Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi

草薙剣

also known as Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi · The Grass-Cutting Sword

Weapon · SwordJapaneseAtlas class — Divine (S)Status: HiddenSources: High confidence
Sword Pommel, Kofun Period (Tokyo National Museum)TYPE-PROXY
You are looking atThe mythic Kusanagi does not survive as a public object. This is a genuine Kofun-period sword pommel — a type-proxy showing the real object-class of the sword, not the regalia itself.Sword Pommel, Kofun Period (Tokyo National Museum) — Unknown (archaeological find) · Tokyo National Museum · 6th century CE · Public domain (open-access museum photograph) · Public domain (open-access)

Overview

Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi (also called Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi) is the sword that, in the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, Susanoo drew from the tail of the eight-headed serpent Yamata no Orochi and offered to Amaterasu. [S1]S1 · *Kojiki* ('Records of Ancient Matters', 712 CE), trans. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882/1933) — PRIMARY TRANSLATION — https://sacred-texts.com/Open source ↗[S2]S2 · *Nihon Shoki* ('Chronicles of Japan', 720 CE) — PRIMARY TEXT (annalistic + mythographic) — (translation: G. Cameron, 1968; see Internet Arch It is one of the Three Sacred Treasures (the Regalia) and the emblem of the imperial line's descent from the sun-goddess. In legend it quenched a great fire at Ise. [S2]S2 · *Nihon Shoki* ('Chronicles of Japan', 720 CE) — PRIMARY TEXT (annalistic + mythographic) — (translation: G. Cameron, 1968; see Internet Arch As one of the Regalia it is the emblem of the emperor's divine right.

Creation & Origin

Drawn by Susanoo from the tail of Yamata no Orochi; offered to Amaterasu. [S1]S1 · *Kojiki* ('Records of Ancient Matters', 712 CE), trans. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882/1933) — PRIMARY TRANSLATION — https://sacred-texts.com/Open source ↗

The sword of the serpent-slaying, passed to the sun-goddess and thence to the imperial line. [S1]S1 · *Kojiki* ('Records of Ancient Matters', 712 CE), trans. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882/1933) — PRIMARY TRANSLATION — https://sacred-texts.com/Open source ↗

Atlas Power Profile

Interpretive, 0–10. An Atlas editorial reading — not a historical or canonical ranking.

Destruction8

The sword that slew the eight-headed serpent Yamata no Orochi; a weapon of the gods.

PROTECTION8

In legend it quelled a great fire at Ise; it is a charm against fire and against disorder.

MAGIC7

One of the Three Sacred Treasures; it is the emblem of the sovereign's divine right.

DIVINE AUTHORITY9

It is the regalia of the emperor, the emblem of the imperial line's descent from Amaterasu.

DURABILITY7

The mythic sword is unbroken in the sources; the physical treasure's survival is unknown.

Named Abilities

Each ability carries a certainty level — how firmly the sources support it.

OROGI-SLAYER
Attested

Drawn from the tail of Yamata no Orochi, it is the sword that slew the serpent.

Source — Kojiki; Nihon Shoki

FIRE-QUENCH
Later tradition

In legend it quenched a great fire at Ise.

Source — Nihon Shoki; later tradition

SOVEREIGN'S REGALIA
Attested

It is one of the Three Sacred Treasures, the emblem of the emperor's divine right.

Source — Kojiki; Engishiki

Limitations & Constraints

  • A regalia of the imperial line; not a weapon in ordinary use, and its physical form is not publicly examined.

Notable Facts

  • Kusanagi is one of the Three Sacred Treasures (the Regalia) alongside the Yata no Kagami and the Yasakani no Magatama.

Where the record is thin

Interpretation note
  • The regalia are not publicly displayed or examined; the physical sword's survival and form are a matter of tradition, not of public verification.

Woven into the Atlas

Every link here is a real graph relationship — the artifact is part of the same mythology, not a side table.