山姥形象·对传统妖怪文化的解构与重塑

很久前在小学看过这部电影好几遍，但总是没有留下很深的印象。前段时间电影课再次播放，童年初看这部电影的回忆涌上心头，依稀记得年幼时畏惧汤婆婆钱婆婆有些恐怖诡异的形象，如今查询资料发现这两位是日本妖怪文化中占据主要地位的山姥，于是写下这篇文章作为一个简单的学习研究结果，也给年少时梦魇里挥不去的鹰钩鼻大眼睛的老太婆作一个解构。原文为英文，以下为翻译版：

妖怪文化在日本民间传说中占据着重要地位，深刻影响了其文学和电影创作。其中，山姥（Yamamba或Yamauba）是最著名的形象之一。她是一位山中的女巫，既以恐怖的一面示人，又具有母性的关怀与智慧。她常被描绘成一个吃小孩、折磨误入其领地之人的可怕存在。然而，她同时也是一位充满母性光辉的形象，象征着养育与智慧。这种多面性使得山姥成为一个复杂的角色，并激发了宫崎骏在其著名电影《千与千寻》中创作类似角色的灵感。通过描绘一对外貌相同但性格截然相反的双胞胎姐妹，宫崎骏将山姥的传说现代化，将这一传统民间符号带入当代文化。他展示了同一个形象如何同时体现残忍与仁慈，反映了人性中复杂而矛盾的特质。

在迈克尔·迪伦·福斯特（Michael Dylan Foster）的著作《妖怪之书》（The Book of Yōkai）中，山姥被描述为“嘴巴巨大（有时从耳根裂开）、长发、目光锐利”的女性，通常独自居住在偏远的地方，这使得她的身份既恐怖又神秘。在许多故事中，山姥的行为与她的外貌一样可怕——她吃小孩和牲畜，甚至伪装成孩子的母亲，诱骗他们开门以便吞噬他们。一些故事警告旅人不要进入她的领地（她在山中的路径），否则她会发怒并杀死这些无辜的人。这一观念常与山神联系在一起，作为对后代的警示：人类必须始终尊重山林，敬畏自然的力量。然而，在其他故事中，山姥又被描绘成帮助村民的神灵，拥有四五个成年人的力量，象征着自然本身的无穷力量。她还会赐予妇女足够的乳汁喂养孩子。在某些叙事中，她甚至成为民间英雄金太郎（Kintarō）的母亲（或养母），而金太郎后来成为伟大武士赖光（Raikō）的家臣。这些矛盾的身份使山姥成为一个极其复杂的形象，既包含自然的破坏力，又体现其养育力。她也象征着力量或影响力既可用于善，也可用于恶。

在宫崎骏的电影《千与千寻》中，导演通过汤婆婆（Yubaba）这一核心角色来主要体现山姥的象征。与山姥相似，汤婆婆有着夸张的外貌特征——大头、尖鼻子和锐利的眼睛，并居住在一个与世隔绝的地方（澡堂的顶层）。她自私且贪婪，囚禁她的工人，让他们忘记自己的名字，从而无法回到现实世界。她甚至用一条蛞蝓控制白龙（Haku），迫使他服从她的命令，包括偷取钱婆婆（Zeniba）的金印。这些都展现了山姥破坏性的一面。然而，作为一个充满母性象征的神灵，汤婆婆对自己的孩子极为耐心和关爱。她为孩子坊（Boh）建造了一个豪华的房间，里面摆满了玩具和枕头，以防止他外出感染病毒或遭遇危险。这种行为进一步强调了汤婆婆强烈的控制欲。为了体现山姥的双重身份和人性的复杂性，宫崎骏塑造了汤婆婆的双胞胎姐妹钱婆婆。尽管两人外貌相同，甚至戴着相同的戒指，但钱婆婆象征着智慧、善良和慷慨。她通过教导千寻（Chihiro）努力工作和独立的重要性，帮助她成长。她甚至为千寻编织了一条发带，以保护她。她的善良与汤婆婆的贪婪形成鲜明对比，展示了力量既可用于控制，也可用于养育。因此，山姥的形象通过汤婆婆和钱婆婆得到了完整的体现。这些对立的特征也传达了人性的复杂性，表明人性本身既可用于破坏，也可用于引导，取决于如何使用这种力量。

