本居宣長
In developing the modern concepts of and emperor worship, various Japanese philosophers tried to revive or purify national beliefs ("kokugaku") by removing imported foreign ideas, borrowed primarily from Chinese philosophy. This "Restoration Shintōist Movement" began with Motoori Norinaga in the 18th century. Motoori Norinaga, and later Hirata Atsutane, based their research on the "Kojiki" and other classic Shintō texts which teach the superiority of the Sun Goddess "Amaterasu". This formed the basis for State Shintōism, as the Japanese emperor claimed direct descent from "Amaterasu". The emperor himself was therefore sacred, and all proclamations of the emperor had thus a religious significance.