Yamata no Orochi Coloring Pages

A giant serpent from Japanese mythology! Yamata no Orochi

Yamata no Orochi is a huge, scary, and legendary serpent. It appears in "Kojiki" and "Nihon Shoki," which are ancient stories passed down in Japan. People say it had 8 heads and 8 tails, and it was so huge that it stretched across mountains and valleys! The story where the god Susanoo-no-Mikoto defeats it is very famous.

How Yamata no Orochi looked and what it was like

In the old stories, Yamata no Orochi was not just a big snake. It looked very spooky and powerful!

• 8 heads and 8 tails: From 1 body, its head and tail split into 8 parts each.
• Bright red eyes: People say its eyes glowed bright red, just like winter cherry berries.
• Trees growing on its body: Moss grew on its back, along with thick cypress and cedar trees.
• A giant body: It was big enough to stretch across 8 valleys and 8 mountain peaks! Its belly was always red and sore with blood.

Susanoo-no-Mikoto's plan to defeat it

Yamata no Orochi was going to eat Kushinadahime, the daughter of the gods in Izumo. But Susanoo-no-Mikoto used a clever plan to defeat it!

• Getting strong drink ready: Susanoo prepared a very strong drink called "Yashiori no Sake" in 8 big tubs.
• Attacking when its guard was down: Yamata no Orochi came over because it smelled the drink. It put its 8 heads into the tubs, drank up, got drunk, and fell fast asleep!
• Finding a treasure sword: When Susanoo cut down the sleeping Yamata no Orochi with his sword, a special sword came out from Yamata no Orochi's tail! It was called "Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi." Later, people called it "Kusanagi no Tsurugi," and it became one of Japan's treasures called the Three Sacred Treasures.

How to Color a Cool Giant Snake

When you color the Yamata no Orochi coloring page, try to make it look scary and powerful!

• Eyes: They say Yamata no Orochi has eyes as bright red as winter cherries. Color them a bright red to make it look super cool!
• Scales and Body: Color the body with dark green, dark purple, or black. That will give it the feel of a legendary monster! Try using different colors like green and brown for the moss and trees on its back.
• Belly: To make it like the real legend, color the belly red or reddish-brown. It will look even spookier!

Make the Picture Look Super Powerful!

Yamata no Orochi is a huge monster, so trying a few cool coloring tricks will make it look even stronger.

• Color the 8 Heads Differently: Add slightly different shadows or light to each head. It will make them pop out and look super grand!
• Fire and Breath from the Mouths: If any heads have open mouths, color the inside red or yellow. It is also fun to draw extra fire or poisonous breath!

Try Adding a Background

Yamata no Orochi is said to have appeared near mountains and big rivers. Draw dark clouds, lightning, a wild river, or giant mountains in the background. It will look like a cool scene right out of a myth!

Is it a Flooding River?

In Izumo (now Shimane Prefecture), where Yamata no Orochi was said to live, there is a big river called the Hii River. When heavy rain falls, the river splits into many streams and floods the land, swallowing everything around it. People say this looked just like a giant snake with 8 heads. Some people believe that the story of Susanoo defeating Yamata no Orochi shows how ancient people worked to stop river floods!

It Is Connected to Ironmaking!

The story of finding the sword "Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi" in Yamata no Orochi's tail, and the fact that its belly was sore and red, are said to be connected to ancient ironmaking technology (tatara ironmaking). People dug up mountains to gather iron sand, which turned the rivers red. It is believed that this history of making strong swords from iron turned into a myth!

The Secret of the Number "Yamata"

"Yamata" is written with the Japanese character for "8." But in ancient Japan, the number 8 did not just mean the number itself. It was often used to mean "a lot" or "too many to count." So, the name Yamata no Orochi really means a "huge snake with endless heads and tails!"