Kusanagi no Tsurugi: Difference between revisions

For other uses, see Kusanagi no Tsurugi (disambiguation).

Kusanagi-no-tsurugi (Japanese: 草薙の剣) is a legendary Japanese sword as important to Japan's history as Excalibur is to Britain's. It is actually called Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi (天叢雲剣, lit. "Sword of The Gathering Clouds of Heaven") but it is more popularly called Kusanagi (lit. "grasscutter" or more probably "sword of snake"). It may also be called Tsumugari no Tachi (都牟刈の太刀). The actual Kusanagi, if it exists, is likely to be a sword in the style of the bronze age which is typically double-edged, short and straight; very different from the more recent katana backsword style, which features typical curved single-edged blades.

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Legends

The history of Kusanagi extends into legend. According to Kojiki, the Japanese god Susanoo encountered a grieving family headed by Ashi na Zuchi in Izumo province. When Susanoo inquired of Ashi na Zuchi, he told him that his family was being ravaged by the fearsome Yamato no Orochi, 8-headed serpent of Koshi, who consumed seven of the family's eight daughters and that the creature was coming for his final daughter, Kushinada. Susanoo proceeded to investigate the creature, and after an abortive encounter he returned with a plan to defeat it. In return, he asked for Kushinada's hand in marriage, which was agreed. Transforming her temporarily into a comb (one interpreter reads this section as 'using a comb he turns into [masquerades as] Kushinadahime') to have her company during battle, he detailed his plan.

He instructed the preparation of 8 vats of sake (rice wine) 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 gate. With this distraction, Susanoo attacked and slew the beast. He decapitated each head and then proceeded to the tails. In the fourth tail, he discovered a great sword inside the body of the dragon which he called Ame Murakumo-No-Tsurugi (Sword of Billowing Clouds), which he presented to the goddess, Amaterasu to settle an old grievance.

Generations later in the reign of the 12th emperor, Emperor Keikō, the sword was given to the great warrior, Yamato Takeru as part of a pair of gifts given by his aunt, Yamato Hime the Shrine Maiden of Ise Shrine, to protect her nephew in times of peril.

These gifts came in handy when Yamato Takeru was lured onto an open grassland during a hunting expedition by a treacherous warlord. The lord had fiery arrows to ignite the grass and trap Yamato Takeru in the field so that he would burn to death. He also killed the warrior's horse to prevent his escape. Desperately, Yamato Takeru used Ame Murakumo no Tsurugi to cut back the grass and remove fuel from the fire, but in doing so, he discovered that the sword enabled him to control the wind and cause it to move in the direction of his swing. Taking advantage of this magic, Yamato Takeru used his other gift, fire strikers, to enlarge the fire in the direction of the lord and his men, and he used the winds controlled by the sword to sweep the blaze toward them. In triumph, Yamato Takeru renamed the sword Kusanagi (lit. "Grasscutter") to commemorate his narrow escape and victory. Eventually, Yamato Takeru married and later fell in battle with a monster, after ignoring his wife's advice to take Kusanagi with him.

While this is the most popular theory of how Kusanagi got its name, researchers agree that it is most likely false. In the ancient Japanese language, kusa meant sword and nagi meant snake. Thus, an alternative theory is that Kusanagi meant sword of the snake.

Present State of Kusanagi

Although the sword is mentioned in the Kojiki, this book is a collection of Japanese myths and is not considered a historical document. The first reliable historical mention of the sword is in the Nihonshoki. Although the Nihonshiki also contains mythological stories that are not considered reliable history, it records some events that were contemporary or nearly contemporary to its writing, and these sections of the book are considered historical. In the Nihonshoki, the Kusanagi was removed from the Imperial palace in 688, and moved to Atsuta Shrine after the sword was blamed for causing Emperor Temmu to fall ill. Along with the jewel and the mirror, it is one of the three imperial regalia of Japan, the sword representing the virtue of valor.

Kusanagi is allegedly kept at Atsuta shrine to this day, although it is not available for public display, and its existence cannot be confirmed. It is recorded that during the Edo period, a Shinto priest claimed to have seen the sword. According to him, the sword was about 84cm long, shaped like calamus, fashioned in a white metallic color, and well maintained. Another record claims that this priest died from the curse and the power of the sword, but this is most likely a story that was spread to emphasize its power.

In recent times, Japan's nationally run broadcasting station, NHK, went to Atsuta Shrine to videotape the sword. However, the priests declined to present it, although they did not deny its existence.

Although some sword may be held by the Atsuta shrine, it is somewhat unlikely to be the legendary Kusanagi. In The Tale of the Heike, a collection of oral stories transcribed in 1371, the sword is lost at sea after the defeat of the Heike clan in the Battle of Dan-no-ura, a naval battle that ended in the defeat of the Heike clan forces and the child Emperor Antoku at the hands of Minamoto no Yoshitsune. In the tale, upon hearing of the Navy's defeat, the Emperor's grandmother led the Emperor and his entourage to commit suicide by drowning in the waters of the strait along with the three imperal regalia, including Kusanagi. Although the Minamoto troops managed to stop a handful of them and recovered two of the three regalia, Kusanagi was said to have been lost forever. Although written about historical events, The Tale of the Heike is a collection of epic poetry passed down orally and written down nearly 200 years after the actual events, so its reliability as a historical document is questionable.

According to some records, the tenth emperor, Emperor Sujin, is reported to have ordered the fashioning of a replica of Kusanagi. However, this information was reportedly only made public after it was known that the sword had been stolen. The imperial household claimed that it was the replica which was stolen, but it is just as likely that the replica was made after the fact to replace the irrecoverable sword. It should be noted that Emperor Sujin is considered a "legendary Emperor" by historians, because of a lack of sufficient evidence to assign him to a historical period.

Another story holds that the sword was reportedly stolen again in the 6th century by a Chinese monk. However, his ship allegedly sank at sea, allowing the sword to wash ashore at Ise, where it was recovered by Shinto priests. Given the somewhat fantastic nature of this story, its historical accuracy is questionable.

Due to the refusal of Shinto priests to show the sword, and the rather sketchy nature of its historical references, the current state of or even the existence at all of the sword as a historical artifact cannot be confirmed.

In popular culture

Much like Excalibur, Kusanagi's high profile has made it popular, appearing in various works of fiction. Its appearance typically signals the nearing of an end of the storyline as it is the most powerful item next to the divine spear, Amenonuhoko, which was used to create the islands of Japan. But unlike Excalibur, it is rare for characters to actually use one in combat as it is a ceremonial weapon. Instead, its magical properties are stressed. As in its mythic origin, it typically gives its wielder the power to control the wind, and it is one of the most powerful weapons used to support the performance of miracles. It is sometimes misrepresented as a katana, because it is a Japanese weapon. Representations of and references to Kusanagi appear in many diverse types of works, including books, comics, manga, anime, and video games. One example is that Orochimaru in the anime Naruto can pull it out of his mouth with his tounge, though it is more katana shaped then not. Another example is the deity of swords, the mecha Ame no Murakamo from the anime/manga Kannazuki no Miko.