Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi
Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi is a legendary Japanese sword & one of three Imperial Regalia of Japan. It was originally called Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi (Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds), but its name was later changed to the more popular Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi (Grass-Cutting Sword). In folklore, the sword represents the virtue of valor.
History
According to the Susanoo myth from the Kojiki & Nihon-shoki, it is said that Susanoo-no-Mikoto, who was exiled from Takamagahara, descended upon the province of Izumo, saved Kusanadahime who was offered as a sacrifice, & exterminated an enormous monster. That monster was Yamata-no-Orochi, a red-eyed demon with eight heads & eight tails───a gigantic snake that boasted of a length spanning eight valleys & peaks. Japan's greatest dragon of calamity. Susanoo-no-Mikoto defeated this large serpent & obtained a divine sword from its tail. The sword's name is Kusanagi-no-Tachi. He presented the sword to the goddess Amaterasu, to settle an old grievance, having Ame-no-Fuyukinu deliver the sword. A rite at Hinomisaki Shrine honors this delivery to this day. Generations later, during the reign of the 12th Emperor Keikō, Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi was given to the great warrior, Yamato Takeru, as part of a pair of gifts given by his aunt, Yamatohime-no-mikoto, 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 loosed to ignite the grass & 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 the Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi to cut back the grass & remove fuel from the fire, but in doing so, he discovered that the sword enabled him to control the wind & 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 & his men, & he used the winds controlled by the sword to sweep the blaze toward them. In triumph, Yamato Takeru renamed the sword Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi (Grass-Cutting Sword) to commemorate his narrow escape & victory. Eventually, Yamato Takeru married & later fell in battle against a monster, after ignoring his wife's advice to take the sword with him & leaving it in rgw Imperial palace. In 688, the Kusanagi was removed from the Imperial palace, & moved to Atsuta Shrine after the sword was blamed for causing Emperor Tenmu to fall ill. Along with the Yasakani-no-Magatama & the Yata-no-Kagami, becoming one of the three Imperial Regalia of Japan. The sword is lost at sea after the defeat of the Heike in the Battle of Dan-no-ura. Upon hearing of the Navy's defeat, the Emperor's grandmother, Taira-no-Tokiko, led the Emperor & his entourage to commit suicide by drowning in the waters of the strait, taking with her two of the three Imperial Regalia: the sacred jewel & the sword Kusanagi. The sacred mirror was recovered in extremis when one of the ladies-in-waiting was about to jump with it into the sea. Although the sacred jewel is said to have been found in its casket floating on the waves, Kusanagi was lost forever. The sword was evetually washed ashore in Ise, where it was recovered by Shinto priests.
Significance
A divine sword created in the myth of Susanoo & wielded by the legendary Yamato Takeru. It is an embodiment of the various powers, both of heaven & earth, that were contained within Yamata-no-Orochi's body. To use this Noble Phantasm is to momentarily become a god or, in other words, to become one with the world. This is where its True Name, Sword of Heaven: Amenomurakumo-no-Tsurugi, is derived. It is one of the three Imperial Regalia of Japan, the sword representing the virtue of valor.
Item type
Weapon, Melee
Current Holder
Creator
Rarity
One of a kind.
Dimensions
32 in long,
Raw materials & Components
The sword's blade resembled a calamus leaf. The middle of the sword had a thickness from the grip about 7.1 in with an appearance like a fish spine. The sword was fashioned in a white metallic color, & well maintained.
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