| “ | Power? Fame? Glory? I have no need for such meaningless things. Why rule a kingdom with an iron fist when you're capable of spewing light from your very fingertips? | „ |
| ~ Amaterasu to Odin. |
Amaterasu Ōhirume-no-Mikoto is the Shinto goddess of the sun and the current ruler of the High Plane of Heaven. She was treated as the most sacred of all shinto deities and is said to be a direct ancestor of the Japanese Imperial dynasty. Her name, Amaterasu, means "(that which) illuminates Heaven." Her shrine is at Ise.
Overview[]
Amaterasu is the Japanese sun goddess who rules over the High Plain of Heaven. Amaterasu is the daughter of Izanami and Izanagi whom the latter chose her to be the new ruler of the sky.
When her father Izanagi escaped from his visit to Yomi, he had to perform a cleansing ritual in the river Woto and it was then, from the god’s left eye, that Amaterasu was born. She is also the sister of Susanoo the storm god and the Tsukuyomi the moon god. Amaterasu constantly quarreled with her mischievous younger brother Susanoo and finally having enough, Izanagi temporary exiled him from heaven.
The most famous myth involving her took place when her brother Susanoo attacked her temple in a drunken rage and killed several of her priestesses. Distressed by this, Amaterasu fled into a cave and darkness fell on the world.
History[]
Origins[]
Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi and Susanoo were born when Izanagi went to the plain of Awagihara by the river-mouth of Tachibana in Himuka in the island of Tsukushi and bathed (misogi) in the river to purify himself after visiting Yomi, the underworld, in a failed attempt to rescue his deceased wife, Izanami. Amaterasu was born when Izanagi washed his left eye, Tsukuyomi was born when he washed his right eye, and Susanoo was born when he washed his nose. Izanagi then appoints Amaterasu to rule Takamagahara (the "Plain of High Heaven"), Tsukuyomi the night, and Susanoo the seas.
Originally, Amaterasu shared the sky with Tsukuyomi, her husband and brother until, out of disgust, he killed the goddess of food, Ukemochi, when she pulled "food from her rectum, nose, and mouth". This killing upset Amaterasu causing her to label Tsukuyomi an evil god and split away from him; separating night from day.
Susanoo's Spite[]
The tales tell of great rivalry between Amaterasu and Susanoo. When he was to leave Heaven to Yomi because Izanagi ordered him so, he went to say goodbye to his sister. Amaterasu, suspicious, proposed him a challenge: each of them was to turn an object of the other's into people. Amaterasu created three women from Susanoo's sword while he created five men from her necklace.
Amaterasu said the men were hers because they were born of her necklace. Susano'o destroyed her rice fields, threw a dead flayed horse into her loom, and killed one of her assistants in anger. For this, Amaterasu went to hide inside Ama-no-Iwato, the "heavenly rock cave", so the Sun was hidden and the world became dark for a long time. The Oni and demons came out to the dark world, and the gods could not make Amaterasu come out of the cave.
Attempts to Return Amaterasu[]
As a consequence of Amaterasu’s disappearance the world was cast in total darkness and evil spirits ran riot over the earth. The gods tried all manner of ways to persuade the peeved goddess to leave the cave. On the advice of Omohi-Kane, roosters were set outside the cave in the hope their crows would make the goddess think that dawn had come. The gods also placed a large sakaki tree (Cleyera japonica) outside the cave and decorated it with sparkling jewels (magatama), fine white clothes and a mirror at its center. In addition, Ame-no-Uzume, the goddess of mirth and joy, danced so wildly on a bucket in a strip-tease routine that the other gods’ uproarious laughter finally excited the curiosity of Amaterasu.
Opening the blocked cave just enough to see what was going on and whilst distracted by seeing her stunning reflection in the mirror, the strong god Ame-no-Tajikara-Wo pulled the goddess out of the cave. Tuto-Tamu then held behind the goddess a pole of plaited straw and emphatically stated that the goddess could hide no longer and the world was once more bathed in her radiant sunlight. After returning to the Heavens, Susanoo was punished by Izanagi by banishing him to Earth for his deeds.
Amends with Susanoo[]
Later she sent her grandson Ninigi-no-Mikoto to pacify Japan: his great-grandson became the first emperor, Emperor Jimmu. He had a sacred sword (Kusanagi), jewel (Yasakani no magatama), and mirror (Yata no kagami) that became the Japanese imperial regalia. When the serpent, Yamata-no-Orochi came back from the dead, Amaterasu, her dark avatar Shiranui along with her brothers, Susanoo and Tsukuyomi went to the serpent and kill it again. However, thanks to it being a creature of evil, humanity's own negativity brings it back repeatedly either to die by Amaterasu or Susanoo.