Yamata-no-Orochi, the Eight-Headed Serpent

The myth

Yamata-no-Orochi, the "eight-forked serpent", is the great monster of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki. It had eight heads and eight tails, eyes red as the hōzuki fruit, and a body so long it spanned eight valleys and eight hills, overgrown with moss, cypress and cedar. Each year it devoured one of the daughters of the couple Ashinazuchi and Tenazuchi in Izumo. Susanoo promised to save the last, Kushinada-hime, turned her into a comb and had eight vats of strong sake prepared. The serpent drank, fell asleep and was cut to pieces; the Hi River ran red, and in its tail appeared the sword Kusanagi.

Why it has this power

An Epic level-9 Darkness Serpent with 3000 ATK and 2800 DEF, a ritual monster: it arrives only through the Eight Vats of Sake rite, with the White Serpent, Wind Serpent and Uwabami, just as in the myth it came only to drink. Darkness, Moon and Leviathan make it queen of serpents. With the Tide Jewel it passes 3700.

Did you know

In Shimane prefecture, home of the old Izumo and Iwami provinces, Susanoo's fight with Orochi is a favorite theme of Iwami Kagura, a sacred dance in which the serpent is made of huge cloth puppets that breathe smoke.

Connections

Where to get it

• Ritual: Summoned by the ritual Eight Vats of Sake, with the materials Benzaiten's White Serpent, Bamboo-Grove Wind Serpent, Uwabami, the Giant Serpent.
• It never joins the collection: you summon it mid-duel, by fusion or ritual.

Sources

1. Yamatanoorochi — Encyclopedia of Shinto — Kokugakuin University
2. Susanoo — World History Encyclopedia — Mark Cartwright
3. Kushinadahime — Encyclopedia of Shinto — Kokugakuin University