总之，山姥的传说展现了她矛盾的身份：既恐怖又慈爱，既具破坏性又具保护性。这与《千与千寻》中的双胞胎姐妹形象相呼应。尽管她们外貌相同，但她们截然相反的性格强调了人性本身并非天生善恶——而是取决于如何使用它。通过将这一传统民间符号现代化，宫崎骏不仅保留了其文化意义，还探索了内在本质如何塑造人类行为，进一步强化了人性的复杂性。

原文：

Yokai (monster or ghost) culture plays a significant role in Japanese folklore, shaping its literature and film. One of the most famous figures is Yamamba (or Yamauba), a mountain witch known for both her terrifying and nurturing aspects. She is often depicted as a woman who eats children and torments those who wander into her territory. However, she is also a maternal figure associated with care and wisdom. This multifaceted nature personality makes Yamamba a complex character and inspired Hayao Miyazaki to create similar characters in his famous movie Spirited Away. By depicting twin sisters with identical appearances but opposite personalities, Miyazaki modernizes the Yamamba legend, taking this traditional folk symbol into contemporary culture. He illustrates how a single figure can embody both cruelty and kindness, reflecting the complex and contradictory qualities within all individuals.

In Michael Dylan Foster’s work The Book of Yōkai, Yamamba is described as a woman with “a large mouth (sometimes slit from ear to ear), long hair, and piercing eyes,” and often lives alone in distant places, making her identity both horrifying and mysterious. In many stories, Yamamba’s behavior is as terrifying as her appearance—she eats children and livestock. She even disguises herself as a child’s mother to deceive them into opening the door so she can devour them. Some stories warn the travelers not to enter her territory (her paths in the mountains), as she will be angry and kill these innocent people. This idea is often linked to the mountain deity, serving as a warning to future generations that humans must always respect the mountains and revere the power of nature. In contrast, other stories depict the Yamamba as a deity who helps villagers with their work, possessing the strength of four or five men—symbolizing the infinite power of nature itself. She also blesses women with the ability to produce enough milk for their children. In some narratives, she even becomes the mother (or adoptive mother) of Kintarō, a folk hero who later serves as a retainer to the great warrior Raikō. These contradictory identities make Yamamba a deeply complex figure, containing both the destructive and nurturing forces of nature. She also symbolizes how strength or influence can be used for both good and harmful purposes.

In Miyazaki’s movie Spirited Away, the director introduces Yubaba as a central character to mainly reflect the symbol of Yamamba. Like Yamamba, she’s got exaggerated features—a large head, sharp nose, and piercing eyes, and lives in an isolated place (top floor of the bathhouse). She is selfish and greedy, trapping her workers and leading them to forget their names so they can never back to the real world, and she even controls Haku with a slug, forcing him to obey her commands including stealing Zeniba’s golden seal. All of these demonstrate the aspect of Yamamba’s destructive identity. However, as a deity full of maternal symbols, Yubaba treats her child with incredible patience and care, she builds a luxurious room with numerous toys and pillows to place her child Boh and prevent him from going outside in case not infected by the virus and danger. This behavior further emphasizes Yubaba’s strong desire for control. To make the Yamamba’s dual identity and the complexity of human nature, Miyazaki portrays Yubaba’s twin sister, Zeniba. Even though both have the same appearance and features, like both have the same rings on figures, still, Zeniba still symbolizes wisdom, kindness, and generosity. She helped Chihiro grow by teaching her the importance of hard work and independence. She even knit a hair tie to protect her in her way. Her kindness contrasts with Yubaba’s greed, showing how power can be used for either control or nurturing. Therefore, the image of Yamamba is fully realized through Yubaba and Zeniba. These opposite characteristics also convey human nature’s complexity, showing that human nature itself can be used for destruction or guidance, depending on how to use the power.

In conclusion, Yamamba legend shows contradictory identities, both terrifying and nurturing, destructive yet protective, similar to the movie Spirit Away, in which Miyazaki reflects this fictitious figure by using a twin sister. Despite their identical appearances, their contrasting personalities emphasize that human nature itself is neither inherently good nor evil—it depends on how it is used. By modernizing this traditional folk symbol, Miyazaki not only preserves its cultural significance but also explores how inner nature shapes human behavior, reinforcing the complexities of human nature.

Reference:

Michael Dylan Foster, The Book of Yōkai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore (Oakland: University of California Press, 2015), 166-168.

来源：Michael Dylan Foster: The Book of Yokai