The three-legged (or tripedal) crow is a creature found in various mythologies and arts of Asia, Asia Minor, and North Africa.[1][2] It is believed by many cultures to inhabit and represent the sun.
The creature has been featured in myths from Egypt, where it appears on wall murals.[2] It has also been found figured on ancient coins from Lycia and Pamphylia.[1]
In East Asian mythologies the three-legged crow is most often associated with the sun.
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In Chinese mythology and culture, the three-legged crow is called the Sanzuwu (Chinese: 三足烏; pinyin: sānzúwū; Cantonese: sam1zuk1wu1; Shanghainese: sae tsoh u) and is present in many myths and is also mentioned in the Shanhaijing. The earliest known depiction of a three-legged crow appears in Neolithic pottery of the Yangshao culture.[3] The Sanzuwu is also of the Twelve Medallions that is used in the decoration of formal imperial garments in ancient China.[4] A silk painting from the Western Han excavated at the Mawangdui archaeological site also depicts a Sanzuwu perched on a tree.
The most popular depiction and myth of a Sanzuwu is that of a sun crow called the Yangwu (Chinese: 陽烏; pinyin: yángwū) or more commonly referred to as the Jīnwū (Chinese: 金烏; pinyin: jīnwū) or "golden crow". Even though it is described as a crow or raven, it is usually colored red instead of black.[5]
According to folklore, there were originally ten sun crows which settled in 10 separate suns. They perched on a red mulberry tree called the Fusang (Chinese: 扶桑; pinyin: fúsāng), literally meaning the Leaning Mulberry Tree, in the East at the foot of the Valley of the Sun. This mulberry tree was said to have many mouths opening from its branches.[6] Each day one of the sun crows would be rostered to travel around the world on a carriage, driven by Xihe the 'mother' of the suns. As soon as one sun crow returned, another one would set forth in its journey crossing the sky. According to Shanhaijing, the sun crows loved eating two sorts of mythical grasses of immortality, one called the Diri (Chinese: 地日; pinyin: dìrì), or "ground sun", and the other the Chunsheng (Chinese: 春生; pinyin: chūnshēng), or "spring grow". The sun crows would often descend from heaven on to the earth and feast on these grasses, but Xihe did not like this thus she covered their eyes to prevent them from doing so.[7] Folklore also held that, at around 2170 BC, all ten sun crows came out on the same day, causing the world to burn; Houyi the celestial archer saved the day by shooting down all but one of the sun birds. (See Mid-Autumn Festival for variants of this legend.)
In Chinese mythology, the Fènghuáng is commonly depicted as being two legged but there are some instances in art in which it has a three legged appearance.[8][9] Xi Wangmu (Queen Mother of the West) is also said to have three green birds (Chinese: 青鳥; pinyin: qīngniǎo) that gathered food for her and in Han-period religious art they were depicted has having three-legs.[10] [11] In the Yongtai Tomb dating to the Tang Dynasty Era, when the Cult of Xi Wangu flourished, the birds are also shown as being three-legged.[12]
In Japanese mythology, this flying creature is a raven or a Jungle Crow called Yatagarasu (八咫烏, "eight-span crow");[13] and the appearance of the great bird is construed as evidence of the will of Heaven or divine intervention in human affairs.[14]
Although Yatagarasu is mentioned in a number of places in the Shintō canon, there is very little explanation, and much of the material is contradictory. This great crow was sent from heaven as a guide for Emperor Jimmu on his initial journey from the region which would become Kumano to what would become Yamato. 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.[15]
On many occasions, it appears in art as a three-legged crow, although there is no description stating that the Yatagarasu was three-legged in the Kojiki.
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.[16] The winner of the Emperor's Cup is also given the honor of wearing the Yatagarasu emblem the following season.
In Korean mythology, it is known as Samjok-o (hangul: 삼족오; hanja: 三足烏). During the period of the Koguryo Kingdom, the Samjok-o was a highly regarded symbol of power, thought superior to both the dragon and the Korean phoenix.
The three-legged crow was one of several emblems under consideration to replace the phoenix in the Korean seal of state when its revision was considered in 2008.[17] The Samjok-o is considered a symbol of Goguryeo.