The Three Legged Crows of Japan

If you spend enough time in Japan, you will start to notice the three-legged crows. I don't mean actual crows. Japan definitely has a lot of the clever birds in two main species, the jungle crow and the carrion crow. Japanese crows have been spotted turning on water fountains in parks, varying the water pressure based on whether they wanted to drink or take a bath (https://youtu.be/cKv6dA6eFsc ). They are noted for their ability to get into trash for food, with an ever-increasing battle of wits between the trash collection agency and the crows. In a neighborhood in Mie Prefecture, there is a crow which greets the neighborhood in perfect Japanese in the morning. (https://youtu.be/qU0i1mNN6QU ) Crows at Fushimi Inari shrine in Kyoto have learned to steal votive candles to eat, with the troubling issue that sometimes the candles the crows steal are still lit. (https://youtu.be/3S42u3paU2o )Japanese crows are quite impressive. But I've never seen one with three legs.

The Yatagarasu is the the legendary three legged crow. According to legend, a Yatagarasu guided Emperor Jimmu (who reigned from about 660 to about 585 BC) from Kumano to Kashihara in Yamato Province (Present day Nara Prefecture). The three-legged crow as a mythological being started much earlier in China, but the connection to Emperor Jimmu is a purely Japanese story. In the original Chinese mythology, a three-legged crow was the manifestation of the god of the sun. In the oldest book of Japan, the Kojiki, the Yatagarasu is a messenger of the god of agriculture, and in the Nihon Shoki, the second-oldest book, he is sent by the sun goddess Amaterasu.

There is no agreement what the meaning of the three legs is. According to the shinto shrine most associated with the three-legged crow, Kumano Hongu Taisha, the legs represent heaven, earth, and man, indicating that god, nature, and humans are all born from the sun. There is also a belief that the number three has historically been associated with the sun, symbolized by the mitsunoe.

Three legged crows show up in various locations, some expected and some not. They are seen in shrines in many forms, particularly those shrines associated with the Kumano Hongo shrine. It also appears in the logo of the Japan Football Association.

So now you know. If you are in Japan and you see a three-legged crow, take heed. You are in the presence of messenger of the gods, who have decided to intervene either where you are, or somewhere nearby. Be respectful, and watch out!