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{{short description|Japanese dragon}}
{{attention}}
{{redirect|Orochi}}
]]]
{{Nihongo|'''Yamata no Orochi'''|ヤマタノオロチ||extra=also {{lang|ja|{{linktext|八岐大蛇}}}}, {{lang|ja|八俣遠呂智}} or {{lang|ja|八俣遠呂知}}}}, or simply {{Nihongo|'''Orochi'''|大蛇}}, is a legendary eight-headed and eight-tailed ]/].{{r|Nihon_Jap}}{{r|Kojiki_Jap}}


==Mythology==
'''Orochi''' (オロチ) or Yamata no Orochi is a monster in ] ] ].
]]]


Yamata no Orochi legends are originally recorded in two ancient texts about ] and history. The 712 AD {{transliteration|ja|]}} transcribes this dragon name as {{lang|ja|八岐遠呂智}} and the 720 AD {{transliteration|ja|]}} writes it as {{lang|ja|八岐大蛇}}. In both versions of the Orochi myth, the ] storm god ] (or "Susa-no-O") is expelled from Heaven for tricking his sister ], the sun goddess.
Orochi is more widely known as an eight-headed demonic snake. One of the legendary creatures most famous in Japan, the dragon fought with the warrior-god ]. Stories told about Orochi all seem to agree that it was truly magnificent and terrible, and that it had multiple heads and a gigantic body that was said to stretch across eight hills and valleys. Some sources offer that the number eight may be indicative of simply an indiscriminate large number, and that Orochi might be much more massive than some may think. Some also believe that it may have possessed only seven heads and may have been smaller; whatever is believed, it was truly fearsome!


]]]
The sinister Orochi dominated a region in Japan, which some say was the Izumo province, and demanded virgin sacrifices. When the warrior-god Susano-Oh came upon this area travelling through it, he met a couple in hysterics: their daughter was to be sacrificed to Orochi. Some versions of this story say that they had already sacrificed seven other girls to the creature. The daughter in question here was named Kushinada, and Susano-Oh told the couple that he would rescue her from that fate if he was able to marry her. Naturally the couple agreed at once.
After expulsion from Heaven, Susanoo encounters two {{nihongo|"Earthly Deities"|國神|]}} near the head of the {{nihongo|Hi River|簸川}}, now called the {{nihongo|]|]}}, in ]. They are weeping because they were forced to give the Orochi one of their daughters every year for seven years, and now they must ], {{nihongo|]|櫛名田比売||"comb/wondrous rice-field princess"}}, who Susanoo transforms into a {{nihongo3|"comb"|櫛|kushi}} for safekeeping. The {{transliteration|ja|Kojiki}} tells the following version:


