Yamata-no-orochi was an extremely immense snake (orochi is ancient Japanese for “great snake”) that had eight heads and eight tails. Its eyes were red as cherries, and its belly was always covered in blood. Pine and cypress trees grew on its back, and it covered eight hills and eight valleys with its bulk. The story goes that the warrior Susanoo got Yamata-no-orochi drunk on sake and killed it, in the process saving Princess Kushi'inada who was to have been sacrificed to the serpent.