, often called Amaterasu () for short, also known as and , is the goddess of the sun in

Japanese mythology Japanese mythology is a collection of traditional stories, folktales, and beliefs that emerged in the islands of the Japanese archipelago. Shinto traditions are the cornerstones of Japanese mythology. The history of thousands of years of contac ...

. Often considered the chief

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

(''kami'') of the

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

pantheon, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the () and the (720 CE), as the ruler (or one of the rulers) of the heavenly realm

Takamagahara In Japanese mythology, , also read as Takaamanohara, Takamanohara, Takaamagahara, or Takaamahara, is the abode of the heavenly gods (''amatsukami''). Often depicted as located up in the sky, it is believed to be connected to the Earth by the bridge ...

and as the mythical ancestress of the

Imperial House of Japan The is the reigning dynasty of Japan, consisting of those members of the extended family of the reigning emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present constitution of Japan, the emperor is "the symbol of the State ...

via her grandson

Ninigi is a deity in Japanese mythology. (-no-Mikoto here is an honorific title applied to the names of Japanese gods; Ninigi is the specific god's name.) Grandson of the sun goddess Amaterasu, Ninigi is regarded according to Japanese mythology as the ...

. Along with two of her siblings (the moon deity

Tsukuyomi , or simply or , is the moon kami in Japanese mythology and the Shinto religion. The name "Tsukuyomi" is a compound of the Old Japanese words and . The ''Nihon Shoki'' mentions this name spelled as , but this ''yumi'' is likely a variation ...

and the impetuous storm-god

Susanoo __FORCETOC__ Susanoo (, ; historical orthography: , ), often referred to by the honorific title Susanoo-no-Mikoto (), is a in Japanese mythology. The younger brother of Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and mythical ancestress of the Japanese im ...

) she ranks as one of the "Three Precious Children" (, ), the three most important offspring of the creator god

Izanagi Izanagi (イザナギ/伊邪那岐/伊弉諾) or Izanaki (イザナキ), formally referred to with a divine honorific as , is the creator deity (''kami'') of both creation and life in Japanese mythology. He and his sister-wife Izanami are the ...

. Amaterasu's chief place of worship, the

Grand Shrine of Ise The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the solar goddess Amaterasu Ōmikami and the grain goddess Toyouke-hime (Toyouke Omikami). Also known simply as , Ise Shrine is a shrine complex composed of many Shin ...

Ise Ise may refer to: Places *Ise, Mie, a city in Japan **Ise Grand Shrine, a Shinto shrine located in Ise, Mie * Ise Ekiti, a city in Nigeria * Ise, Norway, a village in Norway *Ise Province, an ancient province of Japan *River Ise, a tributary of the ...

Mie Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture an ...

, 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 shrine A Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiii is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, , the deities of the Shinto religion. The Also called the . is where a shrine's patron is or are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dic ...

s throughout Japan.

Name

The goddess is referred to as ''Amaterasu Ōmikami'' ( / ; historical orthography: , ''Amaterasu Ohomikami'';

Old Japanese is the oldest attested stage of the Japanese language, recorded in documents from the Nara period (8th century). It became Early Middle Japanese in the succeeding Heian period, but the precise delimitation of the stages is controversial. Old Ja ...

: ''Amaterasu Opomi₁kami₂'') in the , while the gives the following variant names: *Ōhirume-no-Muchi (;

Man'yōgana is an ancient writing system that uses Chinese characters to represent the Japanese language. It was the first known kana system to be developed as a means to represent the Japanese language phonetically. The date of the earliest usage of t ...

: ; hist. orthography: , ''Ohohirume-no-Muchi''; Old Japanese: ''Opopi₁rume₁-no₂-Muti'') *Amaterasu Ō(mi)kami (; hist. orthography: , ''Amaterasu Oho(mi)kami'') *Amaterasu Ōhirume no Mikoto () *Hi-no-Kami (; OJ: ''Pi₁-no-Kami₂'') ''Amaterasu'' is thought to derive from the verb ('' ama'' + '' teru'' ) combined with the honorific

auxiliary verb An auxiliary verb ( abbreviated ) is a verb that adds functional or grammatical meaning to the clause in which it occurs, so as to express tense, aspect, modality, voice, emphasis, etc. Auxiliary verbs usually accompany an infinitive verb or ...