{{blockquote|So, having been expelled, descended to a place Tori-kami ({{lang|ja|鳥髪}}, now {{lang|ja|鳥上}}) at the head-waters of the River Hi in the Land of Idzumo. At this time some chopsticks came floating down the stream. So His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness, thinking that there must be people at the head-waters of the river, went up it in quest of them, when he came upon an old man and an old woman, – two of them, – who had a young girl between them, and were weeping. Then he deigned to ask: "Who are ye?" So the old man replied, saying: "I am an Earthly Deity, child of the Deity Great-Mountain-Possessor. I am called by the name of Foot-Stroking-Elder, my wife is called by the name of Hand-Stroking Elder, and my daughter is called by the name of Wondrous-Inada-Princess." Again he asked: What is the cause of your crying?" saying: "I originally had eight young girls as daughters. But the eight-forked serpent of Koshi has come every year and devoured , and it is now its time to come, wherefore we weep." Then he asked him: "What is its form like?" answered, saying: "Its eyes are like {{transliteration|ja|akakagachi}}, it has one body with eight heads and eight tails. Moreover on its body grows moss, and also ] and ]s. Its length extends over eight valleys and eight hills, and if one looks at its belly, it is all constantly bloody and inflamed." (What is called here {{transliteration|ja|akakagachi}} is the modern {{transliteration|ja|]}} ) Then His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness said to the old man: "If this be thy daughter, wilt thou offer her to me?" He replied, saying: "With reverence, but I know not thine august name." Then he replied, saying: "I am elder brother to the Heaven-Shining-Great-August-Deity. So I have now descended from Heaven." Then the Deities Foot-Stroking-Elder and Hand-Stroking-Elder said: "If that be so, with reverence will we offer ." So His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness, at once taking and changing the young girl into a multitudinous and close-toothed comb which he stuck into his august hair-bunch, said to the Deities Foot-Stroking-Elder and Hand-Stroking-Elder: "Do you distill some eight-fold refined liquor. Also make a fence round about, in that fence make eight gates, at each gate tie eight platforms, on each platform put a liquor-vat, and into each vat pour the eight-fold refined liquor, and wait." So as they waited after having thus prepared everything in accordance with his bidding, the eight-forked serpent came truly as had said, and immediately dipped a head into each vat, and drank the liquor. Thereupon it was intoxicated with drinking, and all lay down and slept. Then His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness drew the ten-grasp saber, that was augustly girded on him, and cut the serpent in pieces, so that the River Hi flowed on changed into a river of blood. So when he cut the middle tail, the edge of his august sword broke. Then, thinking it strange, he thrust into and split with the point of his august sword and looked, and there was a great sword . So he took this great sword, and, thinking it a strange thing, he respectfully informed the Heaven-Shining-Great-August-Deity. This is the Herb-Quelling Great Sword.{{r|trChamberlain1919_713}}}}
Susano-Oh, in some versions of the story, turned Kushinada into a comb and put her in his hair. He then put out eight barrels of either pears or sake (depending on the version) which the dragon drank with relish, making it clumsier and less quick. Susano-Oh and Orochi engaged in a truly world-shaking battle which ended in Orochi's heads being cut off and Susano-Oh finding the enchanted blade Kusanagi in one of its two tails. In some versions Kusanagi is called ]-no-Tsunegi, 'The Grass-Cutting Sword', and this sword was given to ], Susano-Oh's sister, who is the Japanese Goddess of the Sun. She then gave it to her descendant on Earth, the Emperor; from that point on it is said that it has been kept as one of the Three Sacred Treasures of ].
For more information, see ].


The {{transliteration|ja|Nihongi}} also describes Yamata no Orochi:{{r|trAston1896_1_523}} "It had an eight-forked head and an eight-forked tail; its eyes were red, like the winter-cherry; and on its back firs and cypresses were growing. As it crawled it extended over a space of eight hills and eight valleys." The botanical names used to describe this Orochi are {{transliteration|ja|akakagachi}} or {{transliteration|ja|hoozuki}} (winter cherry or Japanese lantern, '']''), {{transliteration|ja|hikage}} (club moss, '']''), {{transliteration|ja|hinoki}} (Japanese cypress, '']''), and {{transliteration|ja|sugi}} (Japanese cedar, '']'').
Naruto


The legendary sword {{transliteration|ja|]}}, which came from the tail of Yamata no Orochi, along with the {{transliteration|ja|]}} mirror and {{transliteration|ja|]}} jewel, became the three sacred ].
The main antagonist with snake-like characteristics, Orochimaru, which maybe derived from Orochi


==Etymology==
== Orochi in Video Games ==
{{Wiktionary pipe|大蛇|orochi}}
The ] name {{nihongo||]|orochi}} derives from ] {{transliteration|ojp|woröti}} with a regular {{transliteration|ja|o-}} from {{transliteration|ojp|wo-}} shift,{{r|Miller1971_257}} but its ] is enigmatic. Besides this ancient {{transliteration|ja|orochi}} reading, the ], {{lang|ja|大蛇}}, are commonly pronounced {{transliteration|ja|daija}}, "big snake; large serpent".


