The Slaying of the Eight-Headed Serpent (Yamata no Orochi)

Exiled from heaven for his outrages, Susanoo descended to the province of Izumo along the upper reaches of the Hi River. There he noticed chopsticks floating downstream—a sign of human habitation upstream. Following the river, he came upon an elderly couple, Ashinazuchi and Tenazuchi, weeping over a beautiful young woman between them.

Susanoo inquired why they wept. The old man explained that they had once had eight daughters, but each year a monstrous serpent called Yamata no Orochi came and devoured one. Now only their youngest daughter, Kushinadahime, remained, and the time of the serpent's return was near. The creature was terrifying beyond measure: its body stretched across eight valleys and eight mountain peaks, its eight heads and eight tails were vast, its eyes glowed red like winter cherries, and upon its back grew moss, cypress, and cedar trees.

Susanoo asked if they would give him their daughter in marriage if he slew the beast. They agreed. Susanoo then transformed Kushinadahime into a comb and placed her safely in his hair. He instructed the old couple to brew an immensely powerful sake—refined eight times—and to build a fence with eight gates, each with a raised platform bearing a great vat filled with the potent liquor.

When the serpent arrived, its eight heads were drawn to the scent. Each head plunged into a separate vat and drank deeply. As the monster grew drunk and sluggish, its massive body relaxed and sprawled across the landscape. Susanoo seized the moment. Drawing his sword, he hacked the creature to pieces, and the Hi River ran red with blood.

As he cut through the middle tail, his blade struck something hard. Examining the tail, he discovered a magnificent sword hidden within—the legendary Kusanagi no Tsurugi, later known as the Grass-Cutting Sword. Recognizing its supernatural quality, Susanoo presented it to Amaterasu as a token of reconciliation, and it became one of the three Imperial Regalia.

Susanoo then restored Kushinadahime to her human form, married her, and settled in Izumo. Looking upon the land as clouds rose from the earth, he composed what is traditionally regarded as the first Japanese waka poem: 'Yakumo tatsu / Izumo yaegaki / tsuma-gomi ni / yaegaki tsukuru / sono yaegaki wo'—praising the many-layered clouds of Izumo that formed like a fence around his new home with his bride.