Dragon History

Dragon Slayers: Susa-no-o

Symbolism: Susa-no-o was cast into the Yomi Land (Netherhell) when he managed to force his sister, the Sun Goddess, into seclusion with his mischievous ways. However, when he decended from heaven, he became well-respected, but he was also noted to be mischievous. When he slew Yamata-no-orochi, he did it in a wise way. Therefore, he was a clever trickster. He is a symbol of being reformed.

History: One day, Susa-no-o heard weeping. He found two elderly people and a young girl. The two elderly people were Ashi-nadzuchi and Te-nadzuchi, and there daughter, Kushi-nada-hime, was also with them. They were crying because a huge, eight-headed serpent called Yamata-no-orochi had devoured their seven other daughters and was returning to eat this last one. On the promise that Susa-no-o would be able to marry Kushi-nada-hime, he promised to slay the serpent. He ordered the two elderly parents to make eight cups of sake, which they did. With this, he went out to slay Yamata-no-orochi.

Yamata-no-orochi was a huge dragon, eight hills long with fur and cypress trees growing down his back. When seeing the sake, he promptly drank it down with each head and became very drunk. Susa-no-o took this opportunity to slay the dragon. While doing this, he found a sword called Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, which he sent up into the Heavens.

1. Japanese Mythology by Juliet Piggot

For more information about footnotes and references, please see the bibliography.