Carr{{r|Carr1990_169}} notes that Japanese scholars have proposed "more than a dozen" {{transliteration|ja|orochi}} < {{transliteration|ojp|woröti}} etymologies, while Western linguists have suggested ] from ], ], and ]. The most feasible native etymological proposals are Japanese {{transliteration|ja|o-}} from {{nihongo3|"tail"|]|o}}, (which is where Susanoo discovered the sacred sword), {{nihongo3|"big; great"|]|ō}}, or {{nihongo3|"peak; summit"|]|oro}}; and ], meaning "god; spirit", cognate with the {{transliteration|ja|]}} river-dragon. Benedict{{r|Benedict1985_167}} originally proposed {{transliteration|ojp|woröti}} "large snake" was suffixed from ] *''(w)oröt-i'' acquired from ] {{lang|map|*uḷəj}}, "snake; worm"; which he later modified to {{lang|map|*(u-)orot-i}} from {{lang|map|*oḷəj}}.{{r|Benedict1990_243}} Miller{{r|Miller1987_647}} criticized Benedict for overlooking Old Japanese "] 'tail' + suffix {{transliteration|ojp|-ti}} – as well as an obvious Tungus etymology, *''xürgü-či'', 'the tailed one'", and notes "this apparently well-traveled {{transliteration|ja|orochi}} has now turned up in the speculation of the folklorists."{{r|Littleton1981}} Littleton's hypothesis involves the 3-headed monster ] or Viśvarūpa, which has a mythological parallel because ] killed it after giving it ], wine, and food, but lacks a phonological connection.
The demon Orochi makes frequent appearances in Japanese ] and ], especially RPGs. There are variations on the original legend: 8-headed snake, rampaging swordsman, etc. (Yasakani, Hasshaku, Yagami, Yata, and some other names are ]'s spin on their adaption to the legend.)


==Mythological parallels==
===Dragon Quest===
{{main article|Chaoskampf}}
{{Chaoskampf sidebar}}
] or multi-headed animals are rare in biology, but commonly feature in ] and ]. Multi-headed dragons, like the eight-headed ] and three-headed ] above, are a common motif in ]. For instance, multi-headed ] include the 9-headed ] and the 100-headed ], both slain by ].


Two other Japanese examples derive from Buddhist importations of Indian dragon myths. ], the Japanese form of ], supposedly killed a five-headed dragon at ] in 552. ] ({{lang|ja|九頭龍}}, "nine-headed dragon"), deriving from the ]s (snake-kings) ] and ], is worshipped at ] in ]. Compare the ] ({{lang|zh|九頭鳥}}) in ].
The Orochi is a boss moster in the RPG Dragon Quest III (known as Dragon Warrior III in the US), originally for the NES, later rereleased on the Gameboy Color. In the game Orochi is a five-headed fire-breathing dragon, who was terrorizing the island of ]. You as the hero of the game had to defeat him in order to save the village and proceed in the game.


Comparing folklore about polycephalic dragons and serpents, eight-headed creatures are less common than seven- or nine-headed ones. Among ], {{transliteration|ja|ya}} or {{transliteration|ja|hachi}} ({{lang|ja|]}}) can mean "many; varied" (e.g., {{nihongo3|{{lit|800 store}}|八百屋|yaoya}}, "greengrocer; jack-of-all-trades"). De Visser says the number 8 is "stereotypical" in legends about kings or gods riding dragons or having their carriages drawn by them.{{r|Visser1913_150}} The slaying of the dragon is said to be similar to the legends of Cambodia, India, Persia, Western Asia, East Africa and the Mediterranean area. Smith identifies the mythic seven- or eight-headed dragons with the seven-spiked ] shell or eight-tentacled octopus.{{r|Smith1919_215}}
This same Orochi is also found as a breedable, tameable, and playable monster in the monster-raising RPG Dragon Quest Monsters 1 and 2 (Dragon Warrior Monsters in the US) for the Gameboy Color


The myth of a ] fighting a ] is itself a popular mythic ] potentially originating with the ]{{r|Watkins1995}} and later transmitted into the ] most likely initially through interaction with ] speaking peoples into ] and the ].{{r|Speiser1942_100}} This motif, known as {{lang|de|]}} (] for "struggle against chaos"), represents the clash between order and chaos. Often as these myths evolve from their source, the role of the storm god (often the head of a pantheon) is adopted by ] or a personage symbolizing royalty. In many examples, the serpent god is often seen as multi-headed or multi-tailed.
===King of the Fighters===
*] vs. ] (])
*] vs. ] (])
*] vs. ] (Slavic)
*] vs. ] (])
*] vs. ] (])
*] vs. ] (])
*] vs. the ] (Greek)
*] vs. ] (Greek)
*] vs. ] (])
*] vs. ] (Indian)
*] vs. ] (])
*] vs. ] (])
*] vs. ] (])
*] vs. ] (])
*] vs. ] (])
*] vs. ] (])
*] vs. ] (])
*] vs. ] (])
*] vs. ] (])
*] vs. ] (])
* ] vs. ] (])
* ] vs. ] (Norse)
* ] vs. ] (])
* ] vs. {{ill|Gozuryu|ja|五頭竜}} (Japanese Buddhism)
* ] vs. ] (])
* ] vs. ] (])
* ] vs. Ngu Tinh (])


