The heavens wept and raged when Susanoo-no-Mikoto, the god of storms, seas, and the wild wind, was banished from the high celestial plains of Takamagahara. Cast out by his divine sister Amaterasu Omikami, the sun goddess, Susanoo descended to the mortal realm, falling like a shooting star into the province of Izumo. He materialized near the headwaters of the Hii River, a rushing waterway that cut through the green, mist-shrouded valleys of what is now Shimane Prefecture. The air here was heavy with the smell of wet pine, rich soil, and an underlying scent of ancient, primordial dampness.
As the stormy deity walked along the banks of the Hii River, he noticed a pair of chopsticks floating down the gentle current. Surmising that people must live upstream, he followed the river's winding path until he encountered an old man and an old woman weeping bitterly, with a young maiden seated between them, her tears falling like morning dew. Susanoo, curious and commanding, demanded to know who they were and why they were filled with such profound sorrow. The old man bowed low, wiping his eyes, and introduced himself as Ashinazuchi, a son of the local earthly deity Oyamatsumi, and his wife Tenazuchi. The young girl between them was their youngest daughter, Kushinadahime, whose name carried the grace of the rice fields.
Ashinazuchi explained that they once had eight beautiful daughters, but their family had been plagued by a horrific terror. Every year, a monstrous, gigantic serpent known as Yamata no Orochi came down from the mountains to devour one of their daughters. Now, the time had come again. Kushinadahime was their eighth and last remaining daughter, and the terrible beast was scheduled to arrive that very night to claim her. Susanoo, intrigued by the tale and deeply moved by the girl's purity and beauty, asked the old man to describe the physical form of this creature.
Ashinazuchi trembled as he spoke, detailing a monster of nightmarish proportions. Yamata no Orochi was an colossal serpent possessing eight distinct heads and eight tails. Its body was so massive that it stretched across eight valleys and eight hills. Moss, cypress, and cedar trees grew upon its scaly back, making it look like a moving mountain range. Its underbelly was perpetually inflamed, raw, and dripping with blood, staining the earth red wherever it slithered. Most terrifying of all were its sixteen eyes, which glowed with a fierce, burning crimson light, resembling giant Chinese paper lanterns burning in the dark of night. Hearing this description, Susanoo realized this was a beast of unparalleled cosmic malice.
Susanoo smiled, his divine confidence returning. He revealed his high lineage to the elderly couple, declaring himself the brother of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu. He offered to slay the eight-headed beast and save their daughter from her gruesome fate, but on one condition: that Kushinadahime be given to him in marriage. Ashinazuchi and Tenazuchi, overjoyed and awestruck by the presence of a heavenly kami, readily agreed to the arrangement, placing their daughter's life and destiny in the hands of the storm god.
To protect the young maiden while he prepared his battle plan, Susanoo utilized his divine magic to transform Kushinadahime into a close-toothed comb, which he carefully tucked into his hair, securing her close to his head where no harm could reach her. Next, he instructed the elderly couple to begin preparations for an ingenious trap. Rather than facing the colossal monster in a direct test of physical strength, Susanoo chose to exploit the serpent's greed and sensory appetites. He ordered Ashinazuchi and Tenazuchi to brew a special kind of liquor: eightfold refined sake, or Yashiori no Sake, distilled repeatedly to reach an extraordinary strength and potency.
While the sake was being brewed, Susanoo directed the construction of a large, sturdy wooden palisade. Within this defensive wall, they built eight distinct gates, spaced out along the perimeter. Within each gate, they erected a platform, and upon each platform, they placed a large, deep vat crafted to hold the strong, aromatic sake. The scent of the freshly brewed alcohol began to drift through the mountain air, sweet, rich, and intoxicatingly heavy, carrying over the hills and valleys where the great beast slumbered.