syo-ryo-uma (精霊馬)

A joke CLI tool featuring cucumber and eggplant ASCII art running across your terminal.

Cultural Background

Shōryō-uma (精霊馬) are traditional Japanese offerings made during Obon (お盆), a Buddhist festival honoring ancestors' spirits. During this summer festival, families create small "spirit horses" using:

• 🥒 Cucumber horse (kyūri no uma) - A cucumber with wooden chopstick legs, representing a swift horse for ancestors' spirits to quickly return home
• 🍆 Eggplant cow (nasu no ushi) - An eggplant with chopstick legs, representing a slow cow for spirits to leisurely return to the afterlife, carrying offerings

This playful CLI tool brings these traditional spirit animals to life in your terminal!

Quick Start (No Installation Required!)

Run instantly with npx:

# Run the animation without installing
npx syo-ryo-uma

# Try different modes
npx syo-ryo-uma cucumber      # Just the cucumber horse
npx syo-ryo-uma eggplant      # Just the eggplant cow
npx syo-ryo-uma --reverse     # Spirits returning home
npx syo-ryo-uma 10            # Turbo mode!

Installation (Optional)

If you want to install it globally:

npm install -g syo-ryo-uma

Usage

# Run both animations sequentially (default)
syo-ryo-uma

# Run individual animations
syo-ryo-uma cucumber        # Cucumber horse only
syo-ryo-uma eggplant        # Eggplant cow only

# Animation options
syo-ryo-uma --reverse       # Animate from left to right (spirits coming home)
syo-ryo-uma --endless       # Loop animations endlessly (Ctrl+C to stop)
syo-ryo-uma --stay          # Display static art without animation
syo-ryo-uma 10              # Set speed (lower = faster, default: 30)

# Combinations
syo-ryo-uma --reverse cucumber 10   # Fast cucumber returning home
syo-ryo-uma --endless eggplant      # Endless eggplant loop
syo-ryo-uma --endless --reverse     # Endless reverse animation
syo-ryo-uma --stay cucumber          # Static cucumber display

Features

• 🎭 Alternate screen buffer - Keeps your terminal history clean
• 🏃 Running animation - Watch them gallop across your screen
• 🔄 Reverse mode - Spirits can travel in both directions
• ♾️ Endless mode - Loop animations continuously
• 📍 Stay mode - Display static art for contemplation
• 📦 Zero dependencies - Pure Node.js implementation
• ⚡ No installation needed - Run instantly with npx

License

MIT