Shobijin (Showa)
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- Disclaimer: This page covers both the original version of the Shobijin played by Emi and Yumi Ito, as well as the Shobijin played by Yuko and Yoko Okada in Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, who are sometimes denoted in official books as the "Second Generation" Shobijin.
- Shobijin: “We truly want to return home as soon as possible... But...”
- Zenichiro Fukuda: “But what?”
- Shobijin: “She will come to rescue us... Regardless of what happens to your country... And that fills us with great sadness.”
- Zenichiro Fukuda: “Great sadness?”
- Michi Hanamura: “What's happening?”
- Shobijin: “Mothra is coming.”
- ― Shobijin speaking to Zenichiro Fukuda, Michi Hanamura, and Shinichi Chujo (Mothra)
The Shobijin (小美人 Shōbijin, lit. "little beauties") are tiny twin fairies who serve as the priestesses of Mothra in the monster's 1961 debut film Mothra. They later crossed over into the Godzilla franchise in 1964's Mothra vs. Godzilla and appeared again the same year in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster. For these first three film appearances, the pair were played by Japanese musical duo The Peanuts, composed of twin sisters Emi and Yumi Ito. For their appearance in the 1966 film Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, the Shobijin were played by another singing duo, Pair Bambi, composed of Yuko and Yoko Okada. Sources disagree on whether or not these individuals are intended to be the same version played by The Peanuts.
In Mothra, the Shobijin were first discovered by a joint Rolisican-Japanese expedition to the irradiated Infant Island, with one member of the expedition kidnapping the fairies and bringing them to Japan to exploit them for profit, though they were later rescued by their goddess, Mothra. In Mothra vs. Godzilla, the Shobijin returned to Japan to request the return of Mothra's egg that had been washed away in a typhoon, and despite failing to obtain it, later assisted their human allies by sending Mothra to Japan to fight Godzilla. While Mothra died in battle, the Shobijin's prayers helped the egg hatch, and the Mothra larvae went on to defeat Godzilla. Later that same year, after one of the larvae had passed away, the Shobijin were on a goodwill trip to Japan when King Ghidorah arrived to menace the Earth. The fairies summoned Mothra to convince Godzilla and Rodan to help save the world, and the three monsters successfully thwarted the space dragon's siege on their planet. In Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, the Shobijin played an integral role in rescuing Infant Islanders that had been enslaved by the Red Bamboo.
Name
"Shobijin" is a romanization of the Japanese Shōbijin (小美人), meaning "little beauties." This name is coined by the character Senichiro Fukuda in Mothra after he hears Shinichi Chujo's account of the Shobijin rescuing him from the Vampire Plant. In Mothra, the Shobijin are alternatively referred to as the Fairies (妖精 Yōsei) in both Japanese and English. The English-dubbed version of the movie only ever refers to them as the "beauties" or "little girls," and the dub of Mothra vs. Godzilla uses similar informal terms. The English-dubbed version of Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster instead uses "Fairies" exclusively.
Columbia Pictures' publicity for their release of Mothra referred to the Shobijin as Ailenas,[1] a name taken from the novel upon which the movie is based. Around the time of the release of Godzilla vs. Mothra in 1992, some tie-in materials such as Godzilla vs. Mothra Super Complete Works began applying the Cosmos (コスモス Kosumosu) name to the previous Shobijin incarnation(s).[2] This did not catch on with later sources, however. The book Godzilla Dictionary [New Edition] designates the pairs of Shobijin played by The Peanuts and Pair Bambi as Shobijin (First Generation) (小美人（初代） Shōbijin (Shodai)) and Shobijin (2nd Generation) (小美人（2代目） Shōbijin (Nidaime)), respectively.[3]
Personality
In Mothra, even after being kidnapped and essentially enslaved by humans, the Shobijin still expressed a great sadness in knowing that many innocent lives would be lost when Mothra came to save them. They retained this concern for humanity in Mothra vs. Godzilla, as their primary concern was not for Mothra, who would simply return to Infant Island upon hatching, but for any humans caught in her path before she could make her way home. However, following humanity's failure to return the egg in addition to prior nuclear tests conducted around their island, the Shobijin briefly became distrustful of mankind and attempted to turn their backs on them, seemingly indifferent towards the lives being lost at the hands of Godzilla. Fortunately, they were later convinced to give humanity another chance to the point of sending Mothra on what they acknowledged to be a suicide mission to save Japan from Godzilla. Furthermore, following these events, they even began making voluntary trips to Japan to appear on television programs and pledged to return anytime they were asked to do so, though they wished that their visits would be met with less fanfare.
