The Pretender
New Member
I'm still in the stages of doing research for this prop. It may take a long while for me to actually get to making the damn thing. Being a prop from an animated show and never having made a prop before, I am not certain of my methods yet. So this may take a while.
The mask of Amon is iconic from Korra's first season, which is arguably it's best season (ignoring the finale). It represents a concept for the Avatar to battle as opposed to a character, in addition to the character. Amon's mask represents an interesting duality to the character; it sends the message that anyone could be Amon, but clearly, Amon isn't quite so humble. It represents the message that the Equalists believe that everyone is equal, but are also a personality cult. And, as you may have seen from my avatar, I'm quite the fan. I hated the reveal that Amon was in it for himself in the end; I'd have preferred if he remained a complex, self-aggrandizing idealist. Someone who is obsessed with taking the place of the Avatar as the world's spiritual leader, but despite his hubris would still have made a great candidate.
Either way, I will treat this mask with the greatest respect I can as I analyze it's dimensions, while also attempting to make it seem less cartoon-ey if worn IRL.
Acknowledgements
It's important that I acknowledge a number of other prop makers on this forum which have done their own work on making the mask. I'll list them here for future reference.
There is an entire blog dedicated to how many cultural references the Avatar shows make called "avatar annotated". I may use it as reference at times.
Disclaimer: Cultural References
People might wonder why I go so deep into detail into the cultural references in the show. Well, let me show you how clever the show was in hiding it's references;
Nisshoki Hypothesis
First, the Nisshoki Hypothesis bears discussion. Ever since the character was first revealed, people speculated that the big red circle on the forehead is a reference to the flag of Japan. At first, I thought that this might be too easy, so I decided to do research into the subject. The results have been surprising.
According to this description, the Japanese Flag (called Nisshoki, i.e. “Rising-Sun Flag” for it’s Hinomaru i.e. “Disk of the Sun”), features the following ratios;
Based on the calculations, we need to draw a rectangle of 66.7 pixels wide and 95,2 pixels long. You can’t draw half pixels since our calculations are based on a close approximation, though not precise one, so we’ll round up to 2 significant numbers for width and length; 67 x 95.
As you can see above, the drawn rectangle now completed the Nisshoki on Amon’s forehead. Surprisingly, the length between the ends of the eye-slits align perfectly to the ratio. That of course proves nothing, anyone could draw a rectangle over any red dot and correlate how it fits with the Japanese flag. Illuminati conspiracy theories comes to mind.
When we draw the rectangle over the eyeslits, an error seems to appear. If you look very closely, you’ll notice that the circle, is ever so slightly off centre. This could simply be a marginal error. After all, 1. the mask is 3 dimensional, so the mask might be facing us at a slight angle. 2. the creators are only human. 3. a pixel worth of error is still pretty precise.
However, here's my theory; as shown above, one of the prerequisites of the Nisshoki is that the Hinomaru is supposed to be off-center. While the above explanations are perfectly viable, even probable, it may be one of those beautiful errors which compound the symbolism rather than obscuring it. I'll investigate other pictures in the future if they display this error. Regardless, though, it may be an interesting feature to conclude in the end product.
Relevance of the Nisshoki
This is important, seeing as the Hinomaru bears important symbolism to Japan. It signifies the ‘rising sun’, which was born during Japan’s imperialist and militarist period from the Meiji era to the end of World War II. However, the equalists are anything but imperialist and to an extent anti-militarist. In fact, there is some controversy around the Nisshoki flag for it’s militarist connotations in Japan.
It could mean that Amon planned to become an imperialist after he had 'equalized the world’. However, it is more likely that the symbol is used to signify Amon’s destiny as 'the chosen one’ of the Spirits. The Rising Sun symbolizes a tale of the sun goddess Amaterasu grieving in a cave, only to be lured out by her own reflection in a bronze mirror held up by another god(a simplified version of the tale). She later sent her son to pacify Japan with the mirror and other artefacts that Japan has since used to prove that their emperors were descendants of the sun goddess.
Amon doesn’t claim to be the descendant of a god, but he does claim that he has come to pacify the world. He also claims to be the bearer of truth, which is usually symbolized by the sacred mirror of Amaterasu. The central message of truth in the avatar universe is that all people of Earth are one people and Amon has come to equalize them. Therefore, he is a 'reflection’ of the truth. Interestingly, Amon has this symbol on his forehead, which is also where the chakra of truth is located.