'' -su'', while ''Ōmikami'' means 'great august deity' ('' ō'' + honorific prefix '' mi-'' + ''

kami are the Deity, deities, Divinity, divinities, Spirit (supernatural entity), spirits, mythological, spiritual, or natural phenomena that are venerated in the traditional Shinto religion of Japan. ''Kami'' can be elements of the landscape, forc ...

''). Notably, ''Amaterasu'' in ''Amaterasu Ōmikami'' is not technically a name the same way ''Susanoo'' in ''Susa no O no Mikoto'' or ''

Ōkuninushi Ōkuninushi (; historical orthography: , ), also known as Ō(a)namuchi (''Oho(a)namuchi'') or Ō(a)namochi (''Oho(a)namochi'') among other variants, is a ''kami'' in Japanese mythology. He is one of the central deities in the cycle of myths re ...

'' in ''Ōkuninushi no Kami'' is. is an attributive verb form that modifies the noun after it, . This epithet is therefore, much more semantically transparent than most names recorded in the ''Kojiki'' and ''Nihon Shoki'', in that it means exactly what it means, without allusion, inference or etymological opacity, literally 'The Great August Goddess Who Shines in Heaven'. This usage is analogous to the use of

relative clauses A relative clause is a clause that modifies a noun or noun phrase and uses some grammatical device to indicate that one of the arguments in the relative clause refers to the noun or noun phrase. For example, in the sentence ''I met a man who wasn ...

in English, only different in that Japanese clauses are placed in front of the noun they modify. This is further exemplified by (1) an alternative epithet, (, ), which is a plain, non-honorific version of , (2) alternative forms of the verb used elsewhere, for example its continuative form () in the ''

Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku , abbreviated as Sandai Jitsuroku, is an officially commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 901, it is the sixth and final text in the Six National Histories series. It covers the years 858–887. Background Following the earlier nati ...

'', and (3) similar uses of attributive verb forms in certain epithets, such as

Emperor Jimmu was the legendary first emperor of Japan according to the and . His ascension is traditionally dated as 660 BC.Kelly, Charles F"Kofun Culture"terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devices for a computer * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together ** Battery terminal, electrical contact used to ...

negative in ' Ugayafukiaezu no Mikoto' (, ). Her other name, , is usually understood as meaning (cf. '' hiru'' , from '' hi'' + '' me'' ), though alternative etymologies such as (taking to mean ) or (suggested by Orikuchi Shinobu, who put forward the theory that Amaterasu was originally conceived of as the consort or priestess of a male solar deity) had been proposed. A possible connection with the name

Hiruko , also transliterated or called or , is the Japanese god of fishermen and luck. He is one of the , and the only one of the seven to originate purely from Japan without any Buddhist or Taoist influence. Origins as Hiruko In Feudal times, Ebisu' ...

(the child rejected by the gods

and

Izanami , formally referred to with the honorific , is the creator deity of both creation and death in Japanese mythology, as well as the Shinto mother goddess. She and her brother-husband Izanagi are the last of the seven generations of primordial ...

and one of Amaterasu's siblings) has also been suggested. To this name is appended the honorific , which is also seen in a few other

theonym A theonym (from Greek (), 'god', attached to (), ) is a proper name of a deity. Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics, the study of the etymology, history, and use of proper names. Theonymy helps develop an und ...

s such as ' Ō(a)namuchi' or 'Michinushi-no-Muchi' (an epithet of the three Munakata goddesses). As the ancestress of the imperial line, the epithet (, ; also read as ) is also applied to Amaterasu in names such as Amaterasu Sume(ra) Ō(mi)kami (, also read as 'Tenshō Kōtaijin') and 'Amaterashimasu-Sume(ra)-Ōmikami' (). During the medieval and early modern periods, the deity was also referred to as 'Tenshō Daijin' (the ''

on'yomi , or the Sino-Japanese vocabulary, Sino-Japanese reading, is the reading of a kanji based on the historical Chinese pronunciation of the character. A single kanji might have multiple ''on'yomi'' pronunciations, reflecting the Chinese pronuncia ...

