is a legendary eight-headed and eight-tailed serpent that appears in Japanese mythology. Both the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki record that the kami Susanoo no Mikoto, in order to rescue Kushinadahime, defeated the serpent and that the Kusanagi no Tsurugi, part of the Imperial Regalia of Japan, was found within the serpent's tail.
In local tradition, Yamata no Orochi was believed to have survived their encounter with Susanoo and fled to Mount Ibuki, where they were venerated as ). Additionally, figures such as Emperor Antoku and Longnü have been identified as incarnations of Yamato no Orochi.
Name
The name Yamata no Orochi (八俣遠呂智 in the Kojiki, 八岐大蛇 in the Nihon Shoki) is variously translated as "Eight-Forked Serpent", "Eight-Headed-Serpent" and "Eight-Headed Dragon", with orochi (大蛇) being used in modern Japanese to refer to a large snake or dragon.
Orochi is derived from the Old Japanese woröti, but its etymology is enigmatic. While Western linguists have suggested that woröti is a loanword from Austronesian, Tungusic, and Indo-European languages, the more likely etymologies put forward by Japanese scholars argue that it comes from oro (尾ろ; "tail"), ō (大; "big/great"), or dialectal oro (峰ろ; "peak/summit"), in addition to chi (霊; "god/spirit"), possibly being a cognate with mizuchi, (蛟; "water spirit/dragon") and ikazuchi (雷; "[god of] thunder").
Yamata (八岐/八俣; "eight-forks/branches") on the other hand, may be related to other instances of "eight" (八, read as either yatsu or hachi) in Japanese literature, used to mean "many" or "several", for example: yata (八咫; "long/large"), yae (八重; "many-layered") and yashima (八洲; "many islands", i.e. Japan).
Mythology
Kojiki
thumb|320x320px|[[Susanoo-no-Mikoto|Susanoo rescuing Kushinada-hime from Yamata no Orochi, while Ashinazuchi and Tenazuchi look on from afar. Nineteenth century woodblock print by Toyohara Chikanobu.]]
The earliest record of the Yamata no Orochi myth comes from the Kojiki, the oldest extant source of Japanese mythology, completed in the year 712 by Ō no Yasumaro at the behest of Emperor Tenmu and Empress Genmei.
After being banished from Takamagahara, the god Susanoo (須佐之男) descended to a place called Torikami (鳥髪) in the land of Izumo, where he found a chopstick floating down the River Hi (簸川, known today as the Hii river). Taking this as a sign that there must be people living nearby, Susanoo traveled upstream and came across an elderly couple and a young girl, all of whom were weeping. The old man introduced himself as Ashinazuchi (足名椎), an earthly deity and child of the mountain god Ōyamatsumi. His wife was Tenazuchi (手名椎) and his daughter was Kushinada-hime (櫛名田比売). Originally the couple had eight daughters, but every year an eight-headed serpent from Koshi (高志之八俣遠呂智, Koshi no Yamata no Orochi) had appeared and devoured one of them. Now only Kushinada-hime remained and she was soon to be eaten too, for this reason the three of them wept. When questioned on the serpent's appearance, Ashinazuchi described it as such:
Revealing his identity as the younger brother of the goddess Amaterasu, Susanoo agreed to slay the serpent in exchange for Kushinada-hime's hand in marriage, to which Ashinazuchi gladly accepted. Thereafter, Susanoo transformed Kushinada-hime into a comb, which he stuck in the locks of his hair, and instructed Ashinazuchi and Tenazuchi to brew "eightfold-refined sake" (八塩折之酒, Yashiori-no-Sake). They were also told to build a fence with eight gates, and to place a vat of the sake at each gate. After which they were to await the serpent's arrival.
The sword that Susanoo extracted from the serpent's tail, also called the Kusanagi-no-Tachi, is counted among the three imperial regalia of Japan. The other two treasures being the Yata-no-Kagami and Yasakani-no-Magatama.
Nihon Shoki
Following the Kojiki, the Nihon Shoki, compiled in the year 720 under the supervision of Prince Toneri, includes six different accounts of Susanoo's deeds following his exile from Takamagahara. Of these six variants, four make mention of Susanoo slaying the mythical serpent.
Version One
Having been banished from heaven, Susanoo (素戔嗚) descended to the headwaters of the River Hi, in the province of Izumo, where he heard the sound of weeping from upstream. Following this sound, Susanoo encountered an old man and woman caressing and lamenting over a young girl. When questioned by Susanoo, the elderly man introduced himself as an earthly deity named Ashinazuchi (脚摩乳), his wife was Tenazuchi (手摩乳), and their daughter was called Kushiinada-hime (奇稲田姫). The couple formerly had eight daughters, but they had been devoured year after year by an "eight-forked serpent" (八岐大蛇, Yamata no Orochi), and the two grieved that Kushiinada-hime was soon to be eaten too. In response, Susanoo asked for Kushiinada-hime's hand in marriage, which Ashinazuchi agreed to. He then turned Kushiinada-hime into a comb, which he hid in the knot of his hair, and made Ashinazuchi and Tenazuchi brew eight-fold sake (八醞酒, Yashiori-no-Sake). The two were further instructed to build eight cupboards, in each of which they set a tub of the sake, and to await the serpent's arrival.
left|thumb|[[Gozu Tennō (Susanoo) slaying Yamata no Orochi. Nineteenth century woodblock print by Utagawa Kuniteru.]]