Week 6 Story Planning: Kushinada Tames the Serpent

This is a planning post to write a story based on the story of the Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi, from the Japanese Mythology unit (Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend by E. W. Champney and F. Champney).

In the original story, Susanoo outwits and kills the serpant who has plagued Princess Kushinada’s family for years and eaten all of her seven sisters. In return for Susanoo’s help, Kushinada marries Susanoo. In my version, Susanoo is defeated, and his bride-to-be, Kushinada, tames the serpent instead. So, lacking a husband, but having gained a dragon, Kushinada takes Susanoo's place as the deity of summer storms. Kushinada herself is a minor goddess, but the serpent (along with the divine sword in its tail) will function as her new divine tool: it transports her around on its back, its roars are her source of thunder, and its eight long necks could evoke an appearance of white lightning.

Notes on characters:

Kushinada: Takes on the cunning/trickster role in the story instead of Susanoo by drugging the serpent with sake. She progresses the plot more than anyone else: she prays to Susanoo, and she is ambitious enough to take up his sword by the end of the story. She doesn’t seem to have a domain besides beauty, which she acknowledges isn’t very helpful.

Susanoo: Kushinada prays to Susanoo to get him to appear. He has a much smaller role than in the original. Since he’s been displaced from his spot in the heavens, Kushinada is then able to take his place as the god of storms.

Orochi: The serpent who ate all seven of Kushinada’s sisters. He’s intent on eating Kushinada too.

So far, the most difficult part of writing this story (3/4 of the way through one draft) is managing the length of each section. The beginning provides some background on the celestial gods and on Kushinada’s situation, but the showdown between Orochi and Susanoo is relatively short. I need to find a way to lengthen that part of the story and write in more tension and conflict. Most of the information I can find on Susanoo involves this story and from the story of Amaterasu’s mirror, but there isn’t much. I may try to find a way to characterize him more strongly and write the fight based on that.

 Susanoo slaying Eight-Forked Serpent, by Toyohara Chikanobu

Reading Notes: Japanese Mythology, Part B

For the most part, this reading focused on the Japanese hero Yamato Takeru, or Yamato Take. I did some research to find out more about the story and its background, but it looks like there's more than one version. Several of the summaries floating around are just vague enough that I can't tell if they're supposed to be the version in the reading, or if they're just similar enough to be confusing.

However, I think this version would be great to use to adapt the story of Yamato into a novella or novel. It could even fit into a neat, three-act screenplay structure. Unlike the Egyptian mythology stories, this story is long enough, and the main character developed enough, that a writer could get away with adapting it for modern audiences. 

The protagonist is the main selling point here. He has a handful of major flaws, like any good main character, and is far from perfect at any point in the story. He is also actively a jerk to other people, like Princess Tachibana, but by the end of his story, he suffers hardships, learns a lesson, becomes a better person, and almost manages to end his own story happily. If I were the one writing this story, I might edit the ending a little--instead of Tachibana sacrificing to the sea god and Yamato living the rest of his life in grief, I would try to resolve the conflict. There could be a (Disney) Hercules-type showdown where the hero travels to the underworld (or to the heavens) to find his wife's soul and bring her back to life. Or, Yamato could do something sacrificial to bring her back. For that matter, I probably wouldn't write Yamato and Tachibana as being married for most of the novel. The relationship seems so one-sided that it would make Yamato seem like a huge jerk, if it were written that way. An alternative could be making them engaged, or putting them in an arranged marriage, but marrying them at the end of the story instead.

The antagonist is almost as interesting as the protagonist. Benten exploits Yamato's flaws for her own gain, so he can only beat her by overcoming his own weaknesses. The rest of the plot could be fleshed out with Yamato's labors, like the episodes with the glass-cutting sword and the boar.

Sources:
Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend, by E. W. Champney and F. Champney

Image:
Yamato Takeru at 16, by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Reading Notes: Japanese Mythology, Part A

If you have an interest in Greek myths, you should check out these Japanese myths, too. They feel familiar, but have new cultural elements and characters. It's like being able to re-read one of your favorite books and discovering the story all over again.

Since I decided to go with the theme of reversal with my portfolio, I will be choosing one of the stories in the collection to re-write. However, I'll begin with a recap of the gods--who they are, how they came to be, and the background for the story up to its events. So, possible stories:

Izanagi and Izanami. Izanagi flees from Izanami in the underworld. Instead of escaping, Izanagi is caught by the spirits his wife sends after him. Instead of Izanami vowing to take 1000 lives every day, and Izanagi vowing to give birth to 1500 more, Izanagi is forced to pay as many souls to his wife as a ransom. If Amaterasu, Susanoo, and Tsukuyomi were involved, they might be the ones to free Izanagi from Izanami's control. Or, they could be hostages who Izanagi is trying to free.

The Serpent of Koshi. Susanoo is defeated, and his bride-to-be, Kushinada-hime, tames the serpent instead. So, lacking a husband, but having gained a dragon, Kushinada takes Susanoo's place as the deity of summer storms. The serpent of Koshi could be the one who transports her around on its back, its roars could be thunder, and its eight long necks could evoke an appearance of white thunder.

The Heaven-Descended. In the original, Amaterasu appoints her grandson Ninigi as ruler of Japan. In a reversal, Amaterasu could appoint another of her grandchildren--Uzume, the one who helped to bring Amaterasu back to the sky in the story of the mirror. Uzume is a goddess of joy and happiness, and a patron of good health, which she shares with people who drink from her blessed stream. Uzume is sometimes called the Daughter of Heaven, which I think would make her a fitting ruler.

Sources:


Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend, by E. W. Champney and F. Champney
Encyclopedia Mythica: Uzume, by Micha Lindemans

Image:
Uzume with Rooster and Mirror
Frilled Shark by OpenCage