Three wise monkeys

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The three wise monkeys (in Japanese 三猿, sanzaru, or 三匹の猿, sanbiki no saru, lit. "three monkeys") are a pictorial maxim. Together they embody the proverbial principle "to see no evil, hear no evil, and to speak no evil". The three monkeys are Mizaru (見猿), covering his eyes, who sees no evil; Kikazaru (聞か猿), covering his ears, who hears no evil; and Iwazaru (言わ猿), covering his mouth, who speaks no evil.

The Three Wise Monkeys carved above the entrance to a stable in the Nikkō Tōshōgū shrine in Japan.

The source that popularized this pictorial maxim is a 17th century carving over a door of the famous Tōshō-gū shrine in Nikkō, Japan. The maxim, however, probably originally came to Japan with a Tendai-Buddhist legend possibly from India via China in the 8th century (Yamato Period). Though the teaching most probably had nothing to do with monkeys, the concept of the three monkeys originated from a word play on the fact that zaru in Japanese, which denotes the negative form of a verb, sounds like saru, monkey (actually it is one reading of 猿, the Chinese character for monkey). The saying in Japanese is "見ざる、聞かざる、言わざる" (mizaru, kikazaru, iwazaru), literally "don't see, don't hear, don't speak".

They have also been a motif in pictures, e.g. ukiyo-e, Japanese woodblock printings, by Keisai Eisen. Today they are known throughout Asia and in the Western world, but in the West generally the monkeys are See No Evil, Hear No Evil, and Speak No Evil.

The idea behind the proverb was part of the teaching of god Vadjra, that if we do not hear, see or talk evil, we ourselves shall be spared all evil. This is similarly reflected in the English proverb "Speak of the devil - and the devil appears."

Sometimes there is a fourth monkey depicted with the three others, the last one Shizaru (し猿), covers his abdomen or crotch and symbolizes the principle of "do no evil".

1 In Popular Culture
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

[edit] In Popular Culture

A brief scene in the original 1968 version of Planet of the Apes shows three orangutans posed in the manner of the Three Wise Monkeys. This scene is at the end of Taylor's trial, when Cornelius and Zira start talking about archeological digs in the Forbidden Zone.

In Capcom's GameCube/PS2 game Killer7, the player regularly encounters the characters Iwazaru (a supplier of information who covers his mouth), his wife Mizaru (who allows Kaede to use her blood abilities) and his friend Kikazaru (who searches for soul shells).

In Midway's PS2 game Shadow Hearts: Covenant, the characters Raiden (Speak No Evil), Hein (Hear No Evil), and Ouka (See No Evil) of the Mutant Apes are based on the Three Wise Monkeys.

In the cartoon show Jackie Chan Adventures, there was an episode based around a giant statue of the Three Wise Monkeys

In the television series Charmed, one episode revolved around the Three Wise Monkeys. The three main characters were bewitched by a monkey so that Phoebe lost her hearing, Piper lost her vision and Paige lost her voice.

The Powerpuff Girls Movie has a brief scene showing the three Powerpuff Girls in the pose of the Three Wise Monkeys. Ironically Bubbles (doesn't want to see the evil on Earth), Blossom (doesn't want to speak about it) and Buttercup (doesn't want to hear it) are unwilling to fight an army of mad monkeys, which are causing all the evil.

In the video game Ape Escape 2, there are three catchable monkeys named after the three virtues

The Three Wise Monkeys are the title creatures of a Perry Mason novel, The Case of the Mythical Monkeys by Earle Stanley Gardner.

T-shirts and baseball caps are available from many clothing shops with everything from kittens to green tree frogs in the pose of the Three Wise Monkeys.

In the MMORPG RuneScape, the quest Recipe for Disaster features three monkeys named Mizaru, Iwazaru, and Kikazaru. Mizaru is blind, Iwazaru is deaf, and Kikazaru is mute.

In an episode of Friday the 13th: the Series, statues of the Three Wise Monkeys appear, each one with the power to test the virtue it represents. Anyone who fails the test is forced to commit ritual suicide.

In the third episode of Revenge of the Cybermen, the Doctor and his two companions appear briefly in the poses of the three wise monkeys as a visual gag.

In Danny Phantom episode One of a Kind a purple back gorrila fight with a robotic ghost. During this fight there is a shot dat Danny, Sam and Tucker are posed in see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil.

The 2006 Bollywood comedy, Tom, Dick and Harry, the same concept was used. Here the character Tom is Deaf, Dick is blind and Harry is mute.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Gregory Y. Titelman, Random House Dictionary of America's Popular Proverbs and Sayings, Second Edition, Random House, New York, 2000. ISBN 0-375-70584-8.