Alkonost VS Yatagarasu

The Alkonost is, according to Russian mythos and folklore, a woman-headed bird. It makes amazingly beautiful sounds, and those who hear these sounds forget everything they know and want nothing more ever again. She lives in the underworld with her counterpart, the Sirin. The Alkonost lays her eggs on a beach and then rolls them into the sea. When the Alkonost's eggs hatch, a thunderstorm sets in and the sea becomes so rough that it becomes impossible to traverse. She is also the sister of other birds from Slavic mythology, such as Rarog and Stratim.According to folk tales, at the morning of the Apple Feast of the Saviour day, Sirin flies into the apple orchard and cries sadly. In the afternoon, the Alkonost flies to this place, beginning to rejoice and laugh. Alkonost brushes dew from her wings, granting healing powers to all fruits on the tree she is sitting on.The name of the Alkonost came from a Greek demigoddess whose name was Alcyone. In Greek mythology, Alcyone was transformed by the gods into a kingfisher.Alkonost is more likely an individual character, as was noted in some legends about this bird.

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In Japanese mythology, this flying creature is a raven or a jungle crow called Yatagarasu (八咫烏, "eight-span crow")[16] and the appearance of the great bird is construed as evidence of the will of Heaven or divine intervention in human affairs.[17] Although Yatagarasu is mentioned in a number of places in Shintō, the depictions are primarily seen on Edo wood art, dating back to the early 1800s wood-art era. Although not as celebrated today, the crow is a mark of rebirth and rejuvenation; the animal that has historically cleaned up after great battles symbolized the renaissance after such tragedy. Yatagarasu as a crow-god is a symbol specifically of guidance. This great crow was sent from heaven as a guide for legendary Emperor Jimmu on his initial journey from the region which would become Kumano to what would become Yamato, (Yoshino and then Kashihara). It is generally accepted that Yatagarasu is an incarnation of Taketsunimi no mikoto, but none of the early surviving documentary records are quite so specific.[18] In more than one instance, Yatagarasu appears as a three legged crow not in Kojiki but in Wamyō Ruijushō. Both the Japan Football Association and subsequently its administered teams such as the Japan national football team use the symbol of Yatagarasu in their emblems and badges respectively.[19] The winner of the Emperor's Cup is also given the honor of wearing the Yatagarasu emblem the following season. Although the Yatagarasu is commonly perceived as a three-legged crow, there is in fact no mention of it being such in the original Kojiki. Consequently, it is theorised that this is a result of a later possible misinterpretation during the Heian period that the Yatagarasu and the Chinese Yangwu refer to an identical entity.

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