Monkey as Mirror
This tripartite study of the monkey metaphor, the monkey performance, and the ''special status'' people traces changes in Japanese culture from the eighth century to the present. During early periods of Japanese history the monkey''s nearness to the human-animal boundary made it a revered mediator or an animal deity closest to humans. Later it became a scapegoat mocked for its vain efforts to beha...
This tripartite study of the monkey metaphor, the monkey performance, and the ''special status'' people traces changes in Japanese culture from the eighth century to the present. During early periods of Japanese history the monkey''s nearness to the human-animal boundary made it a revered mediator or an animal deity closest to humans. Later it became a scapegoat mocked for its vain efforts to beha...
