History Lesson
Excerpts from A History of Our World: Past and Present Education for Students in Grades 4-5 by S.R. Williams:
page 233
Discovery of the Monsters
In the year 1615, a famous Japanese explorer named Tanaka Shosuke was carrying an embassy of more than 150 men and women across the Pacific Ocean to the Americas. A fierce storm took his ship, the 500-ton galleon (gal-E-on) San Juan Bautista off course. The storm was so bad that Shosuke and his crew became very lost since they could not see the night sky, which was like a map for explorers.
Eventually, after many hours of battling the storm, Shosuke, his crew and passengers found themselves upon a strange new island that had not yet been found by any other explorer. It was there that they discovered what Shosuke called kaiju (kI-joo), which in his language meant “strange beasts.” In English, we call these animals “monsters.” He later wrote of the island and the creatures living on it:
“There we saw great beasts living upon the island. Some of these animals were as large and fantastic as Yamata-no-Orochimaru or Watatsumi (ancient Japanese Dragons. - Ed.) themselves, while others were very small, and their natures varied like the colors of leaves. Some seemed calm, like stilled waters, but others were fierce, raging like the very waves that brought us to this strange place. Often, they would fight among themselves for seemingly no reason other than simply to do so. As they battled, they appeared oblivious to the world around them, toppling many forests worth of trees — enough to build cities. They scorched the land with breath of fire, burrowed beneath it with massive claws and filled the air with devastating gales from the flapping of their great wings. They took no heed of us, as small as we are, and more than once my men and I would have to seek shelter within caves to avoid being crushed beneath the falling of their mammoth steps.
Shosuke named this previously undiscovered island after the animals living there. He called it “Land of the Kaiju.” We now call the island simply “Kaiju Island” or “Monster Island … ”
page 235
… Eventually, Shosuke and his crew came upon a group of men and women living on the island. The explorer described these people as being “primitive,” and that they dressed “immodestly” and spoke an unknown language. Modern day researchers refer to this language as “Vislorian,” named after its speakers and their deity, known now as “King Vislor.”
Shosuke wrote again of his experiences, this time with the natives of Kaiju Island and a ritual in honor of their god:
“Although we could not understand their strange tongue, through a collection of hand signals and body motions we gathered that these primitive people had invited us to attend some form of ceremony. They welcomed us openly as if reuniting with old friends. The natives took us to a large opening at the base of a mountain, on the face of which a tremendous effigy — as large as two ships — of a great, horned hound had been carved. We understood this to be their god, a beast whom they called “Vislor.” The ceremony itself was a primal thing, a dance of flame and flesh around a massive pyre, pulsating reflections and shadows that filled the smoky air. As they danced, the men and women repeatedly chanted their god’s name — “Vislor. Vislor. Vislor.” — each reiteration sung louder than the last until the name filled our ears and pounded through our heads like the remnants of the strongest sake. Just when we felt we could take no more — that our heads would burst from the pounding of that name — the natives stopped, their hands raised upwards to the great face on the mountain. I cannot speak for my crew, but with the cessation of the chant my ears echoed with the intense beating of my heart. It was as if my body was waiting. Then, we all heard it — a great howl from above, so deep and powerful that surely our families back home must have heard it. The men and I shook in fear, terrified of a beast capable of conjuring such an immense sound. We later learned our fear had been misplaced…”
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“…The primitives brought before us an infirm woman. Through a series of vocal clicks, hand gestures and etches in the earth, we determined the woman was at the end of her days and was to be presented to the great hound Vislor, who would ferry her soul to their version of the Afterlife. We followed a procession of them up a series of paths through the mountain. These paths were well worn, obviously traveled countess times over hundreds, maybe thousands of years. The dying woman was carried on a small cot so that she did not have to make the journey herself, though I doubted she would have been able. We traveled upward for hours before finally stopping at the mouth of a huge opening in the mountainside. They placed the platform and the woman on it in front of this great opening and retreated to several hundred feet away. We followed, then watched transfixed as they danced and began chanting their god’s name again: Vislor, Vislor, Vislor. As the minutes passed, their dancing became more and more erratic, a frenzy of waving arms and pounding feet that culminated with each of them dropping, one at a time, to his knees and bowing before the great cave. Then, there was silence save for the sounds of night and the soft moans of the dying woman. It seemed as if nothing would happen.
We saw the eyes first — great globes of yellow that reflected the moon’s light as the head of the beast emerged. Like its visage shaped into the mountainside, the kaiju called Vislor was a tremendous hound, its snout bigger than the ship that brought us here. Atop the beast’s head grew a circle of horns, each standing taller than any tree I had ever seen. It reached out with a great hand and gently lifted the dying woman into it. One of my men, I was so transfixed I didn’t look to see whom, whispered that the kaiju’s paws looked startlingly like a man’s. They did! It was as if a man were lifting a small porcelain figure to his eye to examine it. At first, I thought the beast might eat the woman. He lifted her to his mouth, but did not swallow her. Instead, we heard the beast inhale deeply, as if to sigh. He then gently lowered the woman back to the ground, laying her on the platform, and returned to the darkness of his cave. When the primitives retrieved her, she was dead. We made the long trek back down the mountain in silence…”
page 238
… Since their discovery on Kaiju Island, which has now becoming a booming tourist attraction, the giant monsters have become very popular. They often appear as the subjects of books and film documentaries. They have also been featured in cartoons and in many movies. Their distinct growls, cries and roars have even been adopted by many popular hip-hop musicians, who frequently sample these sounds in their music …
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… Although they are often seen fighting among themselves on their home and have a few times killed men and women exploring there, most experts believe they do not pose a risk for people. As far as we know, the monsters have never left Kaiju Island and most believe they never will. We continue to learn more and more about these fascinating animals every year. Scientists, explorers, and even just curious travelers in search of an adventurous weekend trip frequently brave the island … One day, we hope to learn where they came from and everything else about these wonderful and unique creatures.
Comprehension Question: How have the kaiju helped shape popular culture?