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Reading Notes: Japanese Mythology, Part A

 Eight Forked Serpent of Koshi by E. W. Champney and F. Champney (1917).


One day, our hero was walking along the river. He noticed a chopstick floating downstream. He knew that where there were chopsticks, there had to be people so he headed up the stream. The river lead him into the forest. There he met an older man, he had a long gray beard and looked very weary. He asked him what he knew of the village and the man explained that he and his family were the only ones there. He asked him why he looked so weary and so beaten down. The man explained how each year that he and his family had been there, a giant beast had come and slain one of his daughters. He had one left and was worried for her safety. Our hero then asked him to describe the monster. He painted a vivid picture of the serpent's beady red eyes and the blood that coated the body. He described the eight heads of the serpent that were accompanied by the eight prong like tails. This did not scare our hero. He told the man that he would get rid of his problem for him. He would abolish the beast, if the old man would grant him his daughter's hand in marriage. The old man agreed because he was at his final straw, he could not lose another daughter. So, our hero set a trap for the serpent. He set eight trapdoors and was prepared when it came slithering in. He quickly acted and chopped the serpent into a million tiny pieces. Only then, did he see what was inside of the serpent. There was a sword of beautiful caliber. Our hero grabbed it and presented it to the gods. Then, he returned to the man to collect his bride.

A representation of our hero fighting the eight forked serpent. Source: Mesosyn 

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