Week 2 Story: Ashinadzuchi and Tendazuchi - Victims or Tricksters?
Son of the Mountain-God, Ashinadzuchi, was well off. He was married to Tendazuchi, and together they had nine beautiful and radiant daughters. Ashinadzuchi was unsatisfied, however, and this dissatisfaction would bring him great misfortune. He decided to wander the forest and explore the great mountain-side, if only to bring an end to the torture of his curiosity. The deity soon grew weary and cold. Tired from the journey, Ashinadzuchi decided to rest for the night.
Unknowingly, Ashinadzuchi had set up his camp on the back off Orochi – a giant eight-forked serpent who took offense to the cutting of the trees on his back as Ashinadzuchi prepared a fire for the night. When Orochi revealed himself, all eight terrifying heads peering down at Ashinadzuchi, the man was scared and begged Orochi to spare him though he had done the serpent great disrespect.
Orochi was wise and he had heard of Ashinadzuchi’s splendid daughters.
“You have nine daughters, all of whom are beautiful and worldly. You must give one to me as my bride. In one year I will come to you and receive my bride.”
Ashinadzuchi, fearing for his life, hastily agreed to the serpent’s demands. He quickly returned home to inform his wife of the deal. Tendazuchi was not pleased and grew upset with her husband’s misfortune but there was nothing that could be done.
Months went past and Ashinadzuchi had married off eight of his daughters. Only his most radiant daughter, Kushinada-hime, remained. He could not imagine marrying off his favorite child to such a beastly creature like Orochi and he was driven into a deep despair. Tendazuchi, however, was very cunning and she soon devised a plan that would solve their problem.
Tendazuchi had heard of Susanoo, the brother of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, and she knew of his great prowess. She also knew he was an unwed warrior who lacked a very radiant wife that Kushinada-hime would be. So, Tendazuchi decided to use such knowledge to her advantage and plotted the marriage of her last daughter and the death of Orochi.
As their last year with Kushinada-hime was set to end, Tendazuchi sent a chopstick down the River Hi, enticing Susanoo and provoking him to search out Ashinadzuchi and his family. The warrior was immediantly won over by the beauty of Kushinada-hime and offered to defeat the eight-headed serpent if only to have their daughter as his wife. So, Ashinadzuchi struck another deal – this one much more favorable to Tendazuchi, who smiled in approval of Susanoo.
Susanoo lays out a great feast of sake for Orochi, though the great feast is threaded with poison that caused the fearsome serpent to fall asleep soon after. The warrior slays Orochi and thus won the hand of Kushinada-hime – all unknowing it was the hand of Tendazuchi that had truly brought down death to Orochi, the great eight-forked serpent.
Photo from Wikipedia
Author's Note: This story is based off of The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi from Japanese Mythology. The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi begins with Susanoo discovering the son of the Mountain-God, Ashinadzuchi, his wife, Tendazuchi, and their daughter, Kushinada-hime. The three are grieving, both because of the fate of their last daughter and the slaughter of their eight other daughters. Susanoo promises to slay Orochi, the terrible eight-forked serpent, who has killed their other children in exchange for Kushinada-hime as his bride. In the end, Susanoo keeps his promise. I was curious as to why Orochi was attacking the family of Ashinadzuchi and then I wondered what if not all the facts were laid out so clearly. It was interesting to exploring using a character like Tendazuchi as both as a mother and as a trickster-like figure. I simply turned her and Ashinadzuchi into a characters of action, as opposed to the story focusing mainly on Susanoo and Orochi.
Hey Lauren! I enjoyed this story because is added depth to the original myth while still integrating itself into that legend. Like you said in the author's note, It was especially interesting that you gave a more active role to Tendazuchi, who pulls the strings in your retelling. I also thought it was more possible to sympathize with Orochi, who was turned from villain to victim, depending on the perspective.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the best rewrites I've seen so far in this class. The original tale is extremely Susanoo-centric, making him out to be the heroic and controlling character in the story. Changing the perspective and showing us the story of the family gives the story a much different spin, and one I enjoy far more! As you said in your author's note, you turned Tendazuchi and Ashinadzuchi from background characters to the central figures in the story, switching their roles somewhat with that of Susanoo and Orochi.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that could have been interesting is if Kushinada-hime had also been included. While Ashinadzuchi and Tendazuchi both are much more central figures, Kushinada-hime still ends up as a background character without any real influence over the events. I think it would have been interesting to see how you would have spun the tale with all three of the family members being more active characters in the story.