#khakkhara

Sun Wukong's 13th-century counterpart, the "Monkey Pilgrim" (Hou xingzhe, 猴行者), uses a golden-ringed monk's staff (xizhang, 錫杖) to fight demons. It's shown capable of creating destructive blasts of light, as well as transforming into titanic creatures, including a giant, vajra club-wielding yaksha (likely Vajrapāni) and an iron dragon.

The golden rings would later influence those on the ends of his "As-You-Will Gold-Banded Staff” (Ruyi jingu bang, 如意金箍棒) from the standard edition of Journey to the West.

I wanted to be cool like him, so I acquired this hand-carved, 12-ringed monk's staff from an HK-based Taiwanese seller. The dragons give it an otherworldly feel, something that a mythic hero like Monkey would use. I love it. I hope to get better pictures in the future. These don't do it justice.

The staff is quite heavy given its brass construction, so I imagine this was originally only carried during special holidays and rituals. I unfortunately don't know anything about its history. I was just told by the seller that he acquired it from a private collection. I'd love to know which monastery it originally belonged to.

Shakujō 錫杖 - Buddhistic Monkstaff

Khakkhara  is Sanskrit, the Chinese is xizhang and the Japanese shakujou. This one is a bit more esoteric - a staff that serves as a ritual implement for Buddhists. The rings along the head chime as the wielder walks, and the different numbers of rings symbolize different things (like six for the six states of being.) Though it is primarily a mark of the wielder’s faith and position in their church, there are several schools of combat using the weapon and it is not an unheard of one for monks in fiction. A monk with a khakkhara staff displays their piety - I wouldn’t give this weapon to a brawler or lay brother.

Like a plain staff, the weapon can be grasped anywhere along its length, used to apply a lever the foe or strike at many angles and ranges. Because one of its ends is heavier and broader than the others, it is slightly more like a polearm than a plain staff and a khakkhara user will often wield it like a spear to strike with its metal head.

On my view Reaper!Chaser isn’t about death itself, but mostly about a warning to others about their end in hopes they can repent from what they’ve done in their lives. 

The bell tones cause changes in the souls of others, higher tones lift people's spirits, represent happiness, and  symbolize a closeness to spirit. The lower tones can bring spirits down, instill an unhappy and somber mood.

His weapon is a Khakkhara with six rings.

I’m sure the design is all wrong since i didn’t follow any references and just did what i felt like! 

I’m done with the designs for a little! Time to focus on the comic pages :3

Tatata laters!

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