Due to the prominence of the River Hi (簸川, now called the
River Hii) in the Yamata no Orochi myth, scholars have often interpreted the serpent as a personification of the river itself. Moreover, views the tale as a conflict between culture and nature, regarding Yamata no Orochi as a river god, symbolic of nature, and
Susanoo as a representation of the "culture" that brings new order. Following this interpretation, the myth can be seen as dealing with agriculture, specifically wet-rice cultivation, with
Kushiinada-hime (奇稲田姫; "Lady Wonderous Rice Paddy") symbolizing a
rice field, and the annual sacrifice of
Ashinazuchi and Tenazuchi's daughters serving as a contract with the river god to ensure good harvest. In a similar vein, the myth has also been interpreted as dealing with flooding, as the River Hi frequently burst its banks prior to its course being redirected during the
Edo period. The Victorian anthropologist
Edward Burnett Tylor for instance, stated that Yamata no Orochi was understood as an eight-mouthed river, adding that: “the story seems really that of the wind and the flood.” Though, by Tylor's own admission, no Japanese sources actually recognize Susanoo as a god of winds. in
Shimane, formerly known as the Hi river (簸川).Dragons are also frequently linked to bodies of water in Indian, Chinese and Japanese folklore, and were believed to serve as providers and withholders of rain. In particular, Yamata no Orochi has been compared to the Chinese
jiaolong, a malevolent river-dwelling dragon, distinguished from the "
real dragon" which was said to be benevolent and provided rain and fertility. Furthermore, the
Jiaolong is noted for its ability to assume numerous forms, including that of a sword. The notion of the
Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi being retrieved from Yamata no Orochi's tail may also reflect an ancient folk belief, that appears in oral traditions throughout Japan, in which
potholes were drilled by dragons ascending to heaven with the sharp swords growing from their tails. According to David Weiss, the conception of the dragon as a water god that must be propitiated to ensure sufficient water supply for agriculture, and to prevent floods, seems to form the oldest layer of the widespread "
dragon-slayer" myth, classified as type 300 in the
Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index, which he identifies the slaying of Yamata no Orochi as an articulation of. Other scholars have instead associated the Yamata no Orochi myth with the arrival of advanced metalworking techniques from the
Korean peninsula. In these more
euhemeristic explanations, Susanoo is typically regarded as the ancestral deity, or leader, of a group of metalworkers, often of Korean descent, while Yamata no Orochi may be explained as a mountain spirit that was responsible for causing rainstorms and floods. According to this view, the landslides that resulted from such flooding would have brought rich deposits of
iron sand to the surface that were, in turn, made into swords. As such, the swords made from this iron may have been viewed as parts of the mountain spirit's tail, in its serpent form. Though these interpretations have been criticized as regarding myths as nothing more than "the allegorical representation of actual historical events and persons," which miss the many layers of meaning that constitute myth. Instead, Weiss argues, it is more likely that the introduction of new metalworking techniques added an additional layer of meaning to a preexisting narrative.
(蛟) dragon, from the Gujin Tushu Jicheng''.|left Lending some credence to the
metallurgical interpretations of the myth is the ''
(出雲国風土記; "Topography of the Izumo Province"), which notes that the most significant center of iron production in Izumo was the Nita District. The same region that serves as the setting for the Yamata no Orochi myth in both the Kojiki and the Nihon shoki. The Izumo Fudoki'' also suggests a connection between Susanoo and metalworking, with the text attributing two sons to Susanoo, named Tsurugi-hiko (都留支日子; "Sword Prince") and Tsuki-hoko-tooyoru-hiko (衝杵等乎而留比古; "God of the Penetrating Halberd"). Moreover, the township of
Susa, from which Susanoo is said to have received his name, is situated in
Iishi District, which served as one of the centers of iron production in Izumo during the
Nara period. As a result, it is not implausible that Susanoo may have been a deity venerated by metalworkers in the Izumo province. Authors such as have also drawn parallels between the Yamata no Orochi myth and similar tales from other cultures, e.g. the slaying of
Cetus by
Perseus, with Taryō concluding that the various dragon-slayer myths of Asia and Europe can be traced back to a common origin. He further suggests that the dragon-slayer myth was transmitted to Japan alongside metallurgical techniques from the area to the south of the lower reaches of the
Yangzi River, possibly via southern Korea. However, the lack of documented Korean tales comparable to the Yamata no Orochi myth make it difficult to postulate a transmission of the narrative via the Korean peninsula. A link between the Yamata no Orochi myth and Korea may be suggested by two of the names attributed to Susanoo's sword;
Orochi-no-Aramasa (蛇之麁正) and
Orochi-no-Karasabi (蛇韓鋤), which are both derived from the Korean peninsula. Additionally, a variant of the myth provided in the
Nihon Shoki states that Susanoo crossed over to Izumo from the Korean kingdom of
Silla.
Roy Andrew Miller and
Nelly Naumann have also drawn a connection between the word
kusanagi and the
Korean ''kurŏng'i
(구렁이; "a large snake/serpent"), and further reconstructed the Old Korean form kusïnki
, "which was then borrowed into Old Japanese to appear there as kusanagi''." The Yamata no Orochi myth places particular emphasis on the discovery of the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, which was revered as one of the
three imperial regalia, perhaps reflecting its central importance to the narrative. Weiss has suggested the discovery of the sword may have been a late addition, made by the scribes writing down the imperial chronicles at the
Yamato court, in order to explain the origin of one of the imperial regalia. The association of the myth with Izumo would therefore reflect the court’s perception of Izumo as an important center of metallurgical expertise and metal production, which had to be linked to the ancestors of the
imperial family in order to strengthen their claim to hegemony over the region. The fact that the
Izumo Fudoki makes no mention of the slaying of Yamata no Orochi has additionally led many scholars to argue that the narrative was fabricated at the imperial court, and is not based on any local tradition. == Worship ==