Golem (noun): "a highly mutable metaphor with seemingly limitless symbolism. It can be a victim or villain, man or woman—or sometimes both. Over the centuries, it has been used to connote war, community, isolation, despair, and hope."
The Egghead Island arc has been rich with symbolism, not only through the visual and story inspiration it has taken from the Bible and Jewish folklore, but also through the themes it is trying to convey. It blends its futuristic setting with the occult themes surrounding the Gorōsei, through their conflict with the scientist Vegapunk. This creates a tapestry of Science vs. Religion, Technology vs. Magic, and Man vs. God. Ultimately, however, the main theme Oda seems to be conveying is that of hubris.
The Legends of Golem
To be literal, a golem is an animated, anthropomorphic creature in Jewish folklore, which is created entirely from inanimate matter, usually clay or mud. In modern popular culture, the word became so generalized that any anthropomorphic crude creature, even that of iron, created by someone may be referred to as a “golem.” As you can tell by the title of this section, there are many variations of the golem legend—too many to list them all—but they all essentially tell the “same story”: one of hubris. A golem is usually created for a noble or harmless purpose, but quickly turns into something that causes harm to its creator. I will focus on two specific variations of the legend.
1. Emeth
In a variation of the legend, a rabbi by the name of Elijah “creates in clay a man’s form,” which he then gives life to by writing the Hebrew word “Emeth” (אמת), which means “Truth,” on his forehead. Elijah realizes that the golem might potentially cause trouble, as it continuously grows. He knew that if he were to erase the first letter of ‘Emeth’ (the Hebrew letter א 'aleph'), the remaining letters would spell “meth,” which means “Death.” The rabbi commands the golem to remove his boots, bringing the golem's forehead within reach of his hand. He wipes the letter off of the golem's forehead, but this causes the golem's clay to collapse upon the rabbi.
Obviously, in One Piece, the Iron Robot by the name of Emet meant to represent the golem. Early on, in the oldest stories of golem, their main disability was their inability to speak, which we can see with Emet as well. It cannot talk, and rather it is communicating with Luffy (presumably) through the Voice of All Things. It was believed that golems could be activated by an “ecstatic experience” induced by the ritual use of various letters of the Hebrew alphabet forming a shem (any one of the names of God), wherein the shem was written on a piece of paper and inserted in the mouth or into the forehead of the golem.
This sounds very similar to what had happened with Emet waking up with the sound of Drums of Liberation, by the man who carries the name of God (Nika), and has a letter “D.” in his name. Emet has seemingly been tasked, by Joy Boy, to wait for something—to wait for the right time—and that time seemingly has come with Luffy entering Gear 5, and signaling the return of Joy Boy. Emet is ready to fight by Luffy’s side, just like how he had fought for Joy Boy hundreds of years ago.
In the most famous iteration of the golem legend, the Golem of Prague, a rabbi by the name of Judah Loew ben Bezalel creates a golem, out of clay, to defend the Jews of the Prague Ghetto from antisemitic attacks, particularly the blood libel (which is on track with how the World Government kills Buccaneers and members of the D. clan). He is said to have used mystical powers based on the esoteric knowledge of how God created Adam. Rabbi Loew would “shut down” the golem every Friday, so as for it to not cause any trouble during the Sabbath, before waking him up again.
2. The Clay Boy
In a Yiddish and Slavic variation of the Golem legend called the “Clay Boy,” an older couple, lonely after their children have left home, create a boy out of clay and “dry him by their hearth.” Initially, the Clay Boy brings them joy as they treat him like a real child. However, he doesn't stop growing and begins to consume everything, including their food, livestock, and eventually the couple themselves. This story can be interpreted as a cautionary tale about creations or inventions that become uncontrollable, echoing themes found in modern contexts such as nuclear weapons.
In the context of One Piece, we know that the Mother Flame is meant to be an analogy of nuclear energy and nuclear weapons, with Vegapunk being our Oppenheimer who creates something without considering the consequences of his actions. While Vegapunk’s intentions might’ve been pure and innocent in creating the Mother Flame, just like the couple in the story in creating the Clay Boy, it ended up being used as the power source for the (Ancient) Weapon, and caused mass death and destruction. Vegapunk was so preoccupied with whether he could, that he didn’t stop to think if he should.