'' of ) or 'Amateru Ongami' (an alternate reading of the same). The name ''Amaterasu Ōmikami'' has been translated into English in different ways. While a number of authors such as Donald Philippi rendered it as ,

Basil Hall Chamberlain Basil Hall Chamberlain (18 October 1850 – 15 February 1935) was a British academic and Japanologist. He was a professor of the Japanese language at Tokyo Imperial University and one of the foremost British Japanologists active in Japan during ...

argued (citing the authority of

Motoori Norinaga was a Japanese people, Japanese scholar of active during the Edo period. He is conventionally ranked as one of the Four Great Men of Kokugaku (nativist) studies. Life Norinaga was born in what is now Matsusaka, Mie, Matsusaka in Ise Province ...

) that it is more accurately understood to mean (because the auxiliary is merely honorific, not causative, such interpretation as would miss the mark), and accordingly translated it as . Gustav Heldt's 2014 translation of the ''Kojiki'', meanwhile, renders it as "the great and mighty spirit Heaven Shining."

Mythology

In classical mythology

Birth

Both the () and the (720 CE) agree in their description of Amaterasu as the daughter of the god

and the elder sister of

, the deity of the

moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

, and

, the god of storms and seas. The circumstances surrounding the birth of these three deities, known as the "Three Precious Children" (, ), however, vary between sources: *In the , Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi and Susanoo were born when Izanagi went to "

he plain of He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter call ...

Awagihara by the river-mouth of Tachibana in Himuka in

he island of He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

Tsukushi" and bathed () in the river to purify himself after visiting

Yomi is the Japanese language, Japanese word for the underworld, land of the dead (World of Darkness). According to Shinto mythology as related in ''Kojiki'', this is where the dead go in the afterlife. Once one has eaten at the hearth of Yomi it is ...

, the underworld, in a failed attempt to rescue his deceased wife,

. 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

(the "Plain of High Heaven"), Tsukuyomi the night, and Susanoo the seas. *The main narrative of the has Izanagi and Izanami procreating after creating the Japanese archipelago; to them were born (in the following order) Ōhirume-no-Muchi (Amaterasu), Tsukuyomi, the 'leech-child'

, and Susanoo: *A variant legend recorded in the ''Shoki'' has Izanagi begetting Ōhirume (Amaterasu) by holding a

bronze mirror Bronze mirrors preceded the glass mirrors of today. This type of mirror, sometimes termed a copper mirror, has been found by archaeologists among elite assemblages from various cultures, from Etruscan Italy to Japan. Typically they are round a ...

in his left hand, Tsukuyomi by holding another mirror in his right hand, and Susanoo by turning his head and looking sideways. *A third variant in the ''Shoki'' has Izanagi and Izanami begetting the sun, the moon, Hiruko, and Susanoo, as in the main narrative. Their final child, the fire god

Kagutsuchi Kagutsuchi (カグツチ; Old Japanese: ''Kagututi''), also known as Hi-no-Kagutsuchi or Homusubi among other names, is the kami of fire in classical Japanese mythology. Mythology Kagutsuchi's birth burned his mother Izanami, causing her death. ...

, caused Izanami's death (as in the ''Kojiki''). *A fourth variant relates a similar story to that found in the ''Kojiki'', wherein the three gods are born when Izanagi washed himself in the river of Tachibana after going to Yomi.

Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi

One of the variant legends in the ''Shoki'' relates that Amaterasu ordered her sibling Tsukuyomi to go down to the terrestrial world ( Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni, the "Central Land of Reed-Plains") and visit the goddess

Ukemochi , commonly known as , the daughter of the Shinto deities Izanagi and Izanami, is a goddess of food in the Shinto religion of Japan. In some differing interpretations, Ukemochi is referred to as both male and female. When shown in other forms, Ukemo ...

. When Ukemochi vomited foodstuffs out of her mouth and presented them to Tsukuyomi at a banquet, a disgusted and offended Tsukuyomi slew her and went back to Takamagahara. This act upset Amaterasu, causing her to split away from Tsukuyomi, thus separating night from day. Amaterasu then sent another god, Ame-no-Kumahito (), who found various food-crops and animals emerging from Ukemochi's corpse. Amaterasu had the grains collected and sown for humanity's use and, putting the silkworms in her mouth, reeled thread from them. From this began

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

sericulture Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, the caterpillar of the Bombyx mori, domestic silkmoth is the most widely used and intensively studied silkwo ...

