The legend of the kusanagi sword

this is the legend of oro's sword the sword of kusanagi from japanese mythology
dont know how accurate it is but its just some things i found wile serching random stuff


THE LEGEND
According to Japanese mythology the Kusanagi Sword was one of the treasures possessed by the imperial family of Japan. It is said that the warrior who brandished it could beat a whole army.
The young Emperor Antoku Tenno, who is said to have worn it in a naval battle, for some unknown reason did not make proper use of it and the enemy beat him.
Many years later Emperor Shirakawa called for the Kusanagi sword when his enemies came to fight him. A search was made for it in the Shrine of Kamo, where it was supposed to be in safe keeping. However, the Emperor was told that it had been lost, and he commanded that it be found and restored. One night the Emperor dreamed that a royal lady, who had been dead for centuries, appeared and told him that the Dragon King kept the Kusanagi Sword in a palace at the bottom of the sea. Two women divers used a powerful spell to get the sword from the Dragon King and they returned and gave it to the Emperor. He later used it against his enemies and was victorious.



This is another similer version bit more detaled

Kusanagi - Legendary Japanese Sword


Kusanagi (Grasscutter) is a legendary Japanese sword, as important to Japan's history as Excalibur is of Britain's. It is a powerful sword like the Katana.

The history of this sword extends into legend when the Japanese god, Susano-O-No-Mikoto encountered a grieving family headed by Ashi-Na-Zuchi. Upon inquiry, the elder told that his family was ravaged by the fearsome 8-headed serpent of Koshi who consumed seven of the family's eight daughters and the creature was coming for his final daughter, Kushi-Nada-Hime. Susano proceeded forward to investigate tne creature, and after an abortive encounter he returned with a plan to defeat it. In return, he asked for Kushi-Nada-Hime's hand in marriage which was agreed. Transforming her temporarily into a comb to have her company during the battle, he detailed his plan.

He instructed the preparation of 8 vats of rice-beer to be put on individual platforms positioned behind a fence with 8 gates. The monster took the bait and put each of its heads through each of the gates. With the necessary distraction provided, Susano attacked and slew the beast. He decapitated each of the heads and then proceeded to the tails. In the fourth tails, he discovered a great sword inside the body with Susan-o which he called Murakakumo-No-Tsurugi (Sword-of-the-village-of-the-clustering-clouds) which he presented to the god, Amaterasu to settle an old grievance.

Generations later in the reign of the 12th emperor, Keiko, the sword was given to the great warrior, Yamato-Dake as part of a pair of gifts given by his aunt, Yamato-Hime, to protect his nephew in peril.

These gifts came in handy when Yamato-Dake was lured onto an open grassland during a hunting expedition by a treacherous Daimyo. The lord, had fiery arrows fired to ignite the grass to trap Yamato-Dake in the field and have him burn to death and killed the warrior's horse to prevent his escape. Desperately, Yamato-Dake used Murakakumo-No-Tsurugi to cut back the grass to remove fuel from the fire, but in doing so, he discovered that the sword enabled him to control the wind around to make it move in the direction he swung. Taking advantage of the magic, Yamato-Dake used his other gift, fire strikers, to enlarge the fire in the direction of the lord and his men and used the winds controlled by the sword to sweep the blaze toward them to kill them. In triumph, Yamato-Dake renamed Murakakumo-No-Tsurugi as Kusanagi (Grasscutter) to commemorate his narrow escape and victory.

Eventually, Yamato-Dake married and fell in battle with a monster after ignoring his wife's advice to take Kusanagi with him.

Eventually, the sword came into the possession of the emperor until the Battle of Dannoura, a naval battle that ended in the defeat of the forces of the child Emperor, Antoku at the hands of Minomoto Yoshitsune. Upon hearing of the defeat, the emperor's grandmother led the Emporer and his entourage to commit suicide in the waters of the strait along with three important artifacts which included Kusanagi. Although the enemy managed to stop a handful of them and recovered two of the three items of the Emperor, Kusanagi was never found.

The 10th Emporer, Sujin, ordered the fashioning of a replica of Kusanagi and was placed at the Temple of Atsuta.

extract from: wikipedia the free encyclopidia

Very impressive.

pretty cool, im starting to get very interested in japanese mythology.

i always been interested in mythology in general not just eastern or western i got a dozen shelves full of books on the subject this is where i found out about the sword theres other interesting stuff

Pretty cool

nice work, thanks for sharing, i was also interested in the kusanagi sword when i saw it in one of the eps and now i know a little bit more about it, [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

One thing I am curious about is if the sword Orochimaru is shown with in the episode has any visual resemblance to the sword of Kusanagi in myth.

