Over the millennia, the Kusanagi has been handed down, enshrined in and out of the Imperial Temple until about the 2nd century A.D. Yamato Takeru, son of emperor Keikō, was allegedly one of the last to wield the legendary weapon. Using the sword to defeat a rival who set fire to a patch of dry grass around Takeru, Takeru used the mythical weapon to cut down the flaming grass, giving the sword a new name, from Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, to Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi — "grass cutter sword" (via Gizmodo). In a decision that would prove to be the death of him, Yamato Takeru left the Kusanagi behind on his way to fight a god living on Mt. Ibuki. Losing the battle, and his life, Takeru unfortunately also lost possession of the mythical sword.
The Kusanagi was rumored to have been involved in the death of the Emperor Temmu, some 600 years later in 686 A.D. According to Gizmodo, in the 12th century, the Kusanagi was allegedly lost in a sea battle where it was unceremoniously tossed into the ocean by a soldier trying to rid the world of the weapon. A duplicate of the Kusanagi has held vigil in the Atsuta shrine since that day, waiting perhaps for eternity, for its predecessor to return.
