Amaterasu

**Amaterasu**, also known as **Amaterasu-Ōmikami**, is the Goddess of Light and the Sun from Japanese mythology. She is the chieftain goddess of her pantheon, being the head of the *amatsukami* and a central figure within Shinto.

## Overview

**Amaterasu**, also known as **Amaterasu-Ōmikami** (天照大御神) or **Ōhirume-no-Muchi-no-Kami** (大日孁貴神) among other names, is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology.

One of the major deities (*kami*) of Shinto, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the *Kojiki* and the *Nihon Shoki*, as the ruler of the heavenly realm Takamagahara and the mythical ancestress of the Imperial House of Japan via her grandson Ninigi.

Along with her siblings, the moon deity Tsukuyomi and the impetuous storm god Susanoo, she is considered to be one of the "Three Precious Children" (三貴子, S*ankishi*), the three most important offspring of the creator god Izanagi.

Amaterasu's chief place of worship, the Grand Shrine of Ise in Ise, Mie Prefecture, is one of Shinto's holiest sites and a major pilgrimage center and tourist spot. As with other Shinto *kami*, she is also enshrined in a number of Shinto shrines throughout Japan.

## Appearance

In contrast to popular depictions of her, Amaterasu doesn't appear as a traditional Japanese beauty. By definition, she's a *gyaru*, with her tanned skin and her dyed-blonde hair, in addition to her voluptuous yet slender figure. She also speaks with a thick Kansai accent.

While she mostly appears wearing casual clothes, often in an oversized white T-shirt with shorts and no underwear, in official and formal events, she's dressed in elegant *kimono* befitting her status as High-Queen of the Japanese gods.

## Personality

Amaterasu is a kind, caring, and benevolent goddess. Despite her energetic looks, she watches over her pantheon with steady eyes and rules over it with a strict yet firm hand. While opening admitted to enjoying indulging herself in hedonism like other gods once in a while, she sees herself as a leader, first and foremost, and would only do it during her rare vacation days.

She, by nature, is extremely cheerful and very fun-loving, always being in a happy mood when talking to other people. Her brothers described her as "sappy", "hippy-dippy", and "incapable of jealousy". Her energetic personality is very infectious, as it is very easy for those around her to be unconsciously influenced by her active presence alone.

She enjoys posing as a human, attending mundane high schools and universities like a regular girl due to her fascination toward a "slice of life" experience. She is a gossiper and a sucker for drama, and on the rare occasions she and Susanoo don't try to actively kill each other, they can be seen exchanging gossip from all corners of the world.

Despite this, she is still a god and is capable of terrible deeds without a care for human lives. She's willing to do despicable things and even sacrifice her allies for the sake of her devotees and her religion's continued existence, though it's implied this is purely for the survival of her pantheon, not because of any particular attachment to Japan in general.

## History

### Early Years

Amaterasu is the eldest of the triplet, consisting of her and her younger brothers, Tsukuyomi and Susanoo. They were born after Izanagi's trip to the Japanese Underworld, when he cleaned himself of all the *kegare* (pollution) by going through *misogi*, a purification ritual.

In the last step of the *misogi*, Izanagi washed his left eye from which Amaterasu was born; washed his right eye from which Tsukuyomi was born; and when washing his nose from which Susanoo was born. With these three gods called the **Three Precious Children** (三 貴 子(みはしらのうずのみこ)), Izanagi ordered their investiture: Amaterasu received the mandate to govern Takamagahara, Tsukuyomi was mandated to govern over the night, and Susanoo is to rule the wild seas.

### Marriage with Tsukuyomi

Soon after taking over Takamagahara, to solidify her position as ruler among the *amatsukami*, she married her brother Tsukuyomi per her father's advice, much to their disgusts at the idea as they don't see each other as anything more than brother and sister.

One night, the two descended to Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni to attend a banquet hosted by Ōgetsu-hime. In the middle of the banquet, when she saw the food had started to run out, Ōgetsu-hime stood up and began to spill food out of every orifice on her face. Disgusted and insulted by such a scene, Tsukuyomi slew her and her food-generating corpse divided and used to teach humans agriculture and sericulture.

When he returned to Takamagahara, he was forced to face an angered Amaterasu. She annulled their marriage right there and banished him from Takamagahara, vowing to slay him like how he had slain Ōgetsu-hime that night if she ever saw him again.

Later on, when the ancient Japanese people learned of this story, they believed this to be the origin myth for why the sun and moon never appeared together. As such, the tale was written down in the "Kojiki" and the "Nihon Shoki".

### Feud with Susanoo

When Susanoo was expelled by his father for his troublesome nature, he first came to say farewell to Amaterasu. However, believing this was one of his trickery, Amaterasu went out clad in armor to confront him, at which Susanoo proposed an *ukehi*, a trial by pledge, to prove his sincerity.

In the ritual, the two gods each chewed and spat out an object carried by the other to create new gods. First, Amaterasu took her brother's sword and broke it, creating the Munakata goddesses - Tagorihime, Tagitsuhime, and Ichikishimahime. Seeing this, Susanoo then took his sister's string of *magatama* beads and created five gods out of it - Ame-no-Oshihomimi, Ame-no-Hohi, Amatsuhikone, Ikutsuhikone, and Kumanokusubi.

