Section Three of Four
Sailor Pluto and Her Epithets
At this point, it would be a good idea to discuss Sailor Pluto
(
)
as well. Sailor Pluto's most common epithet, in the anime and manga, is henkaku no
senshi
(
)
which means "soldier of change." In fact, the Japanese trading card from which the image
to the right was taken is number 676 of Sailor Moon SuperS and entitled henkaku
no senshi, or "soldier of change." The word "henkaku" can mean different things, but
they all have to do with change — "revolution," "upheaval," and "reformation." The
Sailor Moon SuperS Movie Memorial Album, calls her the
jik
no senshi
(
)
which means "soldier of space-time." On the other hand, Sailor Pluto has been called the
meikai no bannin,
(
)
which means "guardian of the underworld," in the Sailor Moon R Nakayoshi Anime Album.
In the Materials Collection, Takeuchi gives Sailor Pluto the official title meido
(jikan no hazama) no bannin
(
[
]
)
which means "guardian of the underworld (between times)."
The God Hades and His Other Names
This reference to
the underworld brings to mind the deity who was said to rule it in Greek Mythology, Hades
(
).
Scholars have said that his name means "the unseen one." The Greeks often referred to
him as Aedoneus or Aides. He was the absolute ruler of the underworld. In fact, even his
domain eventually became known as Hades. On the other hand, some versions of the story
state that when Cronus was defeated by the Olympians, he was pardoned by Zeus and given
the chance to rule the Elysian Fields, a small section of the underworld. Hades was the
absolute master of the underworld, but Cronus, according to some, only ruled a small part
of it. The Greek poet Hesiod tells us that Hades was the first son born to Cronus and Rhea.
He was often thought of as a frightening deity, but he wasn't necessarily evil. At one
point, Hades acquired the name "Pluto"
(
)
which means "the enricher." Precious metals like gold and silver were found underground
and, thus, they were said to be from his underworld kingdom. The Romans continued to call
him Pluto, but sometimes they would also use the names "Dis" and "Orcus."
Sailor Pluto, Chronos, and Time
We're told that
Sailor Pluto is the one who carries the blood of Chronos, the almighty god of time.
Chronos is her father. This "god of time" is more of an abstraction than a real
anthropomorphic deity. In Greek mythology, Cronus would have been the father of Pluto.
Conversely, Hesiod tells us that Pluto was the first son to be born from Cronus and Rhea.
The name "Pluto" was also used by the Greeks because it's a Greek name. In Japanese, the
name "Cronus" and the Greek word chronos are spelled the same way, kuronosu
(
).
There's no way to tell which is which unless it's clarified by context. So, when the
Japanese talk about Pluto in mythology, they would say that he was the son of
Kuronosu
(),
while Sailor Pluto is the daughter of the god of time, Kuronosu
().
This word-play is the main reason for Sailor Pluto's association with time and space.
Moreover, this is reminiscent of how the Stoics said that Cronus was related to
"chronos" which means "time." In Takeuchi's story, Sailor Pluto is one who inherited her
father's power of time and space. We know that Sailor Pluto's father is "Chronos"
because whenever the name is associated with Kanji, the one that means "time"
(
)
is always used to disambiguate the Japanese spelling. It is important to be aware that
Sailor Pluto has never claimed to be Chronos, the concept of time, or Cronus, the
Greek deity.
© 2000-2008 Ian Andreas Miller. All rights reserved. Those statements refer to all of the original content on these Web pages. All of the other works that are mentioned on these pages are the properties of their authors.
