Nanabush is a spirit that plays upon earth – neither really spend a great deal of time in the heavenly realm.

In Mugen’s case, it is easy to correlate him with the Trickster – not only because of the rooster symbol, but because of his attitude and actions, which reflect that of both Hermes and Nanabush. Mugen is often rash, he acts without thinking, and often just barely escapes trouble and doom. He is intelligent and extremely sly, but his impulsiveness often gets in the way of these attributes. The episode in which he learns to read and names himself is perhaps most telling of his trickster nature. The trickster, though able to learn, often refuses too out of sheer pride. The trickster will find himself in the same situation again and again because he refuses to admit that he does not understand; however, upon learning something new, the trickster has a tendency to reinvent himself through that knowledge. In this particular episode, Mugen begins as Mugen, but ends the episode as infinity. In other words, he finally suffered himself to learn to read, and in the end, reinvented himself, becoming something more than he was before the acquired knowledge. (Native American themes are not foreign to Watanabe. Cowboy Bebop is heavy with Native American themes and mythology.)

Then there is the rooster as a symbol of the ultimate wake-up call and call to self-awakening. This can be an incredibly interesting symbol to be used within the context of the Champloo universe. In the Bible, Jesus predicts that Peter will deny knowledge of Him three times before the cock crowed that morning. When Peter realized that the prediction had come true, he wept, and after that, he solidified his beliefs and became the rock upon which the church was built. (The rooster henceforth became a symbol of papal imagery.) This was a harbinger event, or the waking up of self, or soul.

In the Ukraine, the painting of eggs is a much esteemed art. In this art, the rooster is symbolized as a symbol of good fortune, masculinity, and the coming of dawn, or the waking up period of a person. This makes sense as it is the rooster who first crows to wake the farmer, just as it makes sense that it is the rooster who woke Peter from his fear and denial.

This symbol of harbinger is closely linked to the rooster as sun. The sun seems at first an obvious symbol as the rooster crows in the morning and is responsible for the waking of the farm or farm animals, but there is also deeper significance behind the parallel. A phoenix is bird born of legend – Taoist traditions often parallels the phoenix to the vermilion bird Suzaku (the rooster in the opening sequence is red or vermilion), or Feng (and other names), where as western traditions hold this bird to be a solitary bird of flame. Both of these birds (yes, the western and eastern phoenixes are quite different species) are attributed the element of flame, and of course, flame is more often than not attributed to the sun. It is quite interesting to make a sweeping generalization that the rooster is a folk-loric predecessor to the phoenix – yes, on a much smaller scale, but nevertheless, the rooster as harbinger essentially accomplishes the same idea of the phoenix (the western phoenix more than the eastern phoenix, anyways).

The western phoenix is also a harbinger symbol, a symbol of rebirth and awakening. From the simple act of dying and returning to life, the phoenix becomes a creature of re-invention like the trickster. Also, being a creature of the sun, the phoenix has a much revered status among many of the ancient mythologies. The rooster does not enjoy the glorious scale of the phoenix in these older mythologies, but does share many of the same characteristics. The rooster awakens, re-invents, and is a coy and often fierce spirit. Like the phoenix, the rooster will fight tooth and nail for what it wants to protect. The phoenix, like the trickster rooster, enjoys riddles and havoc – a symbol of chaos – but at the same time, both the rooster and the phoenix are often placed in positions of ‘saving’ the world. Mugen’s rooster went from being an ordinary trickster to being infinite, a trait very much in line with that of the never-ending phoenix.

The sun itself is a symbol of chaos – though it rises and sets at approximate times – it goes through eclipses or darkening periods, it doesn’t always warm (winter), nor does it always provide light (rainy days). The nature of the sun itself as a big boiling ball of gasses is a chaotic event. With the rooster behind him, allusions to trickster, harbinger, and sun, Mugen can also be seen as a symbol of chaos.