Looking at their creations, Amaterasu declared that the gods were her sons since they were born of her necklace, and the goddesses were Susanoo's daughters. However, Susanoo announced that *he* was the one who won the trial as his "daughters" were born from his *Totsuka-no-Tsurugi*, whereas her "sons" were made from "low-quality souvenirs from a back-alley Chinatown". Yet, as no gods wanted to admit his victory, he turned to rage as, since he was already exiled, he "might as well exist in style".

#### Susanoo's Wrath

He gathered dark clouds and flooded Takamagahara, and struck lightning down onto his sister's rice fields to destroy her crop. Upon entering her palace, he defeated all of his sister's most loyal soldiers and brutally killed them, then continued his way to his sister's quarter and defecated beneath her bed. Seeing someone in Amaterasu's chamber, he took a flayed horse and hurled it at Amaterasu's praised golden weaving loom, killing **Wakahirume-no-Mikoto** (稚日女尊), Amaterasu's handmaiden, instantly.

Ashamed, embarrassed, and angry at the hellscape her brother had turned her palace into, a furious Amaterasu shut herself inside the Ame-no-Iwayato. In her absence, the world plunged into total chaos, as while the light still peaked through the night, it was "weak and fragile", and had little effect on the Earth. Seeing this as an opportunity, many *youkai*, monsters, and daemon began to wreak havoc within the lands of Japan.

#### Ame-no-Iwayato

After Amaterasu hid herself in the cave, the gods - led by Omoikane, God of Wisdom - conceived a plan to lure her out. They gathered many roosters around the cave and had them cry simultaneously. Planted around the cave were dozens of *sakaki* trees, decorated on their upper branches are long strings of myriad *magatama* beads, while in the middle branches hung a bronze mirror, and in the lower branches, they suspended white and blue *nikite* cloths. Hiding outside the door was Ame-no-Tajikarao-no-Kami, as Takamagahara shook by the gods combined laughs at Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto's sensual *kagura* dances.

Inside the cave, Amaterasu was surprised that the gods could show such mirth in her absence, which the gods outside said was because they were celebrating another god greater than her. Annoyed but curious, she slid the boulder blocking the cave's entrance and peeked out, at which the Yata no Kagami was presented before her. Awestruck by how haggard she'd become, Ame-no-Tajikarao pulled her out of the cave, which Ame-no-Koyane and Futodama immediately sealed away, preventing her from going back inside. And thus, "light was restored to the world".

#### Susanoo's Gift

Many years later, Susanoo returned to Takamagahara unceremoniously and threw a sword at Amaterasu's face before leaving, only saying that it was his "child-raising alimony". While it was originally unknown what he gave her, years later it was revealed to be the Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, a divine sword sealed within the Evil Dragon Yamata no Orochi who Susanoo had slain. And while their relationship didn't truly repair, they (usually) don't have a "maim-on-sight" instinct when seeing each other anymore.

### *Kuni-yuzuri*

After a time, the *amatsukami* of Takamagahara, led by Amaterasu and Takamimusubi, declared that the *kunitsukami* and their leader, Okuninushi, should be pacified and put under the jurisdiction of their progeny. Originally, Ame-no-Oshihomimi was ordered to go down and established his rule over it, but after inspecting the land, he deemed it to be in an uproar and refused. His brother, Ame-no-Hohi, was sent next, but was seduced by Okuninushi and stayed there as his lover for three years, forgetting to send back any report.

As such, a third messenger was sent, Ame-no-Wakahiko, who ended up siding with Okuninushi and married his daughter, Shitateruhime. After 8 years, while going on a hunt, he accidentally killed a pheasant carrying the *amatsukami'*s commands. However, in Takamagahara, the amatsukami believed this was deliberate and Takamimusubi shot Ame-no-Wakahiko dead in his sleep.

As the preceding messengers had failed to complete their task, the amatsukami finally sent the warrior deities Futsunushi and Takemikazuchi to remonstrate with Okuninushi. At the advice of his son Kotoshironushi, Okuninushi agreed to abdicate and cede the land to the descendants of Amaterasu, in addition to having a magnificent palace be built for him on Tagishi beach in Izumo. After Okuninushi's assent and withdrawal, the two *amatsukami* proceeded to destroy all gods and humans who refused to submit to their authority, only returning to Takamagahara once all the resistance was finally gone.

#### Aftermath

With Japan pacified, Amaterasu bequeathed her grandson Ninigi-no-Mikoto to descend and rule it, gifting him three treasures - The Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, the Yata no Kagami, and the Yasakani no Magatama. He then descended to Mount Takachiho in the land of Himuka and built his palace there, starting the imperial bloodline of Japan, while the five gods who accompanied him in his descent - Ame-no-Koyane, Futodama, Ame-no-Uzume, Ishikoridome, and Tamanoya - became the ancestors of Japan's first noble clans.

