Reading Notes: The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi, Part A

Japan: The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi 
Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend by E. W. Champney and F. Champney (1917). 
  • Susa-no-wo grabbed a chopstick from the river
  • Since he found a chopstick that must mean that there are people whole live in the country above
  • he wonders what kind of people they may be
  • He journeyed in to the forest and came upon two elderly looking people and a fair maiden
  • They told susa no wo who they were and that the fair maiden was their daughter
  • They were both elders and their daughter was a princess
  • They had previously lost 8 daughters
  • The daughters year after year had been slain and devoured by a monster serpent of Koshi
  • They only have one daughter left and they know that she will perish soon
  • They explain what they monster looks like to susa no wo
  • The monster has 8 arms and is red eyes and an inflamed body and its back is covered in trees and mountains
  • Susa no wo says that he will slay the monster as long as he is able to marry the daughter after
  • The father and mother agree
  • Susa no wo then turned the daughter into a comb and stuck her into his hair
  • He goes on to wait for the dreaded monster
  • The serpent makes his way over the hill and drinks all the liquor that susa no wo left out for him
  • The monster became drunk
  • It eventually fell asleep after acting a fool
  • Susa no wo then slashed the monster int a thousand fragments
  • He then turned the comb back into the women
  • They then got married
Susa-No-Wo Slaying the Monster


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