Kushinada Legend
Susano-oh
The story of
Susano-oh's birth and arrival in Izumo are told in the Kojiki. Susano-oh
is the god of storms and of the sea; he is called the Brave-Swift-Impetuous Male
and he was known for his highly volatile temper and impetuous ways before he
came to earth. Susano-oh came into being while his father, Izanami was
purifying himself, preparing to go into the Underworld and reclaim his wife,
Izanagi. Susano-oh sprang forth from his father's nose (from the breath of
god), and immediately begin wailing and lamenting for his mother (who is in the
Underworld).
His wails became too much for everyone in the heavens to bear
and so he was banished to the netherworld. Before he left, however he
wished to bid his sister farewell. At his approach, the ground shook and
he made so much noise that his sister, Amaterasu,
the sun goddess, became afraid and asked for a sign of friendship. So
together, they decided to create more gods.
Amaterasu chewed up her brother's sword and spat out the
pieces. From the pieces sprang three goddesses. Susano-oh chewed up
his sister's necklace and from those pieces came five gods. At this point,
Susano-oh became so excited that he lost control and defiled one of Amaterasu's
temples. He also threw a flayed horse into one of her houses.
Amaterasu was so terrified of her brother's recklessness that
she hid in a cave, thus plunging the heavens and the world below into
darkness. For his recklessness, Susano-oh suffered the punishment of
having his hair and beard cut, and his fingernails pulled out. Then the
gods banished him from heaven and he descended to earth. to live as a
mortal.
Upon his arrival, he proceeded to the river Hi in the
province of Izumo where he heard the sound of weeping. He went in search
of the cause of the sorrow and came upon an old man and woman, with a young girl
between them. Susano-oh questioned the old man and was told that he was Ashi
nadzuchi, his wife was
Te nadzuchi and their
daughter's name was Kushi nada hime.
The old man then told him that he used to have eight
daughters, and all but one had been devoured year after year by a serpent with
one body, eight heads and tails and eyes as red as winter cherries.
The serpent's time of arrival had returned and they knew he would now eat their
remaining daughter. This was the cause of their sorrow.
At this point, Susano-oh asked them to give him their
daughter, which they did. He changed her into a comb and tucked her into
his hair for safe keeping. Then he asked the old couple to distill a brew
of eightfold sake, and to build a fence that would have eight gates. At
each gate, they placed a vat holding sake so that when the Orochi
dragon came, he drank all eight vats and became intoxicated.
In some versions of the story, Orochi falls asleep and is
killed by Susano-oh, but in other versions, Orochi and Susano-oh engage in hand
to hand combat before Susano-oh is finally able to slay the
dragon. Susano-oh then dismembers the dragin and in Orochi's tail,
Susano-oh found a magnificent sword endowed with supernatural powers: the Ame
no Murakumo no Tsurugi (the Sword of Billowing
Clouds, which later became Kusanagi no Tsurugi (the
Grass Cutter) This sword is now one of the Imperial treasure said to have
been presented to the first Emperor of Japan by the goddess Amaterasu, herself.
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