### Emperor Jimmu

Many years later, Ninigi-no-Mikoto's grandson, Kamuyamato-Iwarebiko and his brother Hikoitsuse left Himuka in search of a new home. Migrating eastward, after his brother died of wounds sustained during battle, Iwarebiko retreated and went to Kumano, located on the southern part of the Kii Peninsula. While there, he and his army were enchanted by a group of bear-like daemon, though they were rescued by Takakuraji, the demigod son of Takemikazuchi, who was commanded by Amaterasu to help Iwarebiko.

Using his powers, Takakuraji killed the daemon and roused Iwarebiko and his men from their slumber, and later joined Iwarebiko in his journey while posing as the spirit of the sword Futsu-no-Mitama. Continuing their journey, the army soon found them stranded in the mountains, but were led to safety by a yangwu sent by Amaterasu. At length, Iwarebiko arrived at the land of Yamato and defeated Nagasunehiko, his brother's killer, and established his palace-capital at Kashihara and ruled therein.

### Ise Grand Shrine

In the reign of Emperor Sujin, the Yata no Kagami and the Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi were originally worshiped in the great hall at the imperial palace. However, when a series of demonic plagues broke out, he entrusted the mirror and the sword to his daughter, Toyosukiirihime, who brought them to the village of Kasanuhi.

During the reign of Emperor Suinin, Sujin's son and successor, custody of the sacred treasures were transferred from Toyosukiirihime to Suinin's daughter Yamatohime, who took them from "Sasahata in Uda" to the east of Miwa. When she was proceeding south to Ise, she received a command from Amaterasu who commanded a shrine to be built for her in Ise. The Grand Shrine of Ise was then built and became Amaterasu's chief place of worship.

Later, when Suinin's grandson Yamato Takeru went to visit his aunt Yamatohime before going to pacify the eastern regions on his father Emperor Keikō's commands, he was given the divine sword to protect him in times of peril. With its power, he managed to survive when he was betrayed by a chieftain, using the sword's power to create divine flames that burn his enemies alive. After this encounter, he renamed it **Kusanagi no Tsurugi** (草薙の剣, *"Grass Cutter"*). On his way home from the east, Yamato Takeru left the sword in his second wife Miyazuhime of Owari's protection, and without it, he was killed in an ambush on Mount Ibuki. Thus, the Kusanagi no Tsurugi stayed in Owari, where it was enshrined in the Atsuta Shrine.

## Equipment

**Imperial Regalia of Japan** (三種の神器, *Sanshu no Jingi*): The three sacred treasures connected to the foundation of Japan's imperial family since the Age of Gods. While most mundanes believe them to simply be ancient relics that symbolize authority, in reality, they are powerful magical relics that preserve the archaic [Mystery] of the Japan archipelago ever since its creation under Izanagi and Izanami.

* **Kusanagi no Tsurugi** (草薙の剣): A powerful sword of divine origins found in the corpse of the Evil Dragon Yamata no Orochi, who was once worshiped in the Izumo Province as leader of the *kunitsukami*. After the Great War, it was taken by the Vatican and transformed into a holy spirit sword, imbued with the holy attribute that acts as the bane of all demonic creatures.
* **Yata no Kagami** (八咫鏡): An ancient *shinjū-kyō* mirror made of polished bronze and is imbued with immense divine power. It was created by Ishikoridome under Omoikane's commands as part of the *amatsukami*'s plan to trick Amaterasu out of the Ame-no-Iwayato. It grants whoever possesses it the power to control light as well as being constantly regenerated under sunlight, thus making them virtually immortal.
* **Yasakani no Magatama** (八尺瓊勾玉): A *magatama* bead made from a material unlike any on Earth, but rather originated from the Garden of Eden. It was first created by Ame-no-Minakanushi and was passed down to Amaterasu. While never officially revealed, it is a *Cintamani* jewel, with power to manifest the possessor's dream, provided that enough magical power is provided and the wish itself is pure and unselfish.

## Quotes

**Susanoo**: "*Then goodbye, I guess...*"
**Amaterasu**: "*No, Susanoo. Au revoir. Just au revoir.*"
— Amaterasu and Susanoo

## Trivia

* Despite being born from Izanagi alone, she is Izanami's daughter, both biologically and spiritually.
* Her name can be understood as the "Heaven-Illuminating Great Deity", the "Heaven-Shining-Great-August-Deity", or the "Great and Mighty Spirit Heaven Shining".
* She is associated with snakes, dragons, and "dragon-fox".
* As Shinto grew popular throughout Japan, more domains and aspects were attributed to her.
	+ In one region, she was the Goddess of the Wind and Typhoons alongside Susanoo.
	+ In local legends in Ise, she was seen as a nameless Goddess of the Sea and the Underworld.
	+ She was once seen as a snake goddess who embodied the "three poisons" in Buddhist mythology, consisting of greed, anger, and ignorance.
* While enshrined outside of Japan, she could be seen as the goddess that represents Japan and its ethnicity, and by worshiping in these temples, devotees were worshiping Japan itself, not her.
	+ Most of her colonial and oversea shrines were destroyed after World War II.
* She doesn't like to be reminded that Susanoo is her five sons' father nor does she like remembering she is the mother of Susanoo's daughters.