Yamata No Orochi. Takejiro, Hasegawa. Translated by Basil Hall Chamberlain, Kobunsha, 1886.

Anonymous — Sun, 18 Dec 2022 18:57:14 +0000

Yamata No Orochi. Takejiro, Hasegawa. Translated by Basil Hall Chamberlain, Kobunsha, 1886. Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 12/18/2022 - 11:57

Hasegawa Takejiro

Tale Summary

The world was ruled by a fairy who had three children named Susano, Ama, and Moon-boy. Susano was given the sea, Ama was given the sun, and Moon-boy had the moon. However, Susano got tired of living in the cold sea and burst into the sun to see his sister, Ama. Susano in anger ruined and stomped over Ama and her maiden’s weaving projects of silver and gold dresses, which caused Ama’s maidens to die of fright. Ama ran away into a cave which put the world into darkness. The other fairies tried many plans to draw her out but the one that worked was when the other fairies started dancing. The fairies told the peeking Ama that there was another fairy more beautiful than her. Ama came out to see this fairy which was a mirror that showed Ama her reflection and while she was out, the cave was quickly blocked with rocks. As punishment for driving Ama away, Susano was beaten and expelled by the others. While traveling in exile, Susano came across a crying couple embracing their daughter. They explained that once a year an eight-headed serpent ate one of their daughters and now has a single daughter left. Susano decided to help the couple by brewing beer and making a fence with eight stands. The beer was placed upon each stand and when the serpent came down, each head smelled and drank every drop of the eight beers. Each head fell asleep and while asleep Susano cut up each head along with the body. However, his blade snapped upon the tail and out of the remains of the tail, he pulled out a beautiful sword. He married the couple’s daughter and built a palace for them all to live in. As time passed the sword was passed down and now belongs to the emperor of Japan.

Fairy Tale Title

The Serpent with Eight Heads

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Hasegawa Takejiro

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

Eitaku Sensei

Common Tale Type

Dragon slayers

Tale Classification

ATU 300

Page Range of Tale

Whole book

Full Citation of Tale

Yamata No Orochi. Takejiro, Hasegawa. Translated by Basil Hall Chamberlain, Kobunsha, 1886.

Original Source of the Tale

This tale is derived from Japanese mythology.

Tale Notes

The tale is based on Japanese mythology. The gods are replaced by fairies and heaven is referred to as Fairyland. Susanoo is a storm god and is Susano in the tale. Amaterasu is a sun goddess and is Ama in the tale. In one version of the myth, Amaterasu was lured out by an immodest dance and the other gods laughing. The sword is known as Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi and is one of the three imperial regalias of Japan. The sword was given to Amaterasu as a gift from Susanoo (so she would forgive him).

AV��ʪ and Curation

Nathaniel Montano, 2022

Book Title

Yamata No Orochi

Book Author/Editor(s)

Hasegawa Takejiro

Illustrator(s)

Eitaku Sensei

Publisher

Kobunsha

Date Published

1886

Decade Published

1880-1889

Publisher City

Tokyo

Publisher Country

Japan

Language

English

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Available at the Internet Archive

Book Notes

Plain paper folded in sheets, No spine covers, 26 pages, colored title page, muted colored illustrations

Traditional

White