However, it can also be theorized that the symbol is not related to Japan at all. For example, it may symbolize the red moon which removed the ability to bend water. Finally, it may also represent the sacred koi fish from the Water Tribe oasis, whose (temporary) death resulted in all waterbenders losing their powers.
Other Hinomaru Symbolism
The Hinomaru or the Disk of the Sun, is a red disk which can be traced to many other important symbols in Japan. Most notably, however, I think that the Hinomaru can be found on koi fish. The exact same koi fish that inhabit the sacred waters on the North Pole, yes!
These koi fish or carp were imported to Japan in the 17th century and since then have been bred into a plethora of species. Notable is the ‘Tancho’, which means 'crane’, which has the same kind of spot on it’s forehead.
The fish from the pond, Tui and La, are, by the way, not actual Tancho koi, as Tancho koi have a red spot on their head and that spot is not allowed to pass over their shoulder. But then, their spots aren't red either, so they wouldn't have been tancho either way. The symbolism is arguably still there.
The Japanese symbolism of the crane and the carp aren’t exceptionally interesting in reference to Amon in the light of his background. Had he been Aang as was previous speculated, both the crane and tancho koi symbolism would have referred to a fortuitously long live.
The Chinese symbolism is more significant, however. In Chinese, the carp symbolizes tenacity, bravery and strength, swimming against the current and mastering waterfalls. Notably, a legend tells of a koi fish in the Yellow River, which passed between a gate and became Tianlong, the heavenly dragon. In a similar way, Amon has had to 'fight the current’ and was tested by the spirits, or so he claims. It would not be far-fetched of him to make the claim that he had been blessed and become a heavenly dragon, protecting the spirit realm from decay.
Now that Amon has been defeated and the spirit realm is in turmoil, it is not far-fetched for people to actually start believing that he was a Tianlong. Regardless, nothing explicitly references Tianlong, so let us not pin him to Amon.
It should be noted that Tancho koi are explicitly Japanese. The Chinese koi is either silver or gold or yellow. In fact, it’s where the gold fish originated from. Finally, in feng shui, because the word for fish sounds the same as the word for wealth, the two ideas are considered to be linked. They seem to take puns really, really seriously. This word is yú for fish and yù for wealth. We know that the name of Princess Yue references the moon particularly, but it’s interesting to note that her name at least partially is connected to both her wealth and the fish that saved her life.
So yeah, she could be interpreted to be called "Princess Fish-e[y]", huehue.
Following the symbolism and the importance of koi to the water tribe, it follows naturally for me that Amon’s mask refers to the water tribe’s most sacred spirits. Soon, I hope to analyze the significance of the mask's other features in Chinese, Japanese and Korean mask traditions.
The mask of Amon is iconic from Korra's first season, which is arguably it's best season (ignoring the finale). It represents a concept for the Avatar to battle as opposed to a character, in addition to the character. Amon's mask represents an interesting duality to the character; it sends the message that anyone could be Amon, but clearly, Amon isn't quite so humble. It represents the message that the Equalists believe that everyone is equal, but are also a personality cult. And, as you may have seen from my avatar, I'm quite the fan. I hated the reveal that Amon was in it for himself in the end; I'd have preferred if he remained a complex, self-aggrandizing idealist. Someone who is obsessed with taking the place of the Avatar as the world's spiritual leader, but despite his hubris would still have made a great candidate.
Either way, I will treat this mask with the greatest respect I can as I analyze it's dimensions, while also attempting to make it seem less cartoon-ey if worn IRL.
Acknowledgements
It's important that I acknowledge a number of other prop makers on this forum which have done their own work on making the mask. I'll list them here for future reference.
There is an entire blog dedicated to how many cultural references the Avatar shows make called "avatar annotated". I may use it as reference at times.
Disclaimer: Cultural References
People might wonder why I go so deep into detail into the cultural references in the show. Well, let me show you how clever the show was in hiding it's references;
Nisshoki Hypothesis
First, the Nisshoki Hypothesis bears discussion. Ever since the character was first revealed, people speculated that the big red circle on the forehead is a reference to the flag of Japan. At first, I thought that this might be too easy, so I decided to do research into the subject. The results have been surprising.
According to this description, the Japanese Flag (called Nisshoki, i.e. “Rising-Sun Flag” for it’s Hinomaru i.e. “Disk of the Sun”), features the following ratios;
- The diameter of the Hinomaru is 3/5th of the width of the flag.
- The width of the flag is a 7/10th of the length of the flag.
- So the diameter is 42/100th of the length of the flag.