Orochimaru's sword appears more like a Chinese gim in form, yet with a rigid blade. Granted, the legend of Kusanagi predates the true katana form as we know it today, but still I think it would be more 'japanese' in form, if I can say that.

By that, I mean a single edged blade rather than a double-edged, a bit longer than a Chinese gim, (actually I believe the early forms of the nihonto were even longer than modern era katana), with a curved tip rather than a triangular one.

Quote:

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Originally posted by: The Next Hokage
this is the legend of oro's sword the sword of kusanagi from japanese mythology
dont know how accurate it is but its just some things i found wile serching random stuff


THE LEGEND
According to Japanese mythology the Kusanagi Sword was one of the treasures possessed by the imperial family of Japan. It is said that the warrior who brandished it could beat a whole army.
The young Emperor Antoku Tenno, who is said to have worn it in a naval battle, for some unknown reason did not make proper use of it and the enemy beat him.
Many years later Emperor Shirakawa called for the Kusanagi sword when his enemies came to fight him. A search was made for it in the Shrine of Kamo, where it was supposed to be in safe keeping. However, the Emperor was told that it had been lost, and he commanded that it be found and restored. One night the Emperor dreamed that a royal lady, who had been dead for centuries, appeared and told him that the Dragon King kept the Kusanagi Sword in a palace at the bottom of the sea. Two women divers used a powerful spell to get the sword from the Dragon King and they returned and gave it to the Emperor. He later used it against his enemies and was victorious.



This is another similer version bit more detaled

Kusanagi - Legendary Japanese Sword


Kusanagi (Grasscutter) is a legendary Japanese sword, as important to Japan's history as Excalibur is of Britain's. It is a powerful sword like the Katana.

The history of this sword extends into legend when the Japanese god, Susano-O-No-Mikoto encountered a grieving family headed by Ashi-Na-Zuchi. Upon inquiry, the elder told that his family was ravaged by the fearsome 8-headed serpent of Koshi who consumed seven of the family's eight daughters and the creature was coming for his final daughter, Kushi-Nada-Hime. Susano proceeded forward to investigate tne creature, and after an abortive encounter he returned with a plan to defeat it. In return, he asked for Kushi-Nada-Hime's hand in marriage which was agreed. Transforming her temporarily into a comb to have her company during the battle, he detailed his plan.

He instructed the preparation of 8 vats of rice-beer to be put on individual platforms positioned behind a fence with 8 gates. The monster took the bait and put each of its heads through each of the gates. With the necessary distraction provided, Susano attacked and slew the beast. He decapitated each of the heads and then proceeded to the tails. In the fourth tails, he discovered a great sword inside the body with Susan-o which he called Murakakumo-No-Tsurugi (Sword-of-the-village-of-the-clustering-clouds) which he presented to the god, Amaterasu to settle an old grievance.

Generations later in the reign of the 12th emperor, Keiko, the sword was given to the great warrior, Yamato-Dake as part of a pair of gifts given by his aunt, Yamato-Hime, to protect his nephew in peril.

These gifts came in handy when Yamato-Dake was lured onto an open grassland during a hunting expedition by a treacherous Daimyo. The lord, had fiery arrows fired to ignite the grass to trap Yamato-Dake in the field and have him burn to death and killed the warrior's horse to prevent his escape. Desperately, Yamato-Dake used Murakakumo-No-Tsurugi to cut back the grass to remove fuel from the fire, but in doing so, he discovered that the sword enabled him to control the wind around to make it move in the direction he swung. Taking advantage of the magic, Yamato-Dake used his other gift, fire strikers, to enlarge the fire in the direction of the lord and his men and used the winds controlled by the sword to sweep the blaze toward them to kill them. In triumph, Yamato-Dake renamed Murakakumo-No-Tsurugi as Kusanagi (Grasscutter) to commemorate his narrow escape and victory.

Eventually, Yamato-Dake married and fell in battle with a monster after ignoring his wife's advice to take Kusanagi with him.

Eventually, the sword came into the possession of the emperor until the Battle of Dannoura, a naval battle that ended in the defeat of the forces of the child Emperor, Antoku at the hands of Minomoto Yoshitsune. Upon hearing of the defeat, the emperor's grandmother led the Emporer and his entourage to commit suicide in the waters of the strait along with three important artifacts which included Kusanagi. Although the enemy managed to stop a handful of them and recovered two of the three items of the Emperor, Kusanagi was never found.