. This account is not found in the ''Kojiki'', where a similar story is instead told of Susanoo and the goddess

Ōgetsuhime , commonly known as , the daughter of the Shinto deities Izanagi and Izanami, is a goddess of food in the Shinto religion of Japan. In some differing interpretations, Ukemochi is referred to as both male and female. When shown in other forms, Ukemo ...

.Chamberlain (1882)
Section XVII.—The August Expulsion of His-Impetuous-Male-Augustness.
/ref>

Amaterasu and Susanoo

When Susanoo, the youngest of the three divine siblings, was expelled by his father Izanagi for his troublesome nature and incessant wailing on account of missing his deceased mother Izanami, he first went up to Takamagahara to say farewell to Amaterasu. A suspicious Amaterasu went out to meet him dressed in male clothing and clad in armor, at which Susanoo proposed a trial by pledge (''

ukehi is a Japanese Shinto divination ritual. Function and performance Hayashi Oen, a nineteenth-century practitioner of ''ukehi'', identified six functions of the rite. He claimed it could be used to: * ask for information or messages from the ''ka ...

'') to prove his sincerity. In the ritual, the two gods each chewed and spat out an object carried by the other (in some variants, an item they each possessed). Five (or six) gods and three goddesses were born as a result; Amaterasu adopted the males as her sons and gave the females – later known as the three Munakata goddesses – to Susanoo. Susanoo, declaring that he had won the trial as he had produced deities of the required gender, then "raged with victory" and proceeded to wreak havoc by destroying his sister's rice fields and defecating in her palace. While Amaterasu tolerated Susanoo's behavior at first, his "misdeeds did not cease, but became even more flagrant" until one day, he bore a hole in the rooftop of Amaterasu's weaving hall and hurled the "heavenly piebald horse" (, ), which he had flayed alive, into it. One of Amaterasu's weaving maidens was alarmed and struck her genitals against a weaving shuttle, killing her. In response, a furious Amaterasu shut herself inside the Ame-no-Iwayato (, , also known as Ama-no-Iwato), plunging heaven and earth into total darkness. The main account in the ''Shoki'' has Amaterasu wounding herself with the shuttle when Susanoo threw the flayed horse in her weaving hall, while a variant account identifies the goddess who was killed during this incident as Wakahirume-no-Mikoto (, ). Whereas the above accounts identify Susanoo's flaying of the horse as the immediate cause for Amaterasu hiding herself, yet another variant in the ''Shoki'' instead portrays it to be Susanoo defecating in her seat:

The Heavenly Rock Cave

After Amaterasu hid herself in the cave, the gods, led by Omoikane, the god of wisdom, conceived a plan to lure her out: Inside the cave, Amaterasu is surprised that the gods should show such mirth in her absence. Ame-no-Uzume answered that they were celebrating because another god greater than her had appeared. Curious, Amaterasu slid the boulder blocking the cave's entrance and peeked out, at which Ame-no-Koyane and Futodama brought out the mirror (the

Yata-no-Kagami is a sacred bronze mirror that is part of the Imperial Regalia of Japan. Name and significance The represents "wisdom" or "honesty," depending on the source. Its name literally means "The Eight Mirror," a reference to its size. Mirrors in ...

) and held it before her. As Amaterasu, struck by her own reflection (apparently thinking it to be the other deity Ame-no-Uzume spoke of), approached the mirror, Ame-no-Tajikarao took her hand and pulled her out of the cave, which was then immediately sealed with a straw rope, preventing her from going back inside. Thus was light restored to the world. As punishment for his unruly conduct, Susanoo was then driven out of Takamagahara by the other gods. Going down to earth, he arrived at the land of Izumo, where he killed the monstrous serpent

Yamata no Orochi Yamata no Orochi (ヤマタノオロチ, also written as 八岐大蛇, 八俣遠呂智 or 八俣遠呂知) is a legendary eight-headed and eight-tailed serpent that appears in Japanese mythology. Both the ''Kojiki'' and ''Nihon Shoki'' record the ...

to rescue the goddess

Kushinadahime , also known as or Inadahime (稲田姫、いなだひめ) among other names, is a goddess (''kami'') in Japanese mythology and the Shinto faith. According to these traditions, she is one of the wives of the god Susanoo-no-Mikoto, Susanoo, who ...

