Orochi
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Orochi (大蛇) or Yamata no Orochi (八岐大蛇) is a monster in Japanese mythology.
Orochi is an eight-headed snake, and one of the most well-known monster's in Japanese myth. It was slain by the god Susanoo after he was cast out of Heaven.
Stories told about Orochi all seem to agree that it was truly magnificent and terrible, and that it had multiple heads and a gigantic body that was said to stretch across eight hills and valleys. Some sources offer that the number eight may be indicative of simply an indiscriminate large number, and that Orochi might be much more massive than some may think. Some also believe that it may have possessed only seven heads and may have been smaller.
The sinister Orochi is said to have dominated the Izumo province in Japan, and to have demanded virgin sacrifices. When Susanoo came upon this area, he met an old couple. They told him that their daughter was to be sacrificed to Orochi. Some versions of this story say that they had already sacrificed seven other girls to the creature. The daughter in question here was named Kushinada, and Susanoo told the couple that he would rescue her if he was allowed to marry her. The couple agreed at once.
Susanoo turned Kushinada into a comb and put her in his hair. He then put out eight barrels of either pears or sake (depending on the version) which the dragon drank with relish, making it fall asleep, and Susanoo proceeded to cut off all of Orochi's heads. He found the sword, Kusanagi, in one of the serpent's many tails. In some versions, Kusanagi is called Kusanagi-no-Tsunegi, 'The Grass-Cutting Sword', and this sword was given to Amaterasu, Susanoo's sister, the Sun Goddess. She then gave it to her descendant on Earth, Ninigi no Mikoto; from that point on it is said that it has been kept as one of the Three Sacred Treasures of Yamato.
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Orochi in popular culture
The demon Orochi makes frequent appearances in Japanese games and anime, especially RPGs. There are variations on the original legend: 8-headed snake, rampaging swordsman, etc. (Yasakani, Hasshaku, Yagami, Yata, and some other names are SNK's spin on their adaption to the legend.)
Dragon Quest
The Orochi is a boss monster in the RPG Dragon Quest III (known as Dragon Warrior III in the US), originally for the NES, later re-released on the Gameboy Color. In the game Orochi is a five-headed fire-breathing dragon, who was terrorizing the island of Zipangu. You as the hero of the game had to defeat him in order to save the village and proceed in the game.
This same Orochi is also found as a breedable, tameable, and playable monster in the monster-raising RPG Dragon Quest Monsters 1 and 2 (Dragon Warrior Monsters in the US) for the Gameboy Color.
Blue Seed
In the animated series Blue Seed, Orochi is the head of the Aragami, a race of plant-based demon-beings. The series has brief references to the Kusanagi legend and the legend of Susanoo.
King of the Fighters
The Orochi saga in The King of Fighters is a version of the Kusanagi legend. He is the final boss of The King of Fighters '97. His voice is provided by Rio Ogata. He has white hair, white pants, and a tattoo across his chest.
In the version presented in KOF, Orochi, a being that could cause incredible amounts of destruction and death, was originally defeated 1800 years ago by the members of the Kusanagi, Yasakani, and Yata clans. The Yasakani held Orochi in place, the Kusanagi deal the final blow, and the Yata sealed it off.
However, some 250 years later, when the Kusanagi clan was considered to be the strongest of the three clans and the Yasakani the weakest of the three, the Yasakani clan made a blood pact that allowed the Yasakani to use the power of Orochi. Such power came at a cost: the Yasakani, now Yagami, wielded purple flames and were doomed to live very short lives. This action led to a violent feud between the Kusanagi and the Yagami, and many members of both clans lost their lives.
The murder of the leader of the Yata clan in the present day released the seal that had sealed Orochi away. Hearing of this, the heiress to the Yata, Chizuru Kagura, organized the 1996 King of Fighters tournament in order to unite the two warring clans, represented by Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami. Together, they manage to seal off Orochi once again.
Related characters include the following:
- Chizuru Kagura
- Chris
- Goenitz
- Iori Yagami
- Kyo Kusanagi
- Leona Heidern
- Mature
- Ryuji Yamazaki
- Shermie - one of Orochi's sacred warriors; she can manipulate the element of lightning
- Vice
- Yashiro Nanakase
Magic: the Gathering
The Orochi are also a tribe of snake-people in the Kamigawa block in the Magic: the Gathering trading card game. They do not seem to have any connection with the mythological Orochi other than their name.
The mythological representation in the game is most likely O-Kagachi, the "Great Old Serpent", represented as a nine-headed snake.
Otogi: Myth of Demons
In the Action game for the Xbox,Otogi the Yamata no Orochi was also a demon that the main character Raikoh had to escape from when he was exiting the Underworld.
Naruto
In the anime series Naruto, Orochimaru (大蛇丸) is the main villain. He masters many kind of justu (magic) related to snakes.ja:八岐大蛇 es:Yamata-no-Orochi pt:Yamata no Orochi