The Mother Flame, alongside York, a part of Vegapunk that represents desire (Greed, Gluttony, Sloth, etc.), became uncontrollable, and started to “consume” things until it eventually consumed Vegapunk himself.
The Satellites
Golem imagery can also be stretched to Vegapunk and his satellites. While they aren’t soulless (insert joke here about gingers not having a soul), they are meant to represent only parts of Vegapunk; pieces of his being. An interesting observation people have made regarding this is that, while the Male Satellites are meant to embody the good qualities of Vegapunk (Wisdom, Thinking, Good), the Female Satellites are meant to embody the bad ones (Greed, Violence, Evil). This ties into the story of Adam and Eve.
While the apple on Vegapunk’s head at first glance might seem like it is referencing Sir Isaac Newton’s discovery of gravity, I believe that it is primarily meant to represent the Forbidden Fruit (of Knowledge of Good and Evil). According to the story, Eve convinces Adam to eat the forbidden fruit, for which they were banished from the Garden of Eden, and in the process curses humanity to sin forever. The Satellites that embody Vegapunk’s bad qualities all being women might reference that fact. Lilith, especially since she carries the name of a primordial she-demon that is believed to be Adam’s first wife.
In Jewish mythology, the demon Lilith is described to have “fiery hair,” which tracks with Lilith's ginger hair in the anime.
And lastly, we have the obvious situation with York. She is the traitor, the embodiment of Vegapunk’s greed, which betrayed her creator, and went as far as to kill other Vegapunks. It’s probably the most literal example of a creation turning against its creator.
Joy Boy’s Crew
With Emet, we learned about another character that is associated with Joy Boy; the other two being Zunesha and Nefertari D. Lili (possibly a Lilith equivalent). There is also the giant ship of Noah, which was left behind by Joy Boy for a certain purpose that has something to do with fulfilling the promise he made to Fishmen Island. Fishmen Island is also only inhabitable thanks to the Sunlight Tree Eve, which carries the sun’s light 10,000 meters under the sea and illuminates the Island, and I think it isn’t that big of a stretch to assume Noah was made from the wood of the Treasure Tree Adam.
All of these names (but one) come from the Bible and Jewish folklore. So my question now is, who is Joy Boy, or who is Nika, meant to represent? Is he meant to be the “Elijah” who created the golem? If so, then I have an idea about what the letters (“Emeth”) that are inscribed onto the golem are meant to be in One Piece.
Voice of All Things
One aspect of the story that has strangely been overlooked for a while now is the Voice of All Things—an ability that seemingly allows you to hear the thoughts of, well, all things. This includes animals like the Sea Kings and Zunesha, plants like the Whale Tree on Zunesha’s back, and even inanimate objects like Poneglyphs. And now, the giant robot Emet.
In this chapter, Clover and Vegapunk talk about “The Voices of the Past.” Of course, this is just the English translation of the story, so it might not mean much, but I do find the choice of wording interesting, considering we see the Voice of All Things make its return in the same chapter. Additionally, we recently saw the Gorōsei communicating with one another through telepathy, which was very similar to Luffy communicating with Law’s crew when he was drowning in Wano.
One thing I always found particularly fascinating is Zunesha and its sentence to forever walk the Earth. Specifically, what compels Zunesha to do it? Zunesha is a (beyond) giant elephant that is not compelled to obey anyone, let alone something ordered 800 years ago. Unless, of course, Zunesha has no other choice but to obey the order. When Jack attacked and was about to kill it, Zunesha didn’t do anything to stop him until Momonosuke ordered it to do so. And Momonosuke didn’t just order it out of the blue; Zunesha had to ask Momo to give the order.
This leads me to believe that whoever ordered Zunesha to forever walk the Earth has the power to force it to obey, most likely through the usage of the Voice of All Things. In a similar light, I believe this is what is happening to Emet. They are woken up by those who can hear the Voice of All Things. That’s why Emet woke up 200 years ago and attacked Marijoas, and that’s why they woke up now. This is the last unexplored power from One Piece, something I believe is connected to the Will of D, and I think it’s about time we learn more about it just in time as Vegapunk reveals the secrets of the D.
“If you know the secret Name of God, you can build worlds and you can destroy them. You can move mountains. You can also make a human being—a living person—out of clay. A golem.”
