On a previous week’s episode of Tandem Legends (Skyward Sword Part 10 – The Ancient Cistern) we made reference to a short story by Ryunosuke Akutagawa called “The Spider’s Thread” first published in a Japanese children’s literary magazine called Akai Tori.
The underside of the Ancient Cistern made some references to this story, and we thought it might be fun to throw out some specific comparisons. You can read the story in full here: The Spider’s Thread
The Spider’s Thread
The Spider’s Thread, by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, was published in a collection of stories in 1918 as a children’s fable illustrating some of the principles of Buddhism regarding karma.
In the story, Buddha is strolling along a lotus pond in Paradise; “The lotus flowers blossoming in the pond were white as pearls, and an indescribably delicate fragrance, rising from their golden stamens, filled the air never ending. The hour in Paradise was perhaps morn.”
Sound familiar?
Looking through the crystal clear waters, Buddha could gaze into Hell, where he saw a murderer and thief by the name of Kandata writhing and moaning among the condemned, struggling to remain afloat in a lake of blood.
Demon statues implied
Buddha could see that at one point in Kandata’s life he had chosen not to step on a spider as the senseless loss of life would be a pity. This small mercy was enough for Buddha to feel he must save this man if indeed he could be saved.
Are you listening, Link? Link?
Buddha sees a Spider of Paradise spinning a web nearby and slowly drops the spider’s silk down into the depths. Kandata looks up and sees the thread. He takes hold of it and begins the long climb up.
Kandata looks below him to check his progress. To his dismay, the other sinners of Hell have begun to climb the thread. Worried it will break under their weight, he shouts that the thread belongs to him. At that moment the thread snaps, dropping Kandata and everyone else back into the lake of blood. Buddha looks on in pity, the true heartlessness of Kandata revealed, and continues his walk around the lotus pond.
You can definitely see a lot of parallels between the descriptions laid out in this story and the design of the Ancient Cistern. The big departure being that Link actually does manage to ascend the thread. It feels noteworthy that Link travels through an area of bright white light before eventually reaching the surface.
Wrap up
In the end I don’t think there is any higher in-game meaning behind the choice to model this area after “The Spider’s Thread”. Intrigue and a memorable experience seem reason enough.
These sorts of references make the world of Skyward Sword feel more exciting to me. Is it necessary? No. Would the product shine without? Perhaps not as brightly.
If you’ve found any other references like this in any Legend of Zelda game, let everyone know in the comments!
