CHAPTER XX
THE DRAGON-SLAYER AND HIS RIVAL
The Eight-headed Dragon—Sacrifices of Maidens—How the Dragon was intoxicated and slain—Finding of the Dragon-sword—The Nuptial House—Adventures of Ohonamochi—The Jealous Brothers—Flight of Ohonamochi to Hades—Susa-no-wo as Giant-god of Hades—Princess Forward—Far Eastern Version of Jack-and-the-Beanstalk Story—The Life-sword, Life-bow and arrows, &c.—Ohonamochi’s Conquest of Japan—A Japanese Odin—Another Creation Myth—The Elfin Deity in Bird Skins—A Shining Sea-god.
After Susa-no-wo had been banished from heaven, he descended on Tori-kami, beside the river Hi, in the province of Idzumo. A chopstick came floating down the river, so he knew that people were dwelling near, and he set out to search for them. He soon met an old man and an old woman who were weeping bitterly; between them walked a lovely maiden.
“Who are you?” asked Susa-no-wo.
The old man made answer: “I am a god of earth, son of a mountain god, and my name is Ashi-na-dzu-chi (‘foot-stroker’); this woman is my wife, and her name is Te-na-dzu-chi (‘hand stroker’); the maiden is my daughter Kush-inada-hime (‘Miraculous-rice-field-sun-maiden’).”
“Why do you weep?” asked Susa-no-wo.
Said the old man: “I have had eight daughters, but each year the eight-forked serpent (dragon) of Koshi has come and devoured one after the other. I weep now because the time is at hand to give Kush-inada-hime to the serpent.”
“What is the serpent like?” [37]
“Its eyes are red as the winter cherry1; it has a body with eight heads and eight tails, and on its body grow moss and trees. It is so long that it stretches over eight valleys and eight hills. Its belly is constantly bloody and inflamed.”2
“If this maiden is your daughter,” said Susa-no-wo, “will you give her to me?”
“You honour me,” the old man made answer, “but I do not know your name.”
“I am the dear brother of the sun-goddess, and have just descended from heaven.”
“Most obediently do I offer my daughter to you,” the old man said with reverence.
Susa-no-wo then transformed the girl into a comb, which he placed in his hair. Having done this, he bade the old couple to brew rice-beer (sake). They obeyed him, and he asked them to construct a fence with eight gates and eight benches, and to place on each bench a vat filled with the beer.
In time the eight-forked serpent came nigh. It dipped each of its heads into each of the vats, drank the sake, became drunk, and then lay down and slept. Susa-no-wo drew his two-handed sword,3 and cut the serpent in pieces. The Hi River turned red with blood.
When Susa-no-wo cut the middle tail his sword broke. He marvelled at this. Taking the point of the sword in his hand, he thrust and split, and looked inside, and found a keen-cutting blade within this tail. He took it out and sent it to his sister, Ama-terâsu, the sun-goddess. [37]This sword is the Kusa-nagi-no-tachi (the “herb-quelling” dragon-sword).
Susa-no-wo afterwards built a house in the land of Idzumo, at a place called Suga. Clouds rose up from that place. He made an ode regarding the eight clouds that formed an eight-fold fence for husband and wife to retire within the house. Then he appointed the maiden’s father to be keeper, or head-man of the house.
In this nuptial house children were born to Susa-no-wo and the young woman he had rescued from the dragon. These children included Oho-toshi-no-kami (Great Harvest deity), Uka-no-mitama (the August Spirit of Food), and Ohonamochi (“Great Name Possessor”), the god of Idzumo,4 who could assume snake form or human form at will.
Ohonamochi and his eighty brothers desired to marry the Princess of Yakami in Inaba. On their way thither the eighty brothers tricked a hare, which came by a distressing injury, but Ohonamochi caused it to be cured. The grateful hare of Inaba, now called “the Hare Deity”, promised Ohonamochi, who carried the bag as a servant to his brothers, that he would get the princess for wife.
The princess afterwards refused to marry any of the eighty brothers, saying she favoured Ohonamochi. Being enraged, the brothers took counsel together and said to Ohonamochi: “There is a red boar on this mountain, named Tema, in the land of Hataki. When we drive it down, you must catch it. If you fail to catch it, we shall certainly slay you.”5
Having thus spoken, the eighty deities kindled a fire, in which they heated a great boulder, shaped like to a boar. They rolled the stone down the mountain-side, [37]and when Ohonamochi seized it he was so grievously burned that he died.
