Eight Vats of Sake

The myth

The eight vats of sake are the trap Susanoo set for Yamata-no-Orochi. According to the Kojiki, he told Kushinada-hime's parents to brew a sake refined eight times, build a fence with eight gates and place at each gate a platform with a full vat. The serpent came, dipped each of its eight heads into a vat, drank until it fell asleep, and Susanoo cut it to pieces. Sake, offered to the kami as miki, remains part of nearly every Shinto rite, and donated sake barrels adorn the entrance of many shrines.

Why it has this power

A Rare ritual: sacrifice Benzaiten's White Serpent, the Bamboo-Grove Wind Serpent and Uwabami to summon Yamata-no-Orochi. Three serpents fill the vats, and the great serpent comes to drink. In play, as in myth, the sake is the bait: whoever prepares the vats calls the creature, for good or ill.

Did you know

The Kojiki calls this brew yashiori no sake, "eight-times-refined sake", one of the earliest mentions of the drink in Japanese literature.

Connections

• In Kaguya, Guardian of the Torii's deck

Where to get it

• Daily Offering: 0.11% per pack (Rare 2.8% per card)
• Traveler's Pack: 0.69% per pack · 3.6% in the themed pack (Rare 7% per card)
• Bronze Reliquary: 0.78% per pack · 4% in the themed pack (Rare 8% per card)
• Silver Reliquary: 1.3% per pack · 6.7% in the themed pack (Rare 15% per card)
• Golden Reliquary: 2% per pack · 10% in the themed pack (Rare 25% per card)
• Daily Showcase: Shows up on about 1.5% of days · 400 gems
• Craft with card dust: 600 dust

Sources

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