Kushinadahime no Mikoto

Kushinadahime is the beautiful maiden whom Susanoo rescued from the eight-headed serpent Yamata no Orochi. When Susanoo encountered her weeping parents Ashinazuchi and Tenazuchi in Izumo, he learned that seven of their eight daughters had already been devoured, and Kushinadahime was the last. Susanoo agreed to slay the serpent in exchange for her hand in marriage.

Before the battle, Susanoo transformed Kushinadahime into a comb (kushi), which he placed in his hair for safekeeping—an act that some scholars believe is reflected in her name ('Kushi-nada'). After destroying the serpent with sake-based trickery, he married her and composed what is traditionally regarded as the first Japanese waka poem.

Kushinadahime is venerated as a deity of marital harmony, good relationships, and agricultural prosperity. Her story represents the quintessential divine rescue narrative and the establishment of civilization (through marriage and agriculture) from chaos (the serpent's terror).