– Dont raise your voice! I'll kill you if you make a sound. – Would you please? 聖母観音大菩薩 [Seibo Kannon daibosatsu / Eros Eterna] (Kōji Wakamatsu, 1977)
Mar
7
immortality
The yao bikuni (Eiko Matsuda) rises from the ocean. DP: Hideo Itō.
An immortal character on the date Highlander (1986) was released.
When a woman eats the flesh of a 人魚 (ningyo, litt. “human fish” but in Western context commenly translated as “mermaid”), she may become a 八百比丘尼 [yao bikuni], an 800 year* old Buddhist nun granted youth and longevity.
*The number 8 symbolises growth and prosperity. Larger numbers starting with 8 indicate that the amount is endless, comparable to saying “hundreds/thousands/millions of […]” in English. Therefore, 800 years can be understood as immortal.