The Sword of the Clustering Clouds of Heaven (Fairy Tale)

This tale unfolds the legendary exploits of Susanoo and the sacred Sword of the Clustering Clouds of Heaven. When a formidable dragon steals this celestial weapon, the gods and mortal heroes must display courage and cunning to reclaim it...

The Sword of the Clustering Clouds of Heaven (Fairy Tale)

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In the olden days the gods dwelt by the isles of the Land of Many Blades, and there they used the swords, To-Nigiri and Ya-Nigiri. These were magic blades, but they were not so keen and terrible as the sword of the Clustering Clouds of Heaven.

And this is the story of that sword:

Amaterasu, the sun goddess, had a superb sword, whose flashing blade was like a gleam of light. This sword she greatly prized, but a malicious dragon stole it away and carried it to his den. The goddess cried for aid to Susanoo, her brother, and he pursued the dragon. It was a horrible beast with eight heads and terrible claws, and it roared at the god with each of its eight mouths.

Susanoo was a crafty and clever warrior and he knew that he could conquer the dragon only by guile. So he gave him soft words and smiles.

“What a wonderful warrior you would make, Sir Dragon,” he said. “Had you but a sword you could conquer the world.”

“I am not without a weapon and that a magic one,” haughtily replied the great beast as he flapped his mighty tail. “Behold!” and as he spoke Susanoo saw that the magic sword was concealed beneath the dragon’s tail.

“I drink to your health, O Wonderful One!” he cried. “May you live as long as there is no one mightier.” And he offered him a huge draught of _saké_.^[1]

“That is wishing that I may live forever,” said the dragon, and he drank off the _saké_ at a single gulp.

“You have said it,” said Susanoo with a deep reverence, and he offered him a second cup for his second head. By the time the dragon had taken eight cups, one for each of his great yawning mouths, his heads were so dizzy that he did not know at all what he was doing, and so he lay down to rest under the cliff.

Then Susanoo crept up and quickly struck off one of his heads and then another, and another until only one was left. By that time the dragon was quite wide-awake and very much enraged. He rushed at Susanoo and would have devoured him had not Amaterasu seen her brother’s danger. She sent a gleam of dazzling sunlight into the dragon’s eyes so that he could not see where he was going. Then Susanoo cut off the last head, and seizing the magic sword, bore it in triumph to his sister. She placed it in a shrine for safe-keeping and there it remained for many a day.

It was not to rest there always, however, for another hero was to wield it, and this was Yamato-Daké, son of the Emperor Koan.

Yamato-Daké, hero, sword

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A terrible war was being waged with the savages in the eastern part of Japan, and Yamato went forth to conquer them, bearing with him the Sacred Sword. But the savages were not easy to overcome. They laid in wait in the bamboo thickets and sent showers of poisoned arrows upon Yamato’s men, who were sore afraid of them.

“A foe in the dark is as ten,” they cried. “We are beset by the eight-headed dragon of Susanoo!” and all of Yamato’s words of cheer and encouragement could scarce persuade them to go on to battle.

“How can we fight what we can not see?” they said.

The savages were well pleased and determined to destroy the whole army at once. They therefore placed a huge ring of brushwood around Yamato’s army and, setting fire to it, they marched away.

But Yamato prayed to the gods, and, drawing his magic sword, he cut and hewed the grass in front of the fire until it drove back the flames. Then there came a wind from heaven which fanned the fire until it swept back whence it had come and lo! it overtook the savages and burnt them until not one was left.

Then Yamato-Daké returned home with great rejoicing and all the people met him with shouts.

“Hail to the Chief of the Sword of the Clustering Clouds of Heaven,” they cried. “For he has rescued us from the savages of the East.”

And Yamato hung up the sword at the Holy Shrine of Atsuta, where it rests to this day; and the Mikado said, “Henceforth shall it be called the Grass Mower, and it shall be one of the three precious things of the Mikados.”

But Yamato made answer, “As the deeds of the gods are greater than the deeds of men, call it not Grass Mower to honor Yamato, but still let it be known ever as the ‘Sword of the Clustering Clouds of Heaven.’”

[1] A Japanese liquor.

This story is part of "Japanese Folk Stories and Fairy Tales" by Mary F. Nixon-Roulet. Read all the stories from this enchanting collection HERE!

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