Orochi

Yamata no Orochi (ヤマタノオロチ, also written as 八岐大蛇, 八俣遠呂智 or 八俣遠呂知) is a legendary eight-headed and eight-tailed serpent that appears in Japanese mythology. Both the ''Kojiki'' and ''Nihon Shoki'' record the serpent as being slain by the god Susanoo, in order to rescue the goddess Kushinada-hime. It is also noted that the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, one of the Three Sacred Treasures, was found within the serpent's tail.

In local tradition, Yamata no Orochi was believed to have survived their encounter with Susanoo and fled to Mount Ibuki, where they were venerated as Ibuki Daimyōjin (伊吹大明神). Additionally, figures such as Emperor Antoku and the Nāga Maiden have been identified as incarnations of Yamata no Orochi.

Name

The name ''Yamata no Orochi'' (八俣遠呂智 in the ''Kojiki'', 八岐大蛇 in the ''Nihon Shoki'') is variously translated as "Eight-Forked Serpent", "Eight-Headed-Serpent" and "Eight-Headed Dragon", with ''orochi'' ( 大蛇) being used in modern Japanese to refer to a large snake or dragon.

''Orochi'' is derived from the Old Japanese ''woröti'', however its etymology is enigmatic. While Western linguists have suggested that ''woröti'' is a loanword from Austronesian, Tungusic, and Indo-European languages, the more likely etymologies put forward by Japanese scholars argue that it comes from ''oro'' (尾ろ; "tail"), ''ō'' (大; "big/great"), or dialectal ''oro'' (峰ろ; "peak/summit"), in addition to ''chi'' (霊; "god/spirit"), possibly being a cognate with '' mizuchi'', (蛟; "water spirit/dragon") and ''ikazuchi'' (雷; " od ofthunder").

''Yamata'' (八岐/八俣; "eight-forks/branches") on the other hand, may be related to other instances of "eight" (八, read as either ''yatsu'' or ''hachi'') in Japanese literature, used to mean "many" or "several", for example: ''yata'' (八咫; "long/large"), ''yae'' (八重; "many-layered") and ''yashima'' (八洲; "many islands", i.e. Japan).

Mythology

Kojiki

The earliest record of the Yamata no Orochi myth comes from the ''Kojiki'', the oldest extant source of Japanese mythology, completed in the year 712 by Ō no Yasumaro at the behest of Emperor Tenmu and Empress Genmei.

After being banished from Takamagahara, the god Susanoo (須佐之男) descended to a place called Torikami (鳥髪) in the land of Izumo, where he found a chopstick floating down the River Hi (簸川, known today as the Hii river). Taking this as a sign that there must be people living nearby, Susanoo traveled upstream and came across an elderly couple and a young girl, all of whom were weeping. The old man introduced himself as Ashinazuchi (足名椎), an earthly deity and child of the mountain god Ōyamatsumi. His wife was Tenazuchi (手名椎) and his daughter was Kushinada-hime (櫛名田比売). Originally the couple had eight daughters, but every year an eight-headed serpent from Koshi (高志之八俣遠呂智, ''Koshi no Yamata no Orochi'') had appeared and devoured one of them. Now only Kushinada-hime remained and she was soon to be eaten too, for this reason the three of them wept. When questioned on the serpent's appearance, Ashinazuchi described it as such:

Revealing his identity as the younger brother of the goddess Amaterasu, Susanoo agreed to slay the serpent in exchange for Kushinada-hime's hand in marriage, to which Ashinazuchi gladly accepted. Thereafter, Susanoo transformed Kushinada-hime into a comb, which he stuck in the locks of his hair, and instructed Ashinazuchi and Tenazuchi to brew "eightfold-refined ''sake''" (八塩折之酒, ''Yashiori-no-Sake''). They were also told to build a fence with eight gates, and to place a vat of the ''sake'' at each gate. After which they were to await the serpent's arrival.

The sword that Susanoo extracted from the serpent's tail, also called the ''Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi'', is counted among the three imperial regalia of Japan. The other two treasures being the ''Yata-no-Kagami'' and '' Yasakani-no-Magatama''.

Nihon Shoki

Following the ''Kojiki'', the ''Nihon Shoki'', compiled in the year 720 under the supervision of Prince Toneri, includes six different accounts of Susanoo's deeds following his exile from Takamagahara. Of these six variants, four make mention of Susanoo slaying the mythical serpent.

