Tales of Japanese Weirdness: The Legend of the Great Snake of Yaki.
Text: Koizumi Yakumo.
Yaegaki Shrine in Sakusa, Izumo Province, Izumo Province, is a place where all young men and women who fall in love go on a pilgrimage.
Dedicated there are Susanoo and his wife, Ki Inada-hime, and their child, Sakusamei. They are the gods of marriage and love, they integrate the single into the family, and the fate of the destined person is closely linked from birth.
Therefore, we can expect that it is a simple waste of time to go on a pilgrimage there and pray for eternity after everything has been predestined.
But where is it that people's faith and behavior are perfectly consistent with theological theories?
Theologians and monks created and disseminated doctrines and creeds, but good men and women always created gods according to their heart's preferences—gods that are better at the moment.
In addition, the past of the fierce male god, Susanoo, does not show how his special experience has anything to do with fate. As recorded in the "Kojiki", he fell in love with Qi Inada Ji at first sight.
At that time, Susanoo had just been banished to a place called Bird's Hair at the source of the Hi River in Izumo Province, and when he noticed a chopstick flowing down the river, he realized that there must be a family living in the upper reaches of the river, so he decided to go and look for it.
On the way, he met an elderly couple, and in the middle of them stood a young girl, and the three were crying. Ignoring the god's rituals, Susanoo asked them, "Who are you?"”
The old man replied: "I am an earth god, the son of the god of Oyamatsumi, and my name is Ashiina;My wife's name is Tenameshii;The daughter's name is Kushinada than selling. ”
Susanoo continued to ask, "Why are you crying?"”
The old man replied, "I originally had eight young daughters, and it is sad that the Yaki Orochi from Takashi comes here every year to devour one. Now it's coming, and we're in tears because of it. ”
Susanoo asked again, "What does the Yaki Orochi look like?"”
The old man replied, "Its eyes are like sour berries;."It has a body, eight heads and eight tails;Moss, fir and cypress trees grow on its body;Its body spreads over eight valleys and eight hills;Its abdomen was red and swollen, and it was often bleeding pus. ”
Susanoo said to the old man, "If this girl is your daughter, will you entrust her to me?"”
The old man replied, "Forgive me for my presumptuousness, but I don't know your honorable name yet. ”
Susanoo replied, "I am the elder brother of Amaterasu and am from Takamagahara. ”
The couple said, "If that is the case, it is a great honour for us to entrust our daughter to you." ”
So, Susanoo sealed the girl in a close-toothed comb and inserted it into his own hair bundle.
He said to Ashia and Tenashi, "Can you make a spirit that has been distilled eight times?"There was to be a wall with eight doors in the wall, and in each of them a platform was placed, and on each barrel was filled with spirits distilled eight times. And just wait. ”
When the couple had arranged everything according to Susanoo's instructions, the Yaki Orochi came.
It stuck its eight heads into each of the eight barrels and began to drink. It wasn't long before it was so drunk that all eight of its heads fell to the ground and fell asleep.
At this time, Susanoo pulled out the ten-fist sword on his body and dismantled the Yaki Orochi into eight pieces. The blood of the Yaki Orochi filled the Fat River and turned it into a river of blood.
Then, Susanoo began to think, is there a suitable place to build a shrine in this Izumo country?
Just as Susanoo was building the temple, auspicious clouds rose from the temple. So, he composed a song:
Yakumo rises, Izumo Yaegaki,
Leaving his wife and building an eight-fold wall,
That Yaegaki ah!Hence the name Yaegaki Shrine. According to the research of ancient exegetes, the name of Izumo Province was also derived from this song.
Koizumi Yakumo, an Irish-Japanese writer, formerly known as Ravcadio Hearn, was a Japanese citizen in 1896 and changed his name with his wife's surname. Koizumi Yakumo is a famous Japanese expert in modern history, the originator of modern strange tale literature, his main works include "Strange Tales" and "From the East", etc., and is known as the Irish who is the best at telling Japanese "ghost stories". 】