These three symbols – trickster, harbinger, and sun – work together almost endlessly. The trickster is often credited with the creation of the world; the act of creating is something often paralleled to the rising of the sun; and the sun is often considered a harbinger (the bringing of a new day). Mix that up with the common folklore of the rooster, and one gets an incredibly intriguing figure.

Common folklore involving the rooster can be found in a variety of places. Aesop wrote tales about the rooster; Kipling even wrote some blurbs about the rooster. Even Chaucer got his digs on the rooster in Chanticleer and the Fox (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chanticleer_and_the_Fox ). In these tales, the rooster is either in the act of tricking or being tricked. The rooster, as said above, is an intelligent creature, however, the rooster often lets pride rule his actions rather than clear thought, therefore, the rooster often gets into trouble. However, sometimes, as in Aesop’s fable, (http://www.pacificnet.net/~johnr/cgi/aesop1.cgi?2&TheFightingCocksandtheEagle and http://www.pacificnet.net/~johnr/cgi/ aesop1.cgi?1&TheDogtheCockandtheFox) the rooster gets the upper hand and outwits his predator. With the rooster, it is a matter of putting thought before pride or head before heart if he wishes to survive the perils of the outside world.

The symbolism of cock-fighting is a bit obvious, however, there is a nice little article on the subject of cock-fighting here: http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/lochist/periodicals/wrv/V35/N2/f95d.htm . This article not only explains some of the references in modern slang derived from cock-fighting, but goes into extraordinary depth as to the history of cock-fighting.

There is also the connotation given to man who is called a rooster. The rooster here refers to the strutting, proud rooster as well as the playboy rooster. The first connotation involves itself with the cockfighting, the second simply involves the act of locking the rooster up in a coop with a bunch of hens. Only one rooster can rule the roost – and generally, the one who rules is the one who gets the most hens.

Part Two: Jin and the Fish

Ah, the pleasant fish. The fish, more so than the rooster, is far more prevalent in mythologies, symbolism and folklore – and, in many, many, many more forms.

Like the rooster, the Fish also has a place in astrology – Pisces. The symbol of Pisces is depicted as dual fish – sometimes, they swim in circles (very similar to the dragon of the ouroborous), and sometimes they simply swim in opposite directions. The Pisces – the last symbol of the western zodiac – is described as ethereal, dreamy, comapassionate, and quiet – but, there’s not just one fish, there’s two, so the Pisces is also described as one who can easily falter with depression, guilt, and can be quite blind to the ills of others. At once, the Pisces can be caring, but in the next, he can be cold and ruthless. The Pisces element is water; it’s ruling planets was once Venus and Jupiter, but now Neptune – and there are many astrologists who also link Pisces with the moon (though that tends to be a less predominant theory, it still exists). Venus was not only considered the goddess of love, but also the goddess of war, while Jupiter was the supreme deity and associated most often with the principles of justice and prosperity. Jin seems to be quite the Pisces – at once, he seems to be a wise quiet soul who wears prayer beads around his wrist, but in the next, he is a very lethal warrior.

Fish lore is quite abundant. Usually, the fish is associated with luck, prosperity, and fortune. There is a common folk tale told by many cultures of a fisherman who catches a fish. The fish tells the fisherman that if fisherman lets him go, he will grant the fisherman his heart’s desire. The fisherman does this – more out of sympathy for the talking fish rather than for the wish – and returns home to his wife. The wife implores her husband to return to the fish and ask for a certain boon. The fish grants boon, and the fisherman returns home. This sequence continues with the wife constantly imploring her husband to ask the fish for a bigger and more lavish boon. In the end, the fish finally tires of granting these boons and returns the fisherman and his wife to the state they were in to begin with. This is a great allegory of the Pisces duality. To begin with, he submits to the wishes of the fisherman, granting the gifts that are asked before, but in the end, he takes all of those gifts and leaves the fisherman with nothing. Tales like this are repeated constantly throughout lore.

Another fish as prosperity symbol can be found in the Bible and the feeding of the peasants with fish.