If you enjoyed reading this and want to see more of my work, make sure to follow me for weekly or bi-weekly One Piece posts!
The Egghead Island arc has been rich with symbolism, not only through the visual and story inspiration it has taken from the Bible and Jewish folklore, but also through the themes it is trying to convey. It blends its futuristic setting with the occult themes surrounding the Gorōsei, through their conflict with the scientist Vegapunk. This creates a tapestry of Science vs. Religion, Technology vs. Magic, and Man vs. God. Ultimately, however, the main theme Oda seems to be conveying is that of hubris.
The Legends of Golem
To be literal, a golem is an animated, anthropomorphic creature in Jewish folklore, which is created entirely from inanimate matter, usually clay or mud. In modern popular culture, the word became so generalized that any anthropomorphic crude creature, even that of iron, created by someone may be referred to as a “golem.” As you can tell by the title of this section, there are many variations of the golem legend—too many to list them all—but they all essentially tell the “same story”: one of hubris. A golem is usually created for a noble or harmless purpose, but quickly turns into something that causes harm to its creator. I will focus on two specific variations of the legend.
1. Emeth
In a variation of the legend, a rabbi by the name of Elijah “creates in clay a man’s form,” which he then gives life to by writing the Hebrew word “Emeth” (אמת), which means “Truth,” on his forehead. Elijah realizes that the golem might potentially cause trouble, as it continuously grows. He knew that if he were to erase the first letter of ‘Emeth’ (the Hebrew letter א 'aleph'), the remaining letters would spell “meth,” which means “Death.” The rabbi commands the golem to remove his boots, bringing the golem's forehead within reach of his hand. He wipes the letter off of the golem's forehead, but this causes the golem's clay to collapse upon the rabbi.
Obviously, in One Piece, the Iron Robot by the name of Emet meant to represent the golem. Early on, in the oldest stories of golem, their main disability was their inability to speak, which we can see with Emet as well. It cannot talk, and rather it is communicating with Luffy (presumably) through the Voice of All Things. It was believed that golems could be activated by an “ecstatic experience” induced by the ritual use of various letters of the Hebrew alphabet forming a shem (any one of the names of God), wherein the shem was written on a piece of paper and inserted in the mouth or into the forehead of the golem.
This sounds very similar to what had happened with Emet waking up with the sound of Drums of Liberation, by the man who carries the name of God (Nika), and has a letter “D.” in his name. Emet has seemingly been tasked, by Joy Boy, to wait for something—to wait for the right time—and that time seemingly has come with Luffy entering Gear 5, and signaling the return of Joy Boy. Emet is ready to fight by Luffy’s side, just like how he had fought for Joy Boy hundreds of years ago.
In the most famous iteration of the golem legend, the Golem of Prague, a rabbi by the name of Judah Loew ben Bezalel creates a golem, out of clay, to defend the Jews of the Prague Ghetto from antisemitic attacks, particularly the blood libel (which is on track with how the World Government kills Buccaneers and members of the D. clan). He is said to have used mystical powers based on the esoteric knowledge of how God created Adam. Rabbi Loew would “shut down” the golem every Friday, so as for it to not cause any trouble during the Sabbath, before waking him up again.
2. The Clay Boy
In a Yiddish and Slavic variation of the Golem legend called the “Clay Boy,” an older couple, lonely after their children have left home, create a boy out of clay and “dry him by their hearth.” Initially, the Clay Boy brings them joy as they treat him like a real child. However, he doesn't stop growing and begins to consume everything, including their food, livestock, and eventually the couple themselves. This story can be interpreted as a cautionary tale about creations or inventions that become uncontrollable, echoing themes found in modern contexts such as nuclear weapons.
In the context of One Piece, we know that the Mother Flame is meant to be an analogy of nuclear energy and nuclear weapons, with Vegapunk being our Oppenheimer who creates something without considering the consequences of his actions. While Vegapunk’s intentions might’ve been pure and innocent in creating the Mother Flame, just like the couple in the story in creating the Clay Boy, it ended up being used as the power source for the (Ancient) Weapon, and caused mass death and destruction. Vegapunk was so preoccupied with whether he could, that he didn’t stop to think if he should.
The Mother Flame, alongside York, a part of Vegapunk that represents desire (Greed, Gluttony, Sloth, etc.), became uncontrollable, and started to “consume” things until it eventually consumed Vegapunk himself.