History
- Mothra (1961)
- Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
- Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
- Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)
- Godzilla: Tokyo SOS (2003) [stock footage]
- Godzilla Final Wars (2004) [photographs]
Showa era
Mothra
The small and seemingly uninhabited Infant Island became the subject of outside scrutiny following an incident in which shipwreck survivors were rescued on the shores of the island unharmed despite being subjected to what was believed to be lethal levels of radiation as a result of recent nuclear tests in the area. A joint expedition by Japanese and Rolisican scientists was launched to investigate the survivors' claims of a native population inhabiting the island who supplied them with a juice that protected their bodies from the island's radiation. While separated from the group, linguist Shinichi Chujo was nearly killed by a Vampire Plant until two tiny, doll-sized women saved him using strange telepathic abilities. The rest of the expedition would later encounter these mysterious fairies as well, dubbed "Shobijin" by reporter Senichiro Fukuda. After Chujo assured the Shobijin that their island would be spared from further nuclear testing, a greedy Rolisican member of the expedition, Clark Nelson, made a daring attempt to grab the Shobijin in the hopes of bringing them back to Japan until his efforts were thwarted by the island's natives and pressure from the rest of the expedition. Unfortunately, Nelson was not deterred, and later returned to Infant Island to follow through on his plan by kidnapping the Shobijin and slaughtering the natives who attempted to stop him.
Nelson proceeded to make a grand spectacle of the Shobijin upon returning to Tokyo, creating a widely publicized exhibition that featured the fairies singing a mysterious song calling out to their deity, Mothra. Chujo and his allies later met with the Shobijin, who used their telepathic abilities to communicate. The Shobijin expressed dismay at their captivity and warned that if they are not returned to their island and their people, Mothra would come to rescue them. Even after learning that a giant monster was heading to Japan, Nelson and Rolisican officials denied that the monster had any connection to the Shobijin while continuing to exploit the fairies for profit. When Mothra finally made landfall in Japan, however, Nelson was ordered to release the Shobijin to spare the country from further destruction; he instead fled to Rolisica with the Shobijin hidden away in a specialized case that prevented Mothra from detecting them. Mothra later began laying waste to Rolisica in search of the Shobijin while Nelson was killed in a confrontation with police searching for him shortly thereafter. Chujo and his allies arrived to rescue the Shobijin and brought them to a nearby airstrip, where Mothra's symbol was painted onto the runway to attract her attention. The Shobijin expressed gratitude towards their saviors and bid them farewell as they left with Mothra, who promptly returned to Infant Island without further incident.
Mothra vs. Godzilla
After a giant egg was found off the shores of Japan in the wake of a great typhoon, entrepreneur Kumayama purchased the egg from the locals. While in his hotel room, Kumayama discussed plans with his financier to make the egg the centerpiece of an amusement park when the two men were visited by the Shobijin, who pleaded for the egg to be returned to them, only to flee when the men attempted to capture them. The Shobijin later appeared before reporter Ichiro Sakai, photographer Junko Nakanishi, and scientist Shunsuke Miura, who had also been investigating the egg. The Shobijin revealed that the egg belonged to Mothra and begged them to help return it to Infant Island. With the Shobijin's help, the trio attempted to convince Kumayama to do the right thing, though their request was quickly refuted once again, prompting the Shobijin to leave empty-handed.
Following the return of Godzilla, Sakai, Junko, and Miura later ventured to the nuclear bomb-ravaged Infant Island to request the adult Mothra's help in defeating the monster laying waste to Japan, only for the natives and Shobijin to refuse, having become distrustful of humanity. Junko and Sakai argued that they should not blame all of humanity for the actions of a few and that humanity could do better moving forward. Their appeal proved successful and the Shobijin led them to Mothra, but warned that Mothra was near death. Sakai, Junko, and Miura brought the Shobijin with them back to Japan, where they witnessed Mothra engage Godzilla in battle near the egg. Though Mothra soon died in battle, the Shobijin sang a prayer for the egg to hatch and allow Mothra to be reborn. The egg then hatched to reveal not one, but two larvae, who went on to defeat Godzilla. In the aftermath, the Shobijin departed with the larvae back to Infant Island.
