By Philip Jean-Pierre
I can already hear you nerds coming after me about, “What about Tanuki-the raccoon dog?”, What about Kitsune, the fox? What about them? The world is a big place with room for all of them. Around the world, there are hundreds of trickster figures. There is Hermes in Greece, the Coyote in North America, the hare Sungura from East Africa, Anansi from West Africa, Brer Rabbit from the American South, and Loki of Norse mythology from…uhm…where it’s cold.
I know I said anime; however, as the medium is 106 years old—the first anime aired on June 30, 1917. Namakura Gatana (The Dull Sword, produced by Jun’ichi Kōuchi), unless we are talking full-feature movies. That was Momotaro: Sacred Sailors (April 12, 1945), produced by Mitsuyo Seo. I know what you’re thinking, but Mr. Philip, AKA Mr. Dusty Sprinkles, what does this have to do with Satoru Gojo (Jujutsu Kaisen), the special grade jujutsu sorcerer, inheritor of both the Limitless and the Six Eyes and questionably funniest teacher at the Tokyo Jujutsu High. All art is governed by history and culture; Satoru Gojo embodies the trickster archetype translated from Japanese culture into anime. Yes, I know the creator has said Gojo has links to Michizane Sugawara (Heian-era scholar/poet/Shinto god of learning), but please forgive me while we put a pin in that. What is the trickster before I begin my unhinged dissertation on our man Gojo? Let’s Discuss “The Trickster”. A trickster is a character in a story about a god, goddess, spirit, human, or anthropomorphized figure who exhibits a great degree of arcane secret knowledge and uses it to play tricks on humans, gods, and other animals in an effort to disobey normal rules and defy conventional societal constructs aka what is considered normal and proper in a society or culture.
Let’s walk a bit back for context. Remember that Japan has three recognized religions: Shinto, Japan’s earliest religion, Buddhism, and Confucianism. Technically, we should also include Christianity, but it is a minor acknowledgment on the part of the Japanese, and its presence is nominal at best. Specifically, in the Shinto tradition, we have Take-haya-Susa-no-wo or Susanoo, the god of the storm. Wait a minute before you cosplayers go googlicious to find this figure and emulate him amid a Gwen-Stefani-harajuku haze of cultural appropriation during your next group viewing of the live-action Speed Racer movie. Susanoo is a figure of chaos, mayhem, and upheaval. He caused more problems than the eggplant emoji. I will refrain from reviewing this trickster god’s greatest hits for this talk. The chaos, destruction, theft, and especially that thing with a horse aside, don’t ask, seriously don’t, Susanoo’s lasting legacy could be stated as challenging the norm, shaking up the status quo, and bringing about change to the world—in his case the gods of Japan–much to the consternation of the rest of the pantheon. Sound familiar?
While the Trickster figure is considered a mischievous or roguish figure in myth or folklore ( Gojo check) who tends to alternate between cleverness and stupidity (remember when Gojo, after encountering a Sukuna-possessed Itadori, went on a gibberish-laden discussion of how tasty the whipped cream was in his kikufuku-cream filled mochi), kindness and cruelty (the sorrow he felt when Riko Amanaiwas killed and how it took Sugaru Geto to keep him from going murder-hobo on the whole of Time Vessel Association for mocking Riko’s Death), deceiver and deceived, breaker of taboos, and creator of culture.
These are constant traits shown directly and indirectly in the portrayal of Gojo. A loose interpretation, maybe, but things evolve, and his inspiration from these millenia-old figures is obvious. Gojo embodies the tricker’s chaotic sauntering through the halls of power. Displaying a casual disdain at the complacency of power and authority, in this case, I mean the administration of Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College, he sees that could use some shaking up, enter: Gojo the trickster to lead them by hook or crook to enlightenment. From his carefree attitude in the face of the monstrous creatures to a lax adherence to any school curriculum and sometimes rules, Gojo and his adventures can be messier than the second act of a Tyler Perry movie and more complicated than a Nick Canon Genealogical survey.