The fish as martyr and spiritual ascension: Aside from prosperity, the fish is also quite often associated with martyrdom and spiritual ascension. In Christian tradition, Jesus is represented as an icthys or fish. The symbol itself has a fantastic history in not only Christian lore, but pagan lore as well. For a great article on the Icthys go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthys .

The fish and strength: It is very odd to hear a fish being called strong, but that is because strength is usually defined in only physical terms rather than spiritual. In Tibetan Buddhist tradition, a fish is a symbol of strength throughout a period of suffering; this is also inherent in the many tales of fishermen. Fishermen are usually depicted as humble creatures who lack material wealth, but throughout it all, they remain spiritually strong and hopeful. Pisces is the only water sign that is unprotected by a shell – both the crab and scorpio enjoy a protection of sorts – therefore, it is in the fish’s nature to develop a strong inward persona to counteract the unprotected outside.

It is because of this strength that the fish is also seen as a symbol of balance. If Mugen’s rooster is chaos, then Jin’s fish is order. Because of the lack of a protective shell and exterior defenses such as talons or beating wings, a fish must be aware of lurking predators at all times; a fish must think before swimming off somewhere lest he find himself too close too danger; and just by the nature of the water in which he swims, a fish must learn balance lest he be swept away by a current.

Like with the rooster, these three symbols work together quite well. The fish as prosperity through spiritual strength, strength gives rise to spiritual ascension, and ascension gives rise to prosperity. While Jin’s character seems to reflect a great deal of this, he, like Mugen’s rooster, also reflects the more common aspects of fish lore.

Fish tales, anyone? How big was that fish? Smells fishy to me…. These are common lore associated with the fish. Exaggeration, deceptiveness, and mysteriousness are all patterns of the fish. Then, there is also the biggest fish tale of them all – Moby Dick. Moby Dick exhibits a great deal of dark, dark fish lore – from obsession, to revenge, to sheer animalistic rage. (In episode one, does Jin really have a reason to fight Mugen? Does he really have a reason to continue that fight at the end of episode one? Or in episode two? Or at any other time? What is the purpose of it? Is he chasing the great white whale? The only swordsman he could never defeat?)

Part Three: Fuu and the Harvest

The harvest is a rather general symbol, but most often it is attributed to goddess, mother, earth and fertility. Because of the general and extremely common nature of this symbol, there won’t be so much depth here, as there are plenty of places to look for symbols of harvest. Druidic, Celtic, Shinto, Taoist, Christian, Native American,Greek – all of these cultures possess vast (and I mean vast!) amounts of harvest symbolism. There is no culture in the world without a reference to harvest within their mythologies.

However, there are two interesting items to be pointed out.

One, is the appearance of the butterfly nearing the end of Fuu’s credit sequence. The butterfly in itself is a very intriguing little symbol. A symbol of re-invention and ascension (the caterpillar to the butterfly in both of these), beauty, luck… In heraldic and Aztec tradition, the butterfly represents the soul… This site offers a very comprehensive outlook on the symbolism of the butterfly: http://www.insects.org/ced4/butterfly_symbols.html

The other little item is that of the Shinto goddess of the ocean Funadama, and this is perhaps a good reason why dice are seen throughout the Fuu’s sequence. Funadama is a boat deity who protects mariners and fishermen and grants good catches if proper sacrifices are given. She is most often represented by a woman’s hair, 5 grains of wheat and dice! Yes, dice. While little could be dug up on Funadama, plenty of common lore could be dug up dice. (Nope, not getting into it. I think dice are pretty self-explanatory.)…

Masculinity vs. Femininity in the Champloo universe:

In Chinese astrology, the masculinity or femininity of the rooster seems to be quite ambiguous. The rooster is associated with a feminine energy (yin), yet, it’s assigned element of metal is associated with a masculine energy (yang.) And it can get quite a bit more confusing from there. Though metal is considered masculine, when compared to the traits of the four cardinal directions, metal is associated with the white tiger which is a yin element. And, if you want to be even more confused, take into consideration that Mugen’s rooster in the opening sequence is decidedly red, vermilion even – this red bird would seemingly correspond to Suzaku who controls the southern point of the four cardinal directions – Suzaku is a yin energy, yet, it’s element of fire is a masculine energy. And, yes, this can be made even more confusing than that, if one considers that the elements these animals often correspond with change at the beginning of the year and even with the hour, meaning that the connotations of the metallic rooster changes if say, it is the year of wood (or green), or if they were born in the hour of water (or blue)….. Extremely confusing to research, and to make it worse, not all of the texts concerning the femininity or masculinity of the rooster in Chinese astrology agree with each other. There are many instances where the rooster was considered to be a yang element.

(Since I am not an expert on Taoism, Confuscionism, Buddhism, or the I-Ching, I fear to comment on reasons for this ambiguity of yin-yang relationships concerning the Chinese Zodiac. I just know that I became incredibly confused. A few of the sources I read correlated the ambiguity to the coagulating of the elements from the three traditions but not the general agreement of them. Some sources have stated that the 12 animals of the zodiac have nothing at all to do with the 4 Cardinal directions or the 5 elements, while others have stated that they have everything to do with each other. If someone out there is a master of any of these traditions, and would be so kind enough as to clear up some of the confusion, I would be grateful. My head is spinning in circles.)

However, in western tradition, the rooster is undoubtedly a masculine energy. From Hermes (who is also often depicted as a phallic symbol), to the pope, to gender of the rooster itself, the rooster is depicted as a male force. In western traditions, the rooster takes on all of the traits of the eastern yang – light (as in sun), heavenly, aggressive, etc. – and this does indeed seem to be Mugen’s personality. (I can’t imagine anyone actually referring to Mugen as a feminine creature ? )

The fish on the other hand, like the Pisces astrological symbol, is neither a sign of femininity or masculinity, but a sign of both. In fact, some ancient Greek astrologers believed that Pisces the constellation was actually the deities Eros and Aphrodite – male and female. The Pisces is also a water sign – the most mutable of all zodiacal elements, quickly changing. Another instance of duality occurs in the planet Venus (Venus was originally the ruler of Pisces, not Neptune). Venus is named after the goddess Venus who was a very feminine warrior spirit, yet, when Venus is applied to the Taoist five elements (Oh no! not the Taoists again!), Venus is a masculine, with the elemental attribute of metal.

Harvest is feminine force without a doubt. Harvest, goddess, motherhood are all feminine qualities, as is Funadama and the ocean. The butterfly, as well, is another feminine element.

The Relationship of the Universe in Champloo

Another interesting theory – based again upon those opening credit sequences – is the relationship of the universe in Champloo. This one’s short and simple, so don’t fret.

The rooster is symbolic of the sun and beginning. The fish is a symbol of the stars (Venus is also called the Morning Star and Evening Star) and ending. The harvest, as a symbol of earth, sits between them.

Champloo and Infinty

All three characters, however, deal with some aspect of infinity. Harvest is the act of infinity – food is planted, it grows, it is harvested, it is regrown… Without harvest, there would be no life as there would be no food. Fuu’s infinity is essentially a physical infinity, or the act of reproduction. Though the harvest dies, or is eaten, seeds are saved, so the plant, in essence, continues on. Mugen’s infinity (as he so named himself) is a mathematical symbol, or a symbol of the mind and thought. Jin’s infinity – through the symbolism of fish – is a symbol of spiritual infinity.

Other symbols in the credits:

After the intro sequences, there are a series of small animals spliced in between the fight scene. This is a small explanation for these.

The praying mantis: wisdom, interpretation, foresight

Salamander (I think that’s what that little lizard is anyway) – flames; overcoming of turmoil without becoming afflicted; virtue, protection

Moth: see butterfly

The snake: the snake twisted around the stem is a reference to Hermes and the rod of Asclepius

Cicada - immortality, life after death

Frogs and tadpoles: humility, patience, abundance, rebirth

I think that got them all???

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