When we draw the rectangle over the eyeslits, an error seems to appear. If you look very closely, you’ll notice that the circle, is ever so slightly off centre. This could simply be a marginal error. After all, 1. the mask is 3 dimensional, so the mask might be facing us at a slight angle. 2. the creators are only human. 3. a pixel worth of error is still pretty precise.
However, here's my theory; as shown above, one of the prerequisites of the Nisshoki is that the Hinomaru is supposed to be off-center. While the above explanations are perfectly viable, even probable, it may be one of those beautiful errors which compound the symbolism rather than obscuring it. I'll investigate other pictures in the future if they display this error. Regardless, though, it may be an interesting feature to conclude in the end product.
Relevance of the Nisshoki
This is important, seeing as the Hinomaru bears important symbolism to Japan. It signifies the ‘rising sun’, which was born during Japan’s imperialist and militarist period from the Meiji era to the end of World War II. However, the equalists are anything but imperialist and to an extent anti-militarist. In fact, there is some controversy around the Nisshoki flag for it’s militarist connotations in Japan.
It could mean that Amon planned to become an imperialist after he had 'equalized the world’. However, it is more likely that the symbol is used to signify Amon’s destiny as 'the chosen one’ of the Spirits. The Rising Sun symbolizes a tale of the sun goddess Amaterasu grieving in a cave, only to be lured out by her own reflection in a bronze mirror held up by another god(a simplified version of the tale). She later sent her son to pacify Japan with the mirror and other artefacts that Japan has since used to prove that their emperors were descendants of the sun goddess.
Amon doesn’t claim to be the descendant of a god, but he does claim that he has come to pacify the world. He also claims to be the bearer of truth, which is usually symbolized by the sacred mirror of Amaterasu. The central message of truth in the avatar universe is that all people of Earth are one people and Amon has come to equalize them. Therefore, he is a 'reflection’ of the truth. Interestingly, Amon has this symbol on his forehead, which is also where the chakra of truth is located.
However, it can also be theorized that the symbol is not related to Japan at all. For example, it may symbolize the red moon which removed the ability to bend water. Finally, it may also represent the sacred koi fish from the Water Tribe oasis, whose (temporary) death resulted in all waterbenders losing their powers.
The threat of Koimon was slightly easier to contain by the Republic City Police.
Other Hinomaru Symbolism
The Hinomaru or the Disk of the Sun, is a red disk which can be traced to many other important symbols in Japan. Most notably, however, I think that the Hinomaru can be found on koi fish. The exact same koi fish that inhabit the sacred waters on the North Pole, yes!
These koi fish or carp were imported to Japan in the 17th century and since then have been bred into a plethora of species. Notable is the ‘Tancho’, which means 'crane’, which has the same kind of spot on it’s forehead.
The fish from the pond, Tui and La, are, by the way, not actual Tancho koi, as Tancho koi have a red spot on their head and that spot is not allowed to pass over their shoulder. But then, their spots aren't red either, so they wouldn't have been tancho either way. The symbolism is arguably still there.
The Japanese symbolism of the crane and the carp aren’t exceptionally interesting in reference to Amon in the light of his background. Had he been Aang as was previous speculated, both the crane and tancho koi symbolism would have referred to a fortuitously long live.
The Chinese symbolism is more significant, however. In Chinese, the carp symbolizes tenacity, bravery and strength, swimming against the current and mastering waterfalls. Notably, a legend tells of a koi fish in the Yellow River, which passed between a gate and became Tianlong, the heavenly dragon. In a similar way, Amon has had to 'fight the current’ and was tested by the spirits, or so he claims. It would not be far-fetched of him to make the claim that he had been blessed and become a heavenly dragon, protecting the spirit realm from decay.
Now that Amon has been defeated and the spirit realm is in turmoil, it is not far-fetched for people to actually start believing that he was a Tianlong. Regardless, nothing explicitly references Tianlong, so let us not pin him to Amon.
It should be noted that Tancho koi are explicitly Japanese. The Chinese koi is either silver or gold or yellow. In fact, it’s where the gold fish originated from. Finally, in feng shui, because the word for fish sounds the same as the word for wealth, the two ideas are considered to be linked. They seem to take puns really, really seriously. This word is yú for fish and yù for wealth. We know that the name of Princess Yue references the moon particularly, but it’s interesting to note that her name at least partially is connected to both her wealth and the fish that saved her life.
So yeah, she could be interpreted to be called "Princess Fish-e[y]", huehue.
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