Version One

Having been banished from heaven, Susanoo (素戔嗚) descended to the headwaters of the River Hi, in the province of Izumo, where he heard the sound of weeping from upstream. Following this sound, Susanoo encountered an old man and woman caressing and lamenting over a young girl. When questioned by Susanoo, the elderly man introduced himself as an earthly deity named Ashinazuchi (脚摩乳), his wife was Tenazuchi (手摩乳), and their daughter was called Kushiinada-hime (奇稲田姫). The couple formerly had eight daughters, but they had been devoured year after year by an "eight-forked serpent" (八岐大蛇, ''Yamata no Orochi''), and the two grieved that Kushiinada-hime was soon to be eaten too. In response, Susanoo asked for Kushiinada-hime's hand in marriage, which Ashinazuchi agreed to. He then turned Kushiinada-hime into a comb, which he hid in the knot of his hair, and made Ashinazuchi and Tenazuchi brew eight-fold ''sake'' (八醞酒, ''Yashiori-no-Sake''). The two were further instructed to build eight cupboards, in each of which they set a tub of the ''sake'', and to await the serpent's arrival.

The ''Nihon Shoki'' also notes that, according to one account, the original name for the sword was ''Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi'' (天叢雲剣; "Sword of Gathering Clouds of Heaven"):

Version Three

After his exile from Takamagahara, Susanoo came down to the headwaters of the River E (愛之川), in the province of Aki. There he encountered a god by the name of Ashinazu-Tenazu (脚摩手摩), and his wife, Inada-no-Miyanushi-Susano-Yatsumimi (稲田宮主簀狭之八箇耳), who was pregnant. The two deities lamented that, though they had bore many children, whenever one was born an eight-forked serpent came to devour it. Now that they were about to have another, they grieved that it would also be eaten. Hearing this, Susanoo proclaimed that he would slay the serpent for them, and instructed the two deities to take all manner of fruits and brew from them eight jars of ''sake''.

According to this passage, the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi was held at the village of Ayuchi (吾湯) in Owari, where it was the god venerated by the ''Hafuribe'' of Atsuta (熱田祝部). Additionally, the sword that Susanoo used to slay the serpent, called the ''Orochi-no-Aramasa'' (蛇之麁正), was held at Isonokami Shrine. The child that Inada-no-Miyanushi-no-Susano-Yatsumimi gave birth to, named Inagami-Furukushi-Nada-hime (真髪触奇稲田姫), returned to Izumo where she grew up at the head of the River Hi. Susanoo later took her as his wife and had by her a child, whose descendant was Ōnamuchi-no-Mikoto.

Version Four

Susanoo wished to favor Inada-hime, and so asked Ashinazuchi and Tenazuchi for her hand in marriage. However, the two requested that he first slay a great serpent (大蛇), which had stone firs growing on each of its heads, and mountains on each of its sides.

The passage likewise claims that the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi was located within the province of Owari, though the Orochi-no-Karasabi is instead said to be held by the ''Kanbe'' of Kibi (吉備神部). The mountain at the upper reaches of the River Hi in Izumo is also noted as the location in which the serpent was slain.

Version Five

In response to Susanoo's unruly behavior, all the gods imposed on him a fine of a thousand tables f offerings leading to his banishment from heaven. Susanoo, accompanied by his son (五十猛神), therefore descended to the land of Silla where he dwelt at a place called (曾尸茂梨). Wishing not to stay in this land however, he formed a boat out of clay and embarked eastwards across the sea, until he arrived at Mount Torikami (鳥上之峰, ''Torikami no Take'') at the headwaters of the River Hi in Izumo.

Susanoo decided not to keep the blade for himself, and sent his descendant (天之葺根神) to offer it up to Heaven. Henceforth, the sword was known as ''Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi''.

Sendai Kuji Hongi

The slaying of Yamata no Orochi is further recounted in the ''Sendai Kuji Hongi'', a record of Japanese history supposedly written by the legendary Prince Shōtoku. The antiquity and authorship of the text were brought into question during the seventeenth century however, and the ''Kujiki'' instead appears to have been a later creation, incorporating elements of the ''Kojiki'', ''Nihon Shoki'' and ''Kogo Shūi''. Moreover, the elaborate mythical origins attributed to the Mononobe lineage suggest that the text was authored by a member of the clan.

