Grasscutter II

First Published: July 2000 by Dark Horse Comics

• Keiko
• Miyamoto Usagi
• Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi

Yamato-Dake

The tenth emperor, Sujin, ascended to the throne in the first century B.C. By this time, society had developed to the point where a clear distinction had to be made between worldly and spiritual affairs. Sujin established a shrine at Kasanui Village in Yamato Province dedicated to Amaterasu , the Sun Goddess, and installed there the sacred mirror and sword. The emperor ordered replicas of them made, which he kept in the Imperial Palace.

His successor, Suinin , established a new shrine in Ise Province and transferred the mirror and sword and a third treasure, a jewel, to be housed there. His daughter was given charge of Ise Shrine.

Yamato-Dake is the most famous hero of legendary times. He was the third son of Emperor Keiko. He was initially named Wousu (Little Mortar) and had an elder twin named Oouso (Big Mortar), whom he killed before being sent to quell the Kumaso rebels at the age of sixteen.

Before the start of a later campaign, Yamato-Dake paid his respects to the Grand Shrine at Ise and was given the sword Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi by his aunt. He renamed it Kusanagi no Tsurugi (The Grass-Cutting Sword) after it saved his life in an open field.

There are many variations of the story of Yamato-Dake and the Kami of Mt. Ibuki. In one, the hero is unable to slay either the boar or the snake but is repulsed from the mountain by a violent ice-rain, and later dies, seemingly from fatigue. In another, he goes to a hot spring after the killing of the serpent and regains his health and strength. The events I've recounted are probably the most familiar and are found in The Kojiki: Records of Ancient Matters, the oldest history of the Japanese people, written in 712 A.D. by O no Yasumaro.

The hot spring Yamato-Dake came to after meeting the kami is now called Isame no Shimizu, "Clear Water Where He Came to His Senses." The area where he could hardly stand is Tagino, or "Totter." And when exhaustion finally took him, he walked with a stick at Tsuetsuki-zake, or "Slope with a Walking Stick."

His consorts sang four songs at the prince's funeral. These four were sung at every emperor's death since, until the funeral of Emperor Meiji in 1912 A.D.

References

References for Yamato-Dake came from: The Kojiki, translated by Basil Hall Chamberlain, published in 1981 by Charles E. Tuttle Co. of Rutland, VT, and Tokyo, Japan; Legends of the Samurai by Hiroyuki Sato, 1995, Overlook Press of Woodstock, NY; Myths and Legends of Japan by F. Hadland Davis, 1992, Dover Publications of Mineola, NY; The Japanese Fairy Book, compiled by Yei Theodora Ozaki, 1970, Charles E. Tuttle Co.; Myths and Legends Series: China and Japan by Donald A. Mackenzie, 1985, Bracken Books of London; History of the Japanese from the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era by Capt. F. Brinkley, 1915, Encyclopedia Britannica Co. of NY; and Japan, a Country Founded by "Mother": An Outline History by Hajime Hoshi, 1937, Columbia University Club in Tokyo, Japan.

References for the Japanese culture during that era came from Early Samurai: 200-1500 A.D. by Anthony Bryant and Angus McBride, 1991, Osprey Press of Great Britain; The Atlas of Japanese Culture by Martin Collcutt, Marius Jansen, and Isao Kumakura, 1988, Facts on File Inc., of NY; and Step Into Ancient Japan by Fiona Macdonald, 1999, Anness Publishing Ltd. of NY.

During the reign of Keiko-Tenno - 71-130AD (some fifteen-hundred years before Usagi is born) All-conquering Prince Yamato-dake returns to the province of Omi many years after he first passed through, now returning to claim Princess Miyazu for his bride.

During the wedding festivities, he presents to her his fabled blade 'Kusanagi-no-tsurugi' - the grass-cutting sword. A gift from the sun-goddess to her grandson, it has become an heirloom of his family.

The celebrations are interrupted by an old man who tells of a kami in serpent form who terrorizes the area of his home, not far away. The prince pledges to leave at first light in search of the creature. The following morning, he sets out farewelled by his new bride, who warns him of a dream she had the night before. Despite this, he refuses to take Grasscutter with him and rides to the mountain village where the monster was last seen.

Climbing mount Ibuki, he is assailed by a massive boar who fells trees with his blows. Leaping atop the beast, Yamato-dake pummels it into submission, leaving it an unconscious, bleeding heap. The prince continues on, resolving to kill the boar on his return journey.

Further and further up the mountain treks the prince, until his strength begins to fail him. He is suddenly confronted with the serpent kami who explains that the boar he faced earlier was no emissary, but the kami itself in boar form. Resolving to defeat the beast a second time, Yamato-dake draws his spear and the battle commences. The surrounding forest shakes with the force of the duel and eventually, Yamato-dake takes a grip around the huge neck of the snake and breaks it. The serpent dies and Yamato makes his way back to the village, the serpent's poison at work in his veins. He makes it to the village with enough strength to tell them that the beast is dead before he dies, wishing he had brought Grasscutter with him.

Yamato-dake's concubines and children arrive at the village and build for him a tomb. As they sing around it, Yamato-dake's spirit is transformed into a bird. The bird led his family toward the beach, then from Ise to Shiki in Kafuchi where 'The Mausoleum of the White Bird' was built. The sword that Princess Miyazu carried began to glow white-hot and ignited a cedar which toppled into a field which was thence known as Atsuta (hot field).

More than one-hundred years later, Atsuta-daijingu (Atsuta shrine) was built and dedicated to Yamato-dake. There also was housed the Kusanagi-no-tsurugi. In the seventh century, Emperor Temmu replaced the Grasscutter with a replica forged eight-hundred years previously. Grasscutter was transferred to the imperial court. In 1185, Grasscutter was lost at Dan no ura straits (Shimonoseki) during the final battle of the Gempei war.

Last change: 19. May 2003

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Usagi Yojimbo, including all prominent characters featured in the stories and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Stan Sakai and Usagi Studios. Usagi Yojimbo is a registered trademark of Stan Sakai. Names, characters, places, and incidents featured in this publication either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), events, institutions, or locales, without satiric content, is coincidental.