The fight of a hero, sometimes of extraordinary birth, against a dragon who demands the sacrifice of maidens or princesses is a widespread tale. In ], it falls under the ] ATU 300, "The Dragonslayer".{{r|Weiss2018_120}}
The Orochi saga in ] is a version of the ] legend. He is the final boss of ''The King of Fighters '97''. His voice is provided by ]. He has white hair, white pants, and a tattoo across his chest.


== See also ==
In the version presented in KOF, Orochi, a being that could cause incredible amounts of destruction and death, was originally defeated 1800 years ago by the members of the Kusanagi, Yasakani, and Yata clans. The Yasakani held Orochi in place, the Kusanagi deal the final blow, and the Yata sealed it off.
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ], fictional '']'' and villain in the ] inspired by Yamata no Orochi.
* ]
* ]
* ]
* '']''
* ]
* ]


==References==
However, some 250 years later, when the Kusanagi clan was considered to be the strongest of the three clans and the Yasakani the weakest of the three, the Yasakani clan made a blood pact that allowed the Yasakani to use the power of Orochi. Such power came at a cost: the Yasakani, now Yagami, wielded purple flames and were doomed to live very short lives. This action led to a violent feud between the Kusanagi and the Yagami, and many members of both clans lost their lives.
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name=Nihon_Jap>{{lang|ja|] 卷第一, 頭尾各有八岐}}</ref>


<ref name=Kojiki_Jap>{{lang|ja|] 上卷并序, 身一有八頭八尾}}</ref>
The murder of the leader of the Yata clan in the present day released the seal that had sealed Orochi away. Hearing of this, the heiress to the Yata, Chizuru Kagura, organized the 1996 King of Fighters tournament in order to unite the two warring clans, represented by Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami. Together, they manage to seal off Orochi once again.


<ref name=trChamberlain1919_713>{{cite book |translator-last=Chamberlain |translator-first=Basil H. |date=1981 |orig-date=1919 |title=The Kojiki, Records of Ancient Matters |publisher=Tuttle reprint |pages=71–3 |ref=CITEREFChamberlain1919 |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/index.htm }}</ref>
=== Related Characters ===
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* Shermie - one of Orochi's sacred warriors; she can manipulate the element of ]
* ]
* ]


<ref name=trAston1896_1_523>{{cite book |translator-last=Aston |translator-first=William George |date=1972 |orig-date=1896 |title=Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 (2 vols) |publisher=Kegan Paul - Tuttle reprint |at=vol. 1 pp. 52-3 |ref=CITEREFAston1896 |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/nihon0.htm }}</ref>
== See also ==

* ]
<ref name=Miller1971_257>Miller, Roy Andrew. 1971. ''Japanese and the Other Altaic Languages''. University of Chicago Press. pp. 25-7.</ref>

<ref name=Carr1990_169>Carr, Michael. 1990. , ''Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area'' 13.2:87–189. p. 169.</ref>

<ref name=Benedict1985_167>Benedict, Paul K. 1985. "''Toppakō: Tōnan Ajia no gengo kara Nihongo e'' {{lang|ja|突破口等東南アジアの言語から日本語え}}," Nishi Yoshio {{lang|ja|西義郎}}, tr. ''Computational Analyses of Asian and African Languages'' 25:167.</ref>

<ref name=Benedict1990_243>Benedict, Paul K. 1990. ''Japanese Austro/Tai''. Karoma. p. 243.</ref>

<ref name=Miller1987_647>Miller, Roy Andrew. 1987. " ''Toppakō: Tōnan Ajia no gengo kara Nihongo e'' … By Paul K. Benedict. Translated by Nishi Yoshio." ''Language'' 63.3:643–648. p. 647.</ref>

