Orochi's sword
| Orochi's sword | |
|---|---|
| |
| Japanese | くさなぎのけん |
| Romaji | Kusanagi no Ken |
| Old localizations | Dragon's sword |
| Found in | |
| Effect | Casts Sap in battle |
Orochi's sword is a recurring weapon in the Dragon Quest series.
Details[edit]
Orochi's sword has an Attack Bonus of +65 (+63 in the NES original), and when used as an item in battle it has the same effect as the Sap spell. The weapon can be equipped by The Hero, Warrior and Sage.
The sword is dropped by Orochi after her first defeat in her lair.
Origins[edit]
The orochi sword is a direct reference to the legend of Susano-O no Mikoto. First recorded in the 8th century AD, the tale documents the encounter between the temperamental god and beautiful Kushinada-hime at the shore of a river along with her elderly parents. Her mother and father were sobbing and, when asked why, they explained that Kushinada was to be sacrificed to a colossal eight-headed serpent known as the Yamato-no-Orochi, which had been terrorizing the family for seven years and demanded one of the family's eight daughters as a sacrifice until only Kushinada was left.
Susano-O was infuriated by the situation and, in exchange for Kushinada's hand in marriage, he would kill the beast. The god was clever as he was irate, however, and instead of confronting the monster directly he laid a brilliant trap. Susano-O had the couple brew eight large vats worth of sake and arranged them before the besieged family's home in such a way as to attract the serpent's attention. In Japanese mythology, all serpents love sake and each head drank deeply from a vat until it became so intoxicated that it lost consciousness. Once the final head was asleep Susano-O sprung from his hiding place and began to slice the monster to ribbons , ridiculing it for falling for such an obvious trap as it drunkenly tried to fight back.
Once each head was decapitated, he moved on to the tails and broke his sword against a hard material hidden in a deep wound in one of the tails. Inspecting the cut, he discovered a sharp and beautifully crafted sword lodged within. Realizing this was no ordinary sword, he offered it to his sister deity, the solar goddess Amaterasu. The sword would be given the name Kusanagi-no-tsurugi and would become one of the three imperial regalia of Japan, currently housed in the Atsuta Shrine of Nagoya.
Gallery[edit]
Vintage famicom-era illustration