Due to this composite nature, the text largely reiterates elements from the above mentioned accounts of Yamata no Orochi, such as Susanoo's descent to the land of Soshimori in Silla alongside his son Isotakeru, his arrival at Mount Torikami at the headwaters of the River Hi in Izumo (though the text simultaneously states that he arrived at the headwaters of the River E in Aki), and his marriage to Kushiinada-hime. However, the ''Kujiki'' also notes that, when Susanoo tricked the eight-forked serpent from Koshi (高志八岐大蛇) into getting drunk on the ''sake'' brewed by Ashinazuchi and Tenazuchi, he chopped the serpent into eight pieces. From these eight pieces emerged eight thunder ods(八雷), who ascended to heaven.

Heike Monogatari

In book eleven of the ''Kakuichi-bon'' (覚一本) edition of the ''Heike Monogatari'', compiled in the year 1371 by the blind monk Akashi Kakuichi, a retelling of the Yamata no Orochi myth is included in the chapter titled ''Tsurugi'' (剣; "The Sword"):

According to the epic, the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi was lost during the Battle of Dan-no-Ura after Taira no Tokiko threw herself, and Emperor Antoku, overboard while carrying the blade. As such, it was believed that Yamata no Orochi had reincarnated as Emperor Antoku to retrieve their stolen sword:

The identification of Yamata no Orochi with Emperor Antoku may stem from the belief in which the latter was a reincarnation of the Taira clan's tutelary deity, Itsukushima Daimyōjin (厳島大明神), as noted in the ''Gukanshō'', composed about a generation after the Battle of Dan-no-Ura by the Buddhist monk and poet Jien. Itsukushima Daimyōjin was herself understood to be the third daughter of the Dragon King Sagara, and the sister of both Empress Jingū and Toyohime (淀姫).

Emperor Antoku is additionally acknowledged as the reincarnation of Yamata no Orochi in the noh play ''Kusanagi'' (草薙), in which the monk Genshin is told of how the serpent assumed the identity of Emperor Antoku to reclaim the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi. Yamata no Orochi is then said to have reappeared to impede Yamato Takeru in his conquest of eastern Japan.

Analysis

Due to the prominence of the River Hi (簸川, now called the River Hii) in the Yamata no Orochi myth, scholars have often interpreted the serpent as a personification of the river itself. Moreover, views the tale as a conflict between culture and nature, regarding Yamata no Orochi as a river god, symbolic of nature, and Susanoo as a representation of the "culture" that brings new order. Following this interpretation, the myth can be seen as dealing with agriculture, specifically wet-rice cultivation, with Kushiinada-hime (奇稲田姫; "Lady Wonderous Rice Paddy") symbolizing a rice field, and the annual sacrifice of Ashinazuchi and Tenazuchi's daughters serving as a contract with the river god to ensure good harvest. In a similar vein, the myth has also been interpreted as dealing with flooding, as the River Hi frequently burst its banks prior to its course being redirected during the Edo period. The Victorian anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor for instance, stated that Yamata no Orochi was understood as an eight-mouthed river, adding that: “the story seems really that of the wind and the flood.” Though, by Tylor's own admission, no Japanese sources actually recognize Susanoo as a god of winds.Dragons are also frequently linked to bodies of water in Indian, Chinese and Japanese folklore, and were believed to serve as providers and withholders of rain. In particular, Yamata no Orochi has been compared to the Chinese ''jiaolong'', a malevolent river-dwelling dragon, distinguished from the " real dragon" which was said to be benevolent and provided rain and fertility. Furthermore, the ''Jiaolong'' is noted for its ability to assume numerous forms, including that of a sword. The notion of the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi being retrieved from Yamata no Orochi's tail may also reflect an ancient folk belief, that appears in oral traditions throughout Japan, in which potholes were drilled by dragons ascending to heaven with the sharp swords growing from their tails.

According to David Weiss, the conception of the dragon as a water god that must be propitiated to ensure sufficient water supply for agriculture, and to prevent floods, seems to form the oldest layer of the widespread " dragon-slayer" myth, classified as type 300 in the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index, which he identifies the slaying of Yamata no Orochi as an articulation of.

