Chigo
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In Japan premodern a chigo (稚児) is a boy of about seven to fourteen years in training in a Buddhist monastery. The nearest French translation is "novice".
This word can have a second meaning derived from the first: it denotes a young boy loved by a monk in the context of a relationship that is both initiatory, emotional and very often sexual.
Vocabulary
The word chigo稚児(approximate pronunciation: /tʃi.go/) consists of two characters:
- 稚 chi = child
- 児 ko = child, boy
Literature
A particular genre is chigo monogatari, which tells a love story between a monk and a novice - eg Aki no yo nagamonogatari 秋夜長物語(Long story for an autumn night), the anonymous author recounts the linking Keikai and young Umewaka.
Saying
A popular saying clearly expressed the priority given by the monks to their young companions:
Ichi chigo nor Sanno.
First the chigo then the god of the mountain. [[[1]]]
- Tôzô Suzuki, Koji Kitowaza Jiten, Tokyodo Shuppan, 1956, p. 59 (trans. BoyWiki)
See as well
Related articles
Notes and references
- ↑ Japanese transcript and English translation by Margaret H. Childs in " Chigo Monogatari, love stories or Buddhist sermons? "p. 1. [[Downloadable article)]]