<ref name=Littleton1981>Littleton, C. Scott. 1981. "Susa-nö-wo versus Ya-mata nö woröti: An Indo-European Theme in Japanese Mythology." ''History of Religions'' 20:269-80.</ref>

<ref name=Visser1913_150>{{cite book |last=Visser |first=Marinus Willern de |date=2008 |orig-date=1913 |others=Introduction by Loren Coleman |title=The Dragon in China and Japan |location=] - New York City |publisher=J. Müller - Cosimo Classics (reprint) |page=150 |isbn=978-1-60520-409-3 |ref=CITEREFVisser1913 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mpg6Xd2jW2YC }}</ref>

<ref name=Smith1919_215>Smith, G. Elliot. 1919. ''''. London: Longmans, Green & Company. p. 215.</ref>

<ref name=Watkins1995>Watkins, Calvert (1995). ]. London: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-514413-0}}.</ref>

<ref name=Speiser1942_100>Speiser, E.A. "An Intrusive Hurro-Hittite Myth", Journal of the American Oriental Society 62.2 (June 1942:98–102). p. 100.</ref>

<ref name=Weiss2018_120>Weiss, Michael. "Slaying the Serpent: Comparative Mythological Perspectives on Susanoo's Dragon Fight". In: ''Journal of Asian Humanities at Kyushu University (JAH-Q)''. Volume 3. Spring 2018. pp. 1–20.</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* , Encyclopedia of Shinto
* {{in lang|ja}}
* animated depiction

{{Jmyth navbox long}}
{{Japanese folklore long}}


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Latest revision as of 19:01, 4 January 2025

Japanese dragon "Orochi" redirects here. For other uses, see Orochi (disambiguation).
Susanoo slaying the Yamata no Orochi, woodblock print by Toyohara Chikanobu

Yamata no Orochi (ヤマタノオロチ, also 八岐大蛇, 八俣遠呂智 or 八俣遠呂知), or simply Orochi (大蛇), is a legendary eight-headed and eight-tailed Japanese dragon/serpent.

Mythology

Susanoo slaying Yamata no Orochi, woodblock print by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Yamata no Orochi legends are originally recorded in two ancient texts about Japanese mythology and history. The 712 AD Kojiki transcribes this dragon name as 八岐遠呂智 and the 720 AD Nihon Shoki writes it as 八岐大蛇. In both versions of the Orochi myth, the Shinto storm god Susanoo (or "Susa-no-O") is expelled from Heaven for tricking his sister Amaterasu, the sun goddess.

Susanoo slaying Yamata no Orochi, woodblock print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi

After expulsion from Heaven, Susanoo encounters two "Earthly Deities" (國神, kunitsukami) near the head of the Hi River (簸川), now called the Hii River (斐伊川), in Izumo Province. They are weeping because they were forced to give the Orochi one of their daughters every year for seven years, and now they must sacrifice their eighth, Kushi-inada-hime (櫛名田比売, "comb/wondrous rice-field princess"), who Susanoo transforms into a kushi (櫛, "comb") for safekeeping. The Kojiki tells the following version:

So, having been expelled, descended to a place Tori-kami (鳥髪, now 鳥上) at the head-waters of the River Hi in the Land of Idzumo. At this time some chopsticks came floating down the stream. So His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness, thinking that there must be people at the head-waters of the river, went up it in quest of them, when he came upon an old man and an old woman, – two of them, – who had a young girl between them, and were weeping. Then he deigned to ask: "Who are ye?" So the old man replied, saying: "I am an Earthly Deity, child of the Deity Great-Mountain-Possessor. I am called by the name of Foot-Stroking-Elder, my wife is called by the name of Hand-Stroking Elder, and my daughter is called by the name of Wondrous-Inada-Princess." Again he asked: What is the cause of your crying?" saying: "I originally had eight young girls as daughters. But the eight-forked serpent of Koshi has come every year and devoured , and it is now its time to come, wherefore we weep." Then he asked him: "What is its form like?" answered, saying: "Its eyes are like akakagachi, it has one body with eight heads and eight tails. Moreover on its body grows moss, and also chamaecyparis and cryptomerias. Its length extends over eight valleys and eight hills, and if one looks at its belly, it is all constantly bloody and inflamed." (What is called here akakagachi is the modern hohodzuki ) Then His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness said to the old man: "If this be thy daughter, wilt thou offer her to me?" He replied, saying: "With reverence, but I know not thine august name." Then he replied, saying: "I am elder brother to the Heaven-Shining-Great-August-Deity. So I have now descended from Heaven." Then the Deities Foot-Stroking-Elder and Hand-Stroking-Elder said: "If that be so, with reverence will we offer ." So His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness, at once taking and changing the young girl into a multitudinous and close-toothed comb which he stuck into his august hair-bunch, said to the Deities Foot-Stroking-Elder and Hand-Stroking-Elder: "Do you distill some eight-fold refined liquor. Also make a fence round about, in that fence make eight gates, at each gate tie eight platforms, on each platform put a liquor-vat, and into each vat pour the eight-fold refined liquor, and wait." So as they waited after having thus prepared everything in accordance with his bidding, the eight-forked serpent came truly as had said, and immediately dipped a head into each vat, and drank the liquor. Thereupon it was intoxicated with drinking, and all lay down and slept. Then His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness drew the ten-grasp saber, that was augustly girded on him, and cut the serpent in pieces, so that the River Hi flowed on changed into a river of blood. So when he cut the middle tail, the edge of his august sword broke. Then, thinking it strange, he thrust into and split with the point of his august sword and looked, and there was a great sword . So he took this great sword, and, thinking it a strange thing, he respectfully informed the Heaven-Shining-Great-August-Deity. This is the Herb-Quelling Great Sword.

The Nihongi also describes Yamata no Orochi: "It had an eight-forked head and an eight-forked tail; its eyes were red, like the winter-cherry; and on its back firs and cypresses were growing. As it crawled it extended over a space of eight hills and eight valleys." The botanical names used to describe this Orochi are akakagachi or hoozuki (winter cherry or Japanese lantern, Physalis alkekengi), hikage (club moss, Lycopodiopsida), hinoki (Japanese cypress, Chamaecyparis obtusa), and sugi (Japanese cedar, Cryptomeria).

The legendary sword Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, which came from the tail of Yamata no Orochi, along with the Yata no Kagami mirror and Yasakani no Magatama jewel, became the three sacred Imperial Regalia of Japan.

Etymology

The Japanese name orochi (大蛇) derives from Old Japanese woröti with a regular o- from wo- shift, but its etymology is enigmatic. Besides this ancient orochi reading, the kanji, 大蛇, are commonly pronounced daija, "big snake; large serpent".

Carr notes that Japanese scholars have proposed "more than a dozen" orochi < woröti etymologies, while Western linguists have suggested loanwords from Austronesian, Tungusic, and Indo-European languages. The most feasible native etymological proposals are Japanese o- from o (尾, "tail"), (which is where Susanoo discovered the sacred sword), ō (大, "big; great"), or oro (峰, "peak; summit"); and -chi, meaning "god; spirit", cognate with the mizuchi river-dragon. Benedict originally proposed woröti "large snake" was suffixed from Proto-Austro-Japanese *(w)oröt-i acquired from Austronesian *uḷəj, "snake; worm"; which he later modified to *(u-)orot-i from *oḷəj. Miller criticized Benedict for overlooking Old Japanese "worö 'tail' + suffix -ti – as well as an obvious Tungus etymology, *xürgü-či, 'the tailed one'", and notes "this apparently well-traveled orochi has now turned up in the speculation of the folklorists." Littleton's hypothesis involves the 3-headed monster Trisiras or Viśvarūpa, which has a mythological parallel because Indra killed it after giving it soma, wine, and food, but lacks a phonological connection.

Mythological parallels

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  1. Christian-Basque mythology

Polycephalic or multi-headed animals are rare in biology, but commonly feature in mythology and heraldry. Multi-headed dragons, like the eight-headed Yamata no Orochi and three-headed Trisiras above, are a common motif in comparative mythology. For instance, multi-headed dragons in Greek mythology include the 9-headed Lernaean Hydra and the 100-headed Ladon, both slain by Heracles.