Other scholars have instead associated the Yamata no Orochi myth with the arrival of advanced metalworking techniques from the Korean peninsula. In these more euhemeristic explanations, Susanoo is typically regarded as the ancestral deity, or leader, of a group of metalworkers, often of Korean descent, while Yamata no Orochi may be explained as a mountain spirit that was responsible for causing rainstorms and floods. According to this view, the landslides that resulted from such flooding would have brought rich deposits of iron sand to the surface that were, in turn, made into swords. As such, the swords made from this iron may have been viewed as parts of the mountain spirit's tail, in its serpent form. Though these interpretations have been criticized as regarding myths as nothing more than "the allegorical representation of actual historical events and persons," which miss the many layers of meaning that constitute myth. Instead, Weiss argues, it is more likely that the introduction of new metalworking techniques added an additional layer of meaning to a preexisting narrative.

Lending some credence to the metallurgical interpretations of the myth is the ' (出雲国風土記; "Topography of the Izumo Province"), which notes that the most significant center of iron production in Izumo was the Nita District. The same region that serves as the setting for the Yamata no Orochi myth in both the ''Kojiki'' and the ''Nihon shoki''. The ''Izumo Fudoki'' also suggests a connection between Susanoo and metalworking, with the text attributing two sons to Susanoo, named Tsurugi-hiko (都留支日子; "Sword Prince") and Tsuki-hoko-tooyoru-hiko (衝杵等乎而留比古; "God of the Penetrating Halberd"). Moreover, the township of Susa, from which Susanoo is said to have received his name, is situated in Iishi District, which served as one of the centers of iron production in Izumo during the Nara period. As a result, it is not implausible that Susanoo may have been a deity venerated by metalworkers in the Izumo province.

Authors such as have also drawn parallels between the Yamata no Orochi myth and similar tales from other cultures, e.g. the slaying of Cetus by Perseus, with Taryō concluding that the various dragon-slayer myths of Asia and Europe can be traced back to a common origin. He further suggests that the dragon-slayer myth was transmitted to Japan alongside metallurgical techniques from the area to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangzi River, possibly via southern Korea. However, the lack of documented Korean tales comparable to the Yamata no Orochi myth make it difficult to postulate a transmission of the narrative via the Korean peninsula.

A link between the Yamata no Orochi myth and Korea may be suggested by two of the names attributed to Susanoo's sword; ''Orochi-no-Aramasa'' (蛇之麁正) and ''Orochi-no-Karasabi'' (蛇韓鋤), which are both derived from the Korean peninsula. Additionally, a variant of the myth provided in the ''Nihon Shoki'' states that Susanoo crossed over to Izumo from the Korean kingdom of Silla. Roy Andrew Miller and Nelly Naumann have also drawn a connection between the word ''kusanagi'' and the Korean ''kurŏng'i'' ( 구렁이; "a large snake/serpent"), and further reconstructed the Old Korean form ''kusïnki'', "which was then borrowed into Old Japanese to appear there as ''kusanagi''."

The Yamata no Orochi myth places particular emphasis on the discovery of the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, which was revered as one of the three imperial regalia, perhaps reflecting its central importance to the narrative. Weiss has suggested the discovery of the sword may have been a late addition, made by the scribes writing down the imperial chronicles at the Yamato court, in order to explain the origin of one of the imperial regalia. The association of the myth with Izumo would therefore reflect the court’s perception of Izumo as an important center of metallurgical expertise and metal production, which had to be linked to the ancestors of the imperial family in order to strengthen their claim to hegemony over the region. The fact that the ''Izumo Fudoki'' makes no mention of the slaying of Yamata no Orochi has additionally led many scholars to argue that the narrative was fabricated at the imperial court, and is not based on any local tradition.

Worship

In local belief surrounding Mount Ibuki, Yamata no Orochi was thought to have survived their encounter with Susanoo and taken refuge on the mountain, where they came to be deified as Ibuki Daimyōjin (伊吹大明神). This same deity was also responsible for the death of Yamato Takeru, who succumbed to illness after his encounter with the mountain god:

Ibuki Daimyōjin is additionally noted as being the father of Shuten Dōji in the Nara picture book (奈良絵本, ''Nara Ehon'') ''Ōeyama'' (大江山). According to ''Ōeyama'', the god of Mount Ibuki, whose true identity was Yamata no Orochi, impregnated the daughter of Lord Sugawa (須川殿) due to his nightly visits. Upset by the news of his daughter's pregnancy, Lord Sugawa summoned various religious specialists to exorcize the spirit. This angered the mountain god, who in-turn caused Lord Sugawa to fall ill. Subsequently, in an effort to pacify the deity, Yamata no Orochi came to be worshiped as Ibuki Daimyōjin.

