Yamata no Orochi food, but lacks a phonological connection. Polycephalic or multi-headed animals are rare in biology but common in mythology and heraldry. Multi-headed dragons, like the 8-headed "Orochi" and 3-headed "Trisiras" above, are a common motif in comparative mythology. For instance, multi-headed dragons in Greek mythology include the wind-god Typhon who had several polycephalic offspring, including the 9-headed Lernaean Hydra and the 100-headed Ladon, both slain by Heracles. Two other Japanese examples derive from Buddhist importations of Indian dragon myths. Benzaiten, the Japanese name of Saraswati, supposedly killed a 5-headed dragon at Enoshima in 552 AD. Kuzuryū 九頭龍 "9-headed dragon", deriving from
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster Yoshio Tsuchiya was originally attached to play Malmess but scheduling conflicts prevented him from participating. After the success of previous films where monsters were partnered up such as "King Kong vs. Godzilla" and "Mothra vs. Godzilla", producer Tomoyuki Tanaka decided to develop a film which would feature Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra. The film also includes a new monster, King Ghidorah. Ghidorah's design owes much to Japanese mythology. In 1959, producer Tanaka developed a film that retold the legendary stories of Japan. These included the tale of "Yamata no Orochi", an eight-headed dragon. King Ghidorah is based on Tsuburaya's design for