Two other Japanese examples derive from Buddhist importations of Indian dragon myths. Benzaiten, the Japanese form of Saraswati, supposedly killed a five-headed dragon at Enoshima in 552. Kuzuryū (九頭龍, "nine-headed dragon"), deriving from the nagarajas (snake-kings) Vasuki and Shesha, is worshipped at Togakushi Shrine in Nagano Prefecture. Compare the Nine-headed Bird (九頭鳥) in Chinese mythology.

Comparing folklore about polycephalic dragons and serpents, eight-headed creatures are less common than seven- or nine-headed ones. Among Japanese numerals, ya or hachi (八) can mean "many; varied" (e.g., yaoya (八百屋, lit. '800 store'), "greengrocer; jack-of-all-trades"). De Visser says the number 8 is "stereotypical" in legends about kings or gods riding dragons or having their carriages drawn by them. The slaying of the dragon is said to be similar to the legends of Cambodia, India, Persia, Western Asia, East Africa and the Mediterranean area. Smith identifies the mythic seven- or eight-headed dragons with the seven-spiked Pteria shell or eight-tentacled octopus.

The myth of a storm god fighting a sea serpent is itself a popular mythic trope potentially originating with the Proto-Indo-European religion and later transmitted into the religions of the ancient Near East most likely initially through interaction with Hittite speaking peoples into Syria and the Fertile Crescent. This motif, known as chaoskampf (German for "struggle against chaos"), represents the clash between order and chaos. Often as these myths evolve from their source, the role of the storm god (often the head of a pantheon) is adopted by culture heroes or a personage symbolizing royalty. In many examples, the serpent god is often seen as multi-headed or multi-tailed.

The fight of a hero, sometimes of extraordinary birth, against a dragon who demands the sacrifice of maidens or princesses is a widespread tale. In folklore studies, it falls under the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index ATU 300, "The Dragonslayer".

See also

References

  1. 日本書紀 卷第一, 頭尾各有八岐
  2. 古事記 上卷并序, 身一有八頭八尾
  3. The Kojiki, Records of Ancient Matters. Translated by Chamberlain, Basil H. Tuttle reprint. 1981 . pp. 71–3.
  4. Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 (2 vols). Translated by Aston, William George. Kegan Paul - Tuttle reprint. 1972 . vol. 1 pp. 52-3.
  5. Miller, Roy Andrew. 1971. Japanese and the Other Altaic Languages. University of Chicago Press. pp. 25-7.
  6. Carr, Michael. 1990. "Chinese Dragon Names", Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area 13.2:87–189. p. 169.
  7. Benedict, Paul K. 1985. "Toppakō: Tōnan Ajia no gengo kara Nihongo e 突破口等東南アジアの言語から日本語え," Nishi Yoshio 西義郎, tr. Computational Analyses of Asian and African Languages 25:167.
  8. Benedict, Paul K. 1990. Japanese Austro/Tai. Karoma. p. 243.
  9. Miller, Roy Andrew. 1987. " Toppakō: Tōnan Ajia no gengo kara Nihongo e … By Paul K. Benedict. Translated by Nishi Yoshio." Language 63.3:643–648. p. 647.
  10. Littleton, C. Scott. 1981. "Susa-nö-wo versus Ya-mata nö woröti: An Indo-European Theme in Japanese Mythology." History of Religions 20:269-80.
  11. Visser, Marinus Willern de (2008) . The Dragon in China and Japan. Introduction by Loren Coleman. Amsterdam - New York City: J. Müller - Cosimo Classics (reprint). p. 150. ISBN 978-1-60520-409-3.
  12. Smith, G. Elliot. 1919. The Evolution of the Dragon. London: Longmans, Green & Company. p. 215.
  13. Watkins, Calvert (1995). How to Kill a Dragon: Aspects of Indo-European Poetics. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-514413-0.
  14. Speiser, E.A. "An Intrusive Hurro-Hittite Myth", Journal of the American Oriental Society 62.2 (June 1942:98–102). p. 100.
  15. Weiss, Michael. "Slaying the Serpent: Comparative Mythological Perspectives on Susanoo's Dragon Fight". In: Journal of Asian Humanities at Kyushu University (JAH-Q). Volume 3. Spring 2018. pp. 1–20.

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