The 10th Emporer, Sujin, ordered the fashioning of a replica of Kusanagi and was placed at the Temple of Atsuta.

extract from: wikipedia the free encyclopidia

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yeah i do see the similarity in the legend he found it inside the snake tail
while in Naruto the sword came from inside orochimaru .

Quote:

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Originally posted by: lasaire
One thing I am curious about is if the sword Orochimaru is shown with in the episode has any visual resemblance to the sword of Kusanagi in myth.

Orochimaru's sword appears more like a Chinese gim in form, yet with a rigid blade. Granted, the legend of Kusanagi predates the true katana form as we know it today, but still I think it would be more 'japanese' in form, if I can say that.

By that, I mean a single edged blade rather than a double-edged, a bit longer than a Chinese gim, (actually I believe the early forms of the nihonto were even longer than modern era katana), with a curved tip rather than a triangular one.

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several descriptions i found describe it as a parting two-edged straight blade can't find any pics though

It may come from mythology, but the legendary sword really didn't impress me much in the anime.

I agree the sword wasn't all that, but maybe it was meant to look that way? it said that there was one person who used the sword incorrectly and lost the battle. looking at the events afterwards and who took the sword with them, maybe somebody will need to summon the wsword again, but this time use it properly?

Or maybe not, but hey it would be cool if it were the case.

Weshy.

Don't forget about the staff that the 4th used...now that has some legendary backgrounds as well [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]...i can't remember the exact name of the pole...but it goes to japanese/chinese legend of the person who holds it can be empowered with the abilities of a monkey/ape etc....(the ape he summons in ep ??) also the same staff was used in DB,Z the one goku uses...

I am missing pieces obviously but if anyone esle can clarify thanks!

Quote:

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Originally posted by: AkimichiChouji
Don't forget about the staff that the 4th used...now that has some legendary backgrounds as well [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]...i can't remember the exact name of the pole...but it goes to japanese/chinese legend of the person who holds it can be empowered with the abilities of a monkey/ape etc....(the ape he summons in ep ??) also the same staff was used in DB,Z the one goku uses...

I am missing pieces obviously but if anyone esle can clarify thanks!

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I think its called Journey to the West but its been a while so im not 100% sure

Quote:

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Originally posted by: AkimichiChouji
Don't forget about the staff that the 4th used...now that has some legendary backgrounds as well [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]...i can't remember the exact name of the pole...but it goes to japanese/chinese legend of the person who holds it can be empowered with the abilities of a monkey/ape etc....(the ape he summons in ep ??) also the same staff was used in DB,Z the one goku uses...

I am missing pieces obviously but if anyone esle can clarify thanks!

---

From what I recall, the monkey summoning and staff is reference to Journey to the West, one of the most famous Chinese stories, about the Monkey King (Sun Wukong in Mandarin, Goku in Japanese). He's an immortal monkey born of a rock with a huge rebellious streak. The staff is an iron rod he took from the dragon king of the oceans, which was used to beat down river and ocean beds. The staff can change to any size, and the monkey typically stores it in his ear in miniature form when he's not swinging it around. Goku in the original story had a lot of other powers, like making clones out of his hair, flying around on clouds, breathing fire, that sort of thing.

Eventually, after pulling around the gods in heaven for a while, Goku ticks off Buddha, who imprisons him under a mountain for a couple hundred years. He gets pulled out by a Buddhist monk, who puts a sort of limiter on Goku's head, which tightens if he tries to goof off. The monk sets off with Goku in tow to India to retrieve some sacred scrolls, and Goku acts as his protector, along with some motley companions they pick up on the way, thus the "journey to the west".

In case you're wondering, the original Dragonball is very, very loosely based on Journey to the West, mostly the characters. Dragonball Z has no relation. The recent manga and anime Saiyuki is much closer in characters, although they take a lot of liberties (I doubt the Buddhist monk originally carried a gun and chain smoked).

