A Shinto narrative from the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki in which the storm god Susanoo, exiled from heaven, meets an earthly couple whose daughters have been devoured yearly by the eight headed, eight tailed serpent Yamata no Orochi, gets the serpent drunk on eightfold brewed sake, kills it, and recovers from its tail the sword later known as Kusanagi, part of the imperial regalia.
Facts
History
Historical NoteThe Kojiki, the earliest surviving written version, was compiled in 712 AD from oral tradition under imperial commission, with the Nihon Shoki following in 720 AD. 1 Historical NoteThe sword Susanoo recovers here, later called Kusanagi no Tsurugi, joins the mirror and the jewel Amaterasu gives Ninigi in the separate heavenly descent narrative to complete the three imperial regalia, so the two myths, narrated apart, are read together as jointly accounting for the full set. 2 Scholarship and Forensics
Scholarly NoteScholars of Japanese religion read the tale's ending, the sword's transfer to Amaterasu and its place among the imperial regalia, as tying a local dragon slaying story directly to the legitimacy of the imperial line. 2 Sources
Primary SourceKojiki, translated by Donald Philippi and by Gustav Heldt, collated against the Nihon Shoki's parallel narrative. 1 Meaning
Central MotifA storm god's defeat of a multi headed serpent by trickery, yielding a sacred sword 1 Text
Source TextKojiki, Book One, and the parallel account in Nihon Shoki 1 Controversy
Point in DisputeScholars are divided on whether Yamata no Orochi's eight heads originally symbolized a flood prone river system in the serpent's home region or should be read on purely narrative terms. 2 Connections
Associated With
Belongs to Tradition
Source KojikiDonald L. Philippi (translator)
Sources
1. Kojiki
Donald L. Philippi (translator), University of Tokyo Press, 1968View the Source 2. Shinto: A History
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