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
The Shobijin made a voluntary visit to Japan where they appeared on a television program to honor a request from two children to see Mothra. While the Shobijin revealed that one of the larva had since passed away, they sang a song that allowed the audience to see the remaining Mothra on Infant Island. Later, as they prepared to board a ship home, a mysterious Venusian prophetess warned them against boarding the ship - a warning which they fortunately heeded, as Godzilla destroyed the ship soon after. Reporter Naoko Shindo later encountered the Shobijin in a hotel room that she brought the prophetess to, where the fairies helped thwart an assassination attempt on the prophetess.
Following the arrival of King Ghidorah, Professor Murai and Shindo brought the Shobijin to government officials, who requested Mothra's aid in stopping the space dragon. The Shobijin expressed their concerns that the young Mothra would not be able to defeat King Ghidorah alone, but suggested that she could work with Godzilla and Rodan to stop the alien invader. The Shobijin summoned Mothra to Japan and joined her at the site of Godzilla and Rodan's battle, where they translated the monsters' dialogue to Murai and his allies. Though Godzilla and Rodan initially refused to help, the two kaiju were inspired by Mothra's bravery when she attempted to fight alone and joined the battle. After the monsters successfully repelled King Ghidorah from Earth, the Shobijin accompanied Mothra back to Infant Island.
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep
A terrorist organization known as the Red Bamboo enslaved dozens of Infant Islanders and forced them to work on Letchi Island, which was guarded by the monster Ebirah. The Shobijin and the island's remaining inhabitants prayed for Mothra to save the captives, though the divine moth was too deep in slumber to hear them. After escaping Letchi Island, Ryota reunited with his shipwrecked brother Yata on Infant Island, where the two planned on returning to the Red Bamboo's base to free the enslaved people. The Shobijin supplied the brothers with a yellow liquid meant to keep Ebirah at bay and asked them to construct a large net once they freed the captives. Eventually, Mothra awoke, at which point the Shobijin accompanied her to Letchi Island. Upon arrival, the Shobijin told everyone to get in the net, which Mothra grabbed just in time to save the humans before the Red Bamboo's self-destruct mechanism consumed the island in a nuclear explosion. Mothra and the Shobijin brought the survivors back home without further incident.
Godzilla: Tokyo SOS
In 2004, relatives of the original Shobijin named Hio and Mana traveled to Japan alongside Mothra to request the assistance of Shinichi Chujo on an important mission, believing that they could trust him given his role in rescuing their predecessors in 1961.
Abilities
Telepathic abilities
The Shobijin possess telepathic capabilities, allowing them to communicate with one another without the use of words and feel others' emotions. They were also able to repel the Vampire Plant as it attacked Shinichi Chujo using these abilities. Most notably, they have a strong telepathic bond with Mothra, who is able to detect them from across entire oceans; this bond also allows them to summon her to their location at will. Their telepathy also allows them to translate the dialogue of other kaiju such as Godzilla and Rodan.
Video games
- Godzilla Defense Force (2019) - Android and iOS
Godzilla Defense Force
In the face of a great Xilien invasion, various incarnations of Mothra's fairies appear as unlockable allies who can join forces with the player and the Earth Defense Force against the Xiliens' monsters. This includes three different versions of the Showa Shobijin, based on their appearances in Mothra, Mothra vs. Godzilla, and Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, who appear alongside the Cosmos, the Elias, and two other versions of the Shobijin.
The Shobijin ('61) in Godzilla Defense Force
The Shobijin ('64) in Godzilla Defense Force
The Shobijin ('66) in Godzilla Defense Force
Gallery
- Main article: Shobijin/Gallery.
Trivia
- Another Mothra was featured in the 1968 film Destroy All Monsters as a captive of Monsterland, though the Shobijin themselves are not seen nor even mentioned in any capacity, leaving their whereabouts and fate unknown.
References
This is a list of references for Shobijin (Showa). These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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Bibliography
- Sagami, Yasuyuki, ed. (28 March 2014). Godzilla vs. Mothra Super Complete Works (Kindle ed.). Shogakukan. ISBN 978-4-09-101433-7.
- Nomura, Kohei (7 August 2014). Godzilla Dictionary [New Edition]. Kasakura Publishing. ISBN 978-4-7730-8725-3.
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