Nasreddin Hodja, a Muslim Trickster

Nasreddin Hodja is a character in the folklore of the Muslim world from the Balkans to China, and a hero of humorous short stories and satirical anecdotes.

He is portrayed as a wise fool, clever simpleton, or instructive prankster.

The oldest manuscript of Nasreddin dates to 1571, which is coincidental with both ‘Journey to the West’ and the first chapbook about Till Eulenspiegel. Moreover, Nasreddin frequently is compared with this northern European trickster.

If you want to learn a bit more about how Nasreddin Hodja and Takuan related, you must visit Nasreddin’s page on Makipedia.