One Response to “Tiger Metal”

1. Reimyo
   April 14th, 2011 @ 3:24 am

   Are you aware that manga/anime characters based on Byakko already exist in series such as Yu Yu Hakusho and Fushigi Yuugi? Anyway, here's a few bits I could find…

   SOURCE 1

   "During the Han Dynasty, people believed the tiger to be the king of all beasts. Legend had it that when a tiger reached 500 years old, its tail would turn white. In this way, the white tiger became a kind of mythological creature. It was said that the white tiger would only appear when the emperor ruled with absolute virtue, or if there was peace throughout the world. Because the color white of the Chinese five elements also represents the west, the white tiger thus became a mythological guardian of the west.

   Like the other Four Symbols, the White Tiger corresponds to seven "mansions", or positions, of the moon.

   * Legs (Chinese: 奎; pinyin: Kuí)
   * Bond (Chinese: 婁; pinyin: Lóu)
   * Stomach (Chinese: 胃; pinyin: Wèi)
   * Hairy Head (Chinese: 昴; pinyin: Mǎo)
   * Net (Chinese: 畢; pinyin: Bì)
   * Turtle Beak (Chinese: 觜; pinyin: Zī)
   * Three Stars (Chinese: 參; pinyin: Shēn)"

   SOURCE 2

   "The Four Gods are the central figures of an ancient Chinese system of astrology and geomancy which was imported to Japan and absorbed into Onmyoudou mysticism (among other beliefs). In this system, there were 28 "star houses" (constellations) which ran the circumference of the sky. The heavenly king divided the sky into the northern, southern, eastern, and western quadrants, each with 7 star houses; each quadrant was ruled by a god beast. In the original Chinese version, there was one more divine beast, Huang-long, the "Yellow Dragon of the Center" and embodies the element of Earth. He is very notably missing from the Japanese version, where the center represents void. Void, being nothingness, has no divine beast associated with it. The closest Japanese version of him would be Ouryu. This is probably the biggest reason why you will not see him in anime/manga.

   These gods were (Chinese, then Japanese names)

   * Qīng Lóng — Seiryuu (The Azure Dragon, representing Spring and Wood) to the East
   * Zhū Què — Suzaku (The Vermillion Phoenix, representing Summer and Fire) to the South
   * Bái Hǔ — Byakko (The White Tiger, representing Autumn and Metal) to the West
   * Xuán Wǔ — Genbu (The Black Turtle, representing Winter and Water) to the North
   * Huáng Lóng (only in original Chinese version) (The Yellow Dragon of the Center, representing the Changing Seasons and Earth) to the Center"

   SOURCE 3

   "The sky is divided into four quadrants: one for each of the four cardinal directions and four seasons. They are: The Black Tortoise of Winter (North), The Azure Dragon of Spring (East), The Red Bird of Summer (South) and The White Tiger of Fall (West). There is also a fifth direction, 'center',being the earth. Each quadrant, or 'celestial palace' has seven sei shuku or 'moon stations', otherwise known as constellations. The sei shuku were determined roughly from the relative position of the moon against the stars."

   SOURCE 4

   "Each creature has a corresponding season, color, element, virtue, and other traits. Further, each corresponds to a quadrant in the sky, with each quadrant containing seven seishuku, or star constellations (also called the 28 lunar mansions or lodges).

   Tortoise (Black Warrior) = North, Winter, Black, Water
   White Tiger (Kirin) = West, Fall, White, Metal
   Red Bird (Phoenix) = South, Summer, Red, Fire
   Dragon = East, Spring, Blue/Green, Wood

   The pictorial theme developed around the Warring States to Early Han period in China. Frequently painted on the walls of early Chinese and Korean tombs, the animals served primarily an apotropaic function warding off evil spirits.

   The Dragon's Heart, the Pleiades, and the Bird Star are the names of three of the lunar mansions which marked the central position of the Dragon, Tiger and Bird.

   # Dragon. East, Spring, Wood, Planet Jupiter, liver & gall
   # Red Bird (Phoenix). South, Summer, Fire, Planet Mars; heart and large intestines
   # White Tiger. West, Autumn, Wind, Metal, Planet Venus, lungs and small intestine
   # Tortoise. North, Black, Winter, Cold, Water, Planet Mercury, kidneys and bladder

   WEST – THE WHITE TIGER
   Jpn = Byakko 白虎, Chn = Baihu. Guards Buddha’s teachings and mankind; observes world with clairvoyance; corresponds to the season fall, the color white, wind, the element metal, and the virtue righteousness. Says Donald Mackenzie: "The White Tiger of the West, for instance, is associated with metal. When, therefore, metal is placed in a grave, a ceremonial connection with the tiger god is effected. According to the Chinese Annals of Wu and Yueh, three days after the burial of the king, the essence of the element metal assumed the shape of a white tiger and crouched down on the top of the grave. Here the tiger is a protector – a preserver. As we have seen, white jade was used when the Tiger god of the West was wo