Then his mother wept and lamented, and ascending to heaven, appealed to Kami-musu-bi-no-kami (Divine-Producing Wondrous-Deity), one of the elder gods,6 who sent Kisa-gahi-hime (Princess Cockle-Shell)7 and Umugi-hime (Princess Clam)8 to restore the dead deity to life. Kisa-gahi-hime “triturated and scorched her shell”, and Umugi-hime “carried water and smeared him as with mother’s milk”.9 Thereupon Ohonamochi came to life as a beautiful young man and walked again.
The eighty deities again deceived Ohonamochi. They led him to the mountains. There they cut down a tree, which they split, inserting a wedge in it, and having made him stand in the middle, they took away the wedge, and thus killed him.
Ohonamochi’s mother again wailed and wept. She cut the tree, and, taking him out, restored him to life once more. Then he fled to the Land of Trees, escaping from his pursuers, who had fixed arrows in their bows, by dipping under the fork of a tree and disappearing.10
Ohonamochi was advised to seek refuge in the Nether-Distant-Land (Hades), where dwelt Susa-no-wo. Princess Forward met him, and they exchanged glances, and were married. She then informed her father, Susa-no-wo, that a very beautiful god had arrived. But Susa-no-wo was angry, and called the youthful deity “Ugly-Male-God-of-Reed-Plain”, [37]and commanded him to sleep in the snake-house. The Princess Forward gave Ohonamochi a snake-scarf, instructing him to wave it thrice when the snakes threatened to bite him. This he did, and was protected. On the next night Susa-no-wo placed the young god in the house of centipedes and wasps, but the princess gave him another scarf that protected him against attack.
Next day Susa-no-wo shot a “humming arrow”11 into the middle of a moor, and made Ohonamochi fetch it back. But when the young god went out on the moor Susa-no-wo set fire to it all round. Ohonamochi could perceive no way of escape. As he stood there, a mouse12 came and told him of a hollow place in which he could shelter himself. Ohonamochi hastened to the hole and hid in it till the fire had gone past. Then the mouse discovered and brought the humming arrow to Ohonamochi. “The feathers of the arrows were brought in their mouths by all the mouse’s children” (Ko-ji-ki, p. 73).13
Princess Forward lamented for her husband, and Susa-no-wo believed he was dead. But the princess found Ohonamochi, and took him to the house. He returned the arrow to Susa-no-wo. This god had many centipedes in his hair, and bade the youth take them out. Ohonamochi made pretence of doing this, and Susa-no-wo fell asleep.
Then Ohonamochi tied the hair of Susa-no-wo to the rafters, placed a great boulder against the door, and fled [37]away with Princess Forward on his back. He carried away, too, Susa-no-wo’s life-sword and life-bow and arrows, and the heavenly-speaking lute.14
As Ohonamochi fled, the lute touched a tree, and the earth resounded with its call. Susa-no-wo was awakened by the spirit-call. He pulled down the great house so as to get out, but was so long delayed in disentangling his hair from the rafters, that when he went in pursuit he did not get within call of Ohonamochi until he reached the Even Pass of Yomi (Hades).15
Susa-no-wo shouted to Ohonamochi, advising him to pursue the eighty half-brothers with the life-sword and life-bow and arrows until they were swept into the river rapids. “Then, wretch,” said he, “become Oho-kuni-nushi (Great Master god of the land), and make Princess Forward thy consort. Set up the temple-pillars at the foot of Mount Uka on foundations of rock and raise the cross-beams to the Plain of High Heaven. Dwell there, you villain.”
Ohonamochi pursued and destroyed the eighty deities. “Then,” the narrative continues, “he began to make the land.”
Here we meet with another Creation myth.
Two children were born to Ohonamochi and Princess Forward; these were Ki-no-mata-no-kami (Tree-fork-deity) and Mi-wi-no-kami (Deity of August Wells).
Like Odin, Ohonamochi woos in the course of his career more than one goddess. One of these, the Princess of Nuna-kaha (Lagoon-river), sings to him:
“Being a man probably (thou) hast on the various island headlands that thou seest, and on every beach headland that thou lookest on, a wife like the young herbs. But as for me, alas! being a woman, I have no man except thee.”16
An elfin deity comes across the ocean to assist Ohonamochi to “make and consolidate the land”. He is named Sukuna-bikona (the Little Prince god). Attired in bird17 skins, the little god sailed in a boat of the heavenly Kagami.18
After Little Prince had for a time assisted to consolidate the land, he crossed over to Toko-yo-no-kuni (the Eternal Land).
Then came a deity illuminating the sea to assist in consolidating the land. He asked for a temple on Mount Mimoro and was afterwards worshipped there. He himself passed to the Eternal Land (Toko-yo-no-kuni), where grows the orange tree of life.19 The deity there who revealed Little Prince is called Crumbling Prince; his legs do not walk, but he knows everything beneath the Heavens.20