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
http://www.kajidai.com/kasima-tyokutou.htm
[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

just an interesting site, not the grass mower

too much to read, but from what i did read it sounds pretty good. if the sword in the anime is the same one as the one your talking about i wish they would make it look better

Quote:

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Originally posted by: The Next Hokage
this is the legend of oro's sword the sword of kusanagi from japanese mythology
dont know how accurate it is but its just some things i found wile serching random stuff


THE LEGEND
According to Japanese mythology the Kusanagi Sword was one of the treasures possessed by the imperial family of Japan. It is said that the warrior who brandished it could beat a whole army.
The young Emperor Antoku Tenno, who is said to have worn it in a naval battle, for some unknown reason did not make proper use of it and the enemy beat him.
Many years later Emperor Shirakawa called for the Kusanagi sword when his enemies came to fight him. A search was made for it in the Shrine of Kamo, where it was supposed to be in safe keeping. However, the Emperor was told that it had been lost, and he commanded that it be found and restored. One night the Emperor dreamed that a royal lady, who had been dead for centuries, appeared and told him that the Dragon King kept the Kusanagi Sword in a palace at the bottom of the sea. Two women divers used a powerful spell to get the sword from the Dragon King and they returned and gave it to the Emperor. He later used it against his enemies and was victorious.



This is another similer version bit more detaled

Kusanagi - Legendary Japanese Sword


Kusanagi (Grasscutter) is a legendary Japanese sword, as important to Japan's history as Excalibur is of Britain's. It is a powerful sword like the Katana.

The history of this sword extends into legend when the Japanese god, Susano-O-No-Mikoto encountered a grieving family headed by Ashi-Na-Zuchi. Upon inquiry, the elder told that his family was ravaged by the fearsome 8-headed serpent of Koshi who consumed seven of the family's eight daughters and the creature was coming for his final daughter, Kushi-Nada-Hime. Susano proceeded forward to investigate tne creature, and after an abortive encounter he returned with a plan to defeat it. In return, he asked for Kushi-Nada-Hime's hand in marriage which was agreed. Transforming her temporarily into a comb to have her company during the battle, he detailed his plan.

He instructed the preparation of 8 vats of rice-beer to be put on individual platforms positioned behind a fence with 8 gates. The monster took the bait and put each of its heads through each of the gates. With the necessary distraction provided, Susano attacked and slew the beast. He decapitated each of the heads and then proceeded to the tails. In the fourth tails, he discovered a great sword inside the body with Susan-o which he called Murakakumo-No-Tsurugi (Sword-of-the-village-of-the-clustering-clouds) which he presented to the god, Amaterasu to settle an old grievance.

Generations later in the reign of the 12th emperor, Keiko, the sword was given to the great warrior, Yamato-Dake as part of a pair of gifts given by his aunt, Yamato-Hime, to protect his nephew in peril.

These gifts came in handy when Yamato-Dake was lured onto an open grassland during a hunting expedition by a treacherous Daimyo. The lord, had fiery arrows fired to ignite the grass to trap Yamato-Dake in the field and have him burn to death and killed the warrior's horse to prevent his escape. Desperately, Yamato-Dake used Murakakumo-No-Tsurugi to cut back the grass to remove fuel from the fire, but in doing so, he discovered that the sword enabled him to control the wind around to make it move in the direction he swung. Taking advantage of the magic, Yamato-Dake used his other gift, fire strikers, to enlarge the fire in the direction of the lord and his men and used the winds controlled by the sword to sweep the blaze toward them to kill them. In triumph, Yamato-Dake renamed Murakakumo-No-Tsurugi as Kusanagi (Grasscutter) to commemorate his narrow escape and victory.

Eventually, Yamato-Dake married and fell in battle with a monster after ignoring his wife's advice to take Kusanagi with him.

Eventually, the sword came into the possession of the emperor until the Battle of Dannoura, a naval battle that ended in the defeat of the forces of the child Emperor, Antoku at the hands of Minomoto Yoshitsune. Upon hearing of the defeat, the emperor's grandmother led the Emporer and his entourage to commit suicide in the waters of the strait along with three important artifacts which included Kusanagi. Although the enemy managed to stop a handful of them and recovered two of the three items of the Emperor, Kusanagi was never found.

The 10th Emporer, Sujin, ordered the fashioning of a replica of Kusanagi and was placed at the Temple of Atsuta.

extract from: wikipedia the free encyclopidia

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hey ive heard that also in a anime i saw awhile back , i think it was blue see or something like that, they mention the part in where the guy slays the dragon but ive got to say i am very impressed by japanese history, wish they would teach us more japanese history in my history class

http://www.munitions.com/~fianna/lio...s/ameratsu.gif finaly found a picture

"hey ive heard that also in a anime i saw awhile back , i think it was blue see or something like that, they mention the part in where the guy slays the dragon but ive got to say i am very impressed by japanese history, wish they would teach us more japanese history in my history class"

I've herd it too, well some of it, in an anime, But it was 3x3 Eyes. Blue Seed was based on a plant thing.

I think Gensou Maden Saiyuuki has some parts of it as well.