, whom he eventually married. From the serpent's carcass Susanoo found the sword Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi (, ), also known as

Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi is a legendary Japanese sword and one of three Imperial Regalia of Japan. It was originally called , but its name was later changed to the more popular ("Grass-Cutting Sword"). In folklore, the sword represents the virtue of Courage, valor. L ...

( ), which he presented to Amaterasu as a reconciliatory gift.

The subjugation of Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni

After a time, Amaterasu and the

primordial deity In Greek mythology, the primordial deities are the first generation of Deity, gods and goddesses. These deities represented the fundamental forces and physical foundations of the world and were generally not actively worshipped, as they, for the ...

Takamimusubi Takamimusubi (高御産巣日, lit. "High Generative Force") is a Creator deity, creation deity in Japanese mythology, who was the second of the Kotoamatsukami, first beings to come into existence. It is speculated that Takamimusubi was origin ...

(also known as Takagi-no-Kami) declared that Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni, which was then being ruled over by

(also known as Ō(a)namuchi), the descendant (''Kojiki'') or the son (''Shoki'') of Susanoo, should be pacified and put under the jurisdiction of their progeny, claiming it to be teeming with "numerous deities which shone with a lustre like that of fireflies, and evil deities which buzzed like flies". Amaterasu ordered

Ame-no-Oshihomimi Amenooshihomimi (天忍穗耳尊,天之忍穂耳命) or Oshihomimi for short, is the first son of Amaterasu. He is believed to be the ancestor to the Japanese Imperial family. Name and etymology Amenooshihomimi name means "Ruling Rice Ears ...

, the firstborn of the five male children born during her contest with Susanoo, to go down to earth and establish his rule over it. However, after inspecting the land below, he deemed it to be in an uproar and refused to go any further.Chamberlain (1882)
Section XXX.—The August Deliberation for Pacifying the Land.
/ref> At the advice of Omoikane and the other deities, Amaterasu then dispatched another of her five sons, Ame no Hohi. Upon arriving, however, Ame no Hohi began to curry favor with Ōkuninushi and did not send back any report for three years. The heavenly deities then sent a third messenger,

Ame-no-Wakahiko Ame no Wakahiko (天稚彦 or 天若日子) is a god of grains and ''Amatsukami'' in Japanese mythology. He is the son of Amatsukunitama. The ', one of the ''Otogi-zōshi'', is a ''monogatari'' about him. Name The name Ame no Wakahiko means "a y ...

, who also ended up siding with Ōkuninushi and marrying his daughter Shitateruhime. After eight years, a female

pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera's native range is restricted to Eura ...

was sent to question Ame-no-Wakahiko, who killed it with his bow and arrow. The blood-stained arrow flew straight up to Takamagahara at the feet of Amaterasu and Takamimusubi, who then threw it back to earth with a curse, killing Ame-no-Wakahiko in his sleep. The preceding messengers having thus failed to complete their task, the heavenly gods finally sent the warrior deities

Futsunushi , also known as , is a warrior god in Japanese mythology. Also known under the epithet Katori Daimyōjin () after his shrine in northern Chiba Prefecture (historical Shimōsa Province), Katori Jingū, he is often revered alongside Takemikazuc ...

and

Takemikazuchi is a deity in Japanese mythology, considered a god of thunder and a sword god. He also competed in what is considered the first sumo wrestling match recorded in history. He is otherwise known as "The ''kami'' of Kashima" (Kashima-no-kami), the ...

to remonstrate with Ōkuninushi. At the advice of his son

Kotoshironushi , also known as , is a Shinto ''kami''. In the ''Kojiki'', Kotoshironushi is the son of Ōkuninushi, the earthly deity of Izumo province. When the heavenly deities sent Takemikazuchi to conquer Izumo, Ōkuninushi deferred the decision over whethe ...

, Ōkuninushi agreed to abdicate and left the physical realm to govern the unseen spirit world, which was given to him in exchange. The two gods then went around Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni, killing those who resisted them and rewarding those who rendered submission, before going back to heaven. Ninigi

With the earth now pacified, Amaterasu and Takamimusubi again commanded Ame-no-Oshihomimi to descend and rule it. He, however, again demurred and suggested that his son

be sent instead. Amaterasu thus bequeathed to Ninigi, the sword Susanoo gave her, along with the two items used to lure her out of the Ame-no-Iwayato: the mirror Yata-no-Kagami and the jewel

Yasakani no Magatama are curved, comma-shaