Japanese Mythology · monster

Yamata-no-Orochi

八岐大蛇
also: Yamata no Orochi · the Eight-Headed Serpent
monsterserpentmonsterthe devoured daughters

The eight-headed, eight-tailed serpent that devours the daughters of the Izumo family and is slain by Susanoo, whose tail yields the sword Kusanagi.

Susanoo slays Yamata-no-Orochi in Izumo, by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi — Susanoo slays Yamata-no-Orochi in Izumo
Susanoo slays Yamata-no-Orochi in Izumo · Yoshitoshi · 1887 · Wikimedia Commons (institution in source file) · Public domain
The account

Who they are

Yamata-no-Orochi ('Eight-Branched Great Serpent') is the great serpent monster of the Izumo region, with eight heads and eight tails [S1]S1 · *Kojiki* ('Records of Ancient Matters', 712 CE), trans. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882/1933) — PRIMARY TRANSLATION — https://sacred-texts.com/Open source ↗. It devours the daughters of a local family one by one (seven of the eight), and the last, Kushinada-hime, is next [S1]S1 · *Kojiki* ('Records of Ancient Matters', 712 CE), trans. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882/1933) — PRIMARY TRANSLATION — https://sacred-texts.com/Open source ↗. Susanoo slays the beast—traditionally by luring it with sweetened sake in eight vats and cutting it down—and in its tail he finds the sword Kusanagi (Ame-murakumo-no-tsurugi) [S1]S1 · *Kojiki* ('Records of Ancient Matters', 712 CE), trans. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882/1933) — PRIMARY TRANSLATION — https://sacred-texts.com/Open source ↗. It is the archetypal Japanese serpent monster, a force of destructive chaos overcome by the hero-god [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.
Worth knowing
  • Eight heads and eight tails [S1]S1 · *Kojiki* ('Records of Ancient Matters', 712 CE), trans. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882/1933) — PRIMARY TRANSLATION — https://sacred-texts.com/Open source ↗.
  • Deviours seven of the eight daughters of the Izumo family [S1]S1 · *Kojiki* ('Records of Ancient Matters', 712 CE), trans. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882/1933) — PRIMARY TRANSLATION — https://sacred-texts.com/Open source ↗.
  • Its tail yields the sword Kusanagi to Susanoo [S1]S1 · *Kojiki* ('Records of Ancient Matters', 712 CE), trans. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882/1933) — PRIMARY TRANSLATION — https://sacred-texts.com/Open source ↗.
Uncertainties & variants
  • The method of the slaying (the eight vats of sake, the cutting) and some details differ between the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki [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.
Relationships (1)

Connections

Conflict & enmity

KILLEDSusanoo — Susanoo slays the eight-headed serpent Yamata-no-Orochi.[S1] [S2]
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Their corner of the divine world

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hierarchical — generations top → bottom, partners side by side
Overlays
FocusYamata-no-OrochiJapanese
JAPANESE · 21♥♥♥Kusanagi-no-Tsu…Yasakani no Mag…Yata no KagamiAme-no-NubokoAme-no-UzumeAmenominakanushiInariIzanagiIzanamiTakamimusubiKotohikoneKushinada-himeNinigiŌkuninushiSarutahikoTakemikazuchiYamata-no-OrochiYamato TakeruAmaterasuKagutsuchiKonohanasakuya-h…SusanooTsukuyomiToyotama-himeHooroni (Ōyahata)
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  • parentage
  • marriage ♥

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Myths featuring Yamata-no-Orochi

1 story

Susanoo Slayes Yamata-no-Orochi

On his way down from the banished heaven to the earthly realm (Izumo), Susanoo meets the weeping parents of a family whose daughters are being devoured by the eight-headed, eight-tailed serpent Yamata-no-Orochi; seven of the eight daughters have already been eaten, and the last, Kushinada-hime, is next [S1]S1 · *Kojiki* ('Records of Ancient Matters', 712 CE), trans. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882/1933) — PRIMARY TRANSLATION — https://sacred-texts.com/Open source ↗. Susanoo asks for her hand, turns himself into a hair-comb, and has her wear it in her hair [S1]S1 · *Kojiki* ('Records of Ancient Matters', 712 CE), trans. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882/1933) — PRIMARY TRANSLATION — https://sacred-texts.com/Open source ↗. He prepares eight vats of sweetened sake and sets out eight cutting-stations; when the serpent drinks and comes to drink, Susanoo slays it, and in its tail he finds the sword Kusanagi (Ame-murakumo-no-tsurugi) [S1]S1 · *Kojiki* ('Records of Ancient Matters', 712 CE), trans. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882/1933) — PRIMARY TRANSLATION — https://sacred-texts.com/Open source ↗. He rescues Kushinada-hime and marries her [S1]S1 · *Kojiki* ('Records of Ancient Matters', 712 CE), trans. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882/1933) — PRIMARY TRANSLATION — https://sacred-texts.com/Open source ↗. This is the archetypal Japanese monster-slaying myth and the origin of the sacred sword Kusanagi [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.

READ THE STORY →

Artworks

Depictions

Susanoo slays Yamata-no-Orochi in Izumo, by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi — Susanoo slays Yamata-no-Orochi in Izumo
Susanoo slays Yamata-no-Orochi in Izumo · Yoshitoshi · 1887 · Wikimedia Commons (institution in source file) · Public domain
Susanoo slays Yamata-no-Orochi in Izumo · 1887
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