Owing to Buddhist reinterpretations of Susanoo's slaying of Yamata no Orochi, the latter also came to be identified with the Nāga Maiden of the Lotus Sutra. The ' (日本書紀纂疏), written in the fifteenth century by Ichijō Kaneyoshi, for instance, mentions the belief in which the Nāga Maiden served as an avatar of the eight-headed serpent. Though according to the ''Shaku Nihongi'', it is instead Susanoo's wife, Kushinada-hime, who is identified with the daughter of the Dragon King. In his explanation of the deities enshrined at Gion-jinja (祇園神社), Kaneyoshi additionally speculates that Jadokkeshin (蛇毒気神; "Deity of the Poisoned Snake Breath"), alternatively read as ''Dadokuke-no-Kami'', is an incarnation of Yamata no Orochi.

Jadokkeshin is herself an obscure deity who is noted in the writings of Kujō Michiie as the consort of Gozu Tennō, a god of epidemics that was commonly conflated with Susanoo during the medieval period. In later works however, Jadokkeshin is typically included among the eight children of Gozu Tennō and , known as the Hachiōji (八王子; "Eight Princes"). The eight princes were collectively venerated as protective figures, identified at times with both the (八大龍王) and the (八将神), the latter of whom served as directional deities in ''Onmyōdō''. Among the eight generals, Jadokkeshin corresponded to the astral deity (豹尾), and was further identified as a manifestation of Sanbō Kōjin in the ' (簠簋内伝). Jadokkeshin also appears to have been worshiped separately, outside of the group formed by the eight princes, and is characterized as both a god of pestilence (行疫神, ''gyōyakujin'') and a placenta deity (胞衣神, ''enagami'').

Furthermore, Jadokkeshin features prominently in the narratives surrounding Gozu Tennō. In the ''Gozu Tennō Shimawatari Saimon'' (牛頭天王島渡り祭文), a ritual text recited during the Flower Festival (花祭り, ''Hana-matsuri'') held at , after marrying Harisaijo and rearing seven children in the Dragon Palace, Gozu Tennō is said to have traveled to Japan with his family and eighty-four thousand retainers. Along the way they encountered a monstrous red snake, that claimed to be their abandoned daughter Jadokkeshin. The ' (簠簋抄), a commentary on the ''Hoki Naiden'' written in the Edo period, elaborates on this further, stating that Jadokkeshin was born from the discarded placentas of her seven brothers.

No extant depictions of Jadokkeshin are known. However, the ''Honchō Seiki'' makes mention of a statue of Jadokkeshin, which was destroyed by the fire that broke out at Kankei-ji (観慶時, a Buddhist temple overseeing the Gion Shrine) in 1070.

In popular culture

To this day, the Yamata no Orochi myth still plays a significant role in the culture of the Shimane prefecture. Yamata no Orochi is depicted in the logo of ' (スサノオ観光; "Susanoo Sightseeing"), a major bus company based in Izumo City, alongside the logo of Matsue's professional basketball team; Shimane Susanoo Magic. The biggest highway loop in the prefecture, (奥出雲おろちループ), and a major street in Izumo City, Orochi Street (おろち通り), are also named after the serpent.

Susanoo's slaying of Yamata no Orochi is reenacted as part of (石見神楽), a kind of folk theater popular in the western part of Shimane (formerly the Iwami province), in which ''Orochi'' (大蛇) is the most popular and regularly performed play.

Yamata no Orochi also appears prominently in media. The 1963 film ''The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon'' (わんぱく王子の大蛇退治, ''Wanpaku Ōji no Orochi Taiji'', lit. "The Naughty Prince's Slaying of Orochi") for instance, is based loosely on the mythology surrounding Susanoo, and features his fight with Yamata no Orochi during the film's climax. Additionally, the video game Ōkami features the eight-headed serpent Orochi as an antagonist. The game deviates from mythological accounts however, as the player character Amaterasu is the one tasked with defeating Orochi, while Susanoo plays a supporting role.

Notes

References

Bibliography

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

{{Japanese folklore long

ATU 300-399
Japanese dragons
Mythical many-headed creatures
Mythological and legendary Japanese snakes