The Story of…Moon Bunnies

It’s no secret that I have a slight obsession with some aspects of Asian culture. It’s also no secret that I live in Florida, which means that I visit Disney World several times a year. Most of the time, I end up at my favorite park, Epcot.

For those of you that don’t know, Epcot has a section called World Showcase which makes you feel as if you are in the actual countries. For example, England’s section has phone booths and an English garden you can walk through, Mexico has a Mayan pyramid that you can go in, etc.

At the various countries, there are also different exhibits that show off various aspects of their cultures. The last time I was in Japan at Disney’s World Showcase, they had an exhibit called Spirited Beast. In short, the exhibit talks about how many of today’s anime characters originated from myths and folklore.

One of the myths showcased was called Moon Rabbit. Basically, a rabbit offers himself up as food for a poor hungry elderly traveler. Much to the rabbit’s surprise, the traveler turns out to be a god in disguise! The god is so touched by the animal’s generosity and selflessness, that he draws a picture of the creature on the moon. And that is why some nights it looks as if the moon has a giant rabbit on it.

For some reason, I was really inspired by this story and drew a picture inspired by it later that night. And thus…Moon Bunnies was born!

Did you know:

A huge thanks to Bebop’s Place for sharing my Double Happiness in Red Wall Clock on the blog The Daily Rainbow on May 22! Check it out!

And here is some more rabbit and/or Japanese inspired works by other talented artist:

And let’s not forget our friends over at RedBubble!

How cute, creepy and awesome is this shirt by shpshift?

Have you seen a design as clever as this shirt by mobii?

And have you seen anything as precious as this piece by Ellen van Deelen? Awww!

Have you ever been inspired by myths, legends or folklore?  Feel free to share in the comments!