The Satellites
Golem imagery can also be stretched to Vegapunk and his satellites. While they aren’t soulless (insert joke here about gingers not having a soul), they are meant to represent only parts of Vegapunk; pieces of his being. An interesting observation people have made regarding this is that, while the Male Satellites are meant to embody the good qualities of Vegapunk (Wisdom, Thinking, Good), the Female Satellites are meant to embody the bad ones (Greed, Violence, Evil). This ties into the story of Adam and Eve.
While the apple on Vegapunk’s head at first glance might seem like it is referencing Sir Isaac Newton’s discovery of gravity, I believe that it is primarily meant to represent the Forbidden Fruit (of Knowledge of Good and Evil). According to the story, Eve convinces Adam to eat the forbidden fruit, for which they were banished from the Garden of Eden, and in the process curses humanity to sin forever. The Satellites that embody Vegapunk’s bad qualities all being women might reference that fact. Lilith, especially since she carries the name of a primordial she-demon that is believed to be Adam’s first wife.
In Jewish mythology, the demon Lilith is described to have “fiery hair,” which tracks with Lilith's ginger hair in the anime.
And lastly, we have the obvious situation with York. She is the traitor, the embodiment of Vegapunk’s greed, which betrayed her creator, and went as far as to kill other Vegapunks. It’s probably the most literal example of a creation turning against its creator.
Joy Boy’s Crew
With Emet, we learned about another character that is associated with Joy Boy; the other two being Zunesha and Nefertari D. Lili (possibly a Lilith equivalent). There is also the giant ship of Noah, which was left behind by Joy Boy for a certain purpose that has something to do with fulfilling the promise he made to Fishmen Island. Fishmen Island is also only inhabitable thanks to the Sunlight Tree Eve, which carries the sun’s light 10,000 meters under the sea and illuminates the Island, and I think it isn’t that big of a stretch to assume Noah was made from the wood of the Treasure Tree Adam.
All of these names (but one) come from the Bible and Jewish folklore. So my question now is, who is Joy Boy, or who is Nika, meant to represent? Is he meant to be the “Elijah” who created the golem? If so, then I have an idea about what the letters (“Emeth”) that are inscribed onto the golem are meant to be in One Piece.
Voice of All Things
One aspect of the story that has strangely been overlooked for a while now is the Voice of All Things—an ability that seemingly allows you to hear the thoughts of, well, all things. This includes animals like the Sea Kings and Zunesha, plants like the Whale Tree on Zunesha’s back, and even inanimate objects like Poneglyphs. And now, the giant robot Emet.
In this chapter, Clover and Vegapunk talk about “The Voices of the Past.” Of course, this is just the English translation of the story, so it might not mean much, but I do find the choice of wording interesting, considering we see the Voice of All Things make its return in the same chapter. Additionally, we recently saw the Gorōsei communicating with one another through telepathy, which was very similar to Luffy communicating with Law’s crew when he was drowning in Wano.
One thing I always found particularly fascinating is Zunesha and its sentence to forever walk the Earth. Specifically, what compels Zunesha to do it? Zunesha is a (beyond) giant elephant that is not compelled to obey anyone, let alone something ordered 800 years ago. Unless, of course, Zunesha has no other choice but to obey the order. When Jack attacked and was about to kill it, Zunesha didn’t do anything to stop him until Momonosuke ordered it to do so. And Momonosuke didn’t just order it out of the blue; Zunesha had to ask Momo to give the order.
This leads me to believe that whoever ordered Zunesha to forever walk the Earth has the power to force it to obey, most likely through the usage of the Voice of All Things. In a similar light, I believe this is what is happening to Emet. They are woken up by those who can hear the Voice of All Things. That’s why Emet woke up 200 years ago and attacked Marijoas, and that’s why they woke up now. This is the last unexplored power from One Piece, something I believe is connected to the Will of D, and I think it’s about time we learn more about it just in time as Vegapunk reveals the secrets of the D.
“If you know the secret Name of God, you can build worlds and you can destroy them. You can move mountains. You can also make a human being—a living person—out of clay. A golem.”
If you enjoyed reading this and want to see more of my work, make sure to follow me for weekly or bi-weekly One Piece posts!
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