Sasaki Haise and the Snake

sunset-tower:

Kaneki Ken has always been associated with the Centipede, and Yamori with the Lizard. Why did Ishida associate Sasaki Haise with the Snake?

Coming from Chinese culture and having learnt a little bit about Japanese culture, while I am not an expert I would like to share what I have learnt about the snake in Chinese and Japanese mythology and culture.

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The Five Noxious / Poisonous Creatures

In Chinese culture there is a duanwu festival, also known as the dragon-boat festival or dumpling festival. The Chinese poet Qu Yuan who deeply loved his country committed suicide by drowning. People rushed to the spot in dragon boats but were too late to save him, hence they threw dumplings into the water to keep the fish away from his body.

However, duanwu literally means double five, as it takes place on the fifth day of the fifth lunar calendar month. This tends to be the hottest point of summer when people were prone to falling sick, thus this festival to ward off the plague gods. 

The plague gods five noxious creatures were represented with the toad, scorpion, snake, lizard, and centipede, with the centipede being the most noxious of the creatures.

(EDIT: Apologies, there is no indication that the animals represent the plague gods. The animals are associated with sickness because they tend to appear when the weather becomes very hot and when people fall sick.)

The Chinese Zodiac

Legend has it that in order for the animals to decide the order in which the twelve year cycle would be decided, they had a race which included travelling over water. The snake, not being the best swimmer, coiled around the horse’s hoof and hitched a ride. Before the finish line it jumped out and scared the horse, thus getting sixth place.

Japanese Mythology

In Japanese legend, there was a eight-headed, eight-tailed serpent called Yamata-no-Orochi. It was defeated by Shinto storm god Susanoo.

The snake is also associated with death and the underworld, but is also capable of giving life because it is seen as a creature that can live a long life with the many times it sheds its skin. By shedding its skin, the snake can also shape shift and assume different identities.

Sasaki Haise and the Snake

Firstly, Sasaki Haise has gone through a transformation of identity, not dissimilar to the way a snake sheds its skin and takes on new life. 

In TG, Kaneki literally eats Yamori and makes him part of his ghoul strength, even though he later finds out that he is the one being consumed. 

In TGRe Chapter 41, Haise is doing the figurative eating by soundly defeating Yamori’s subordinates. The difference between Kaneki in TG (represented by the Centipede) and Sasaki in TGRe (represented by the Snake) is that Kaneki was unable to fully transform into his new identity, as there was always a part of himself that was too obsessed with getting strong without realising he was being consumed inside out by this obsession. Sasaki, as the snake, is more capable of transforming and utilising his strength as an investigator and as a half-ghoul. 

Yet, the snake is a creature equally capable of harm, even if less so than the centipede as seen in the Chinese belief of the five noxious creatures. If we use this belief on the picture from chapter 41, it is nothing more than a poisonous creature trapping another poisonous creature. Sasaki is not fully an agent of good - he too is part of the poisonous cycle. He has the potential to be a positive force of change in this world, just like how the snake has the infinite potential to give life, but he is not there yet. 

Also, the picture shows the snake catching the lizard by its tail, and not necessarily consuming it. Unlike Kaneki who literally and figuratively consumed Yamori, Sasaki is more concerned with defeating and taking out the Aogiri ghouls. The lizard is able to escape by breaking off its tail, which shows that the snake might be stronger than the lizard but ultimately could not prevent its escape. They are two poisonous creatures fighting each other, with the snake being more vicious but the lizard being more wily. The snake is not free of its wily nature either, if we further take the Chinese zodiac legend into account.

What might it mean for Sasaki?

For the most positive outlook, it signifies that Sasaki will further transform and change, perhaps especially after he struggles with his past memories and past self. 

But I doubt TGRe is as cheery as that. Ishida could have also used a creature like the dragon, which is considered the “big snake” in some cultures. It has absolute strength and is generally looked upon more favourably than the snake. The snake is ambiguous in terms of good and evil, and in traditional culture is looked upon with wariness and fear. Sasaki is fully capable of harming those around him and harming himself as he goes through these transformations. 

And he is not necessarily free of his past either, if the way he clamps down on the lizard but allows it its escape is any indication. 

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Please let me know if there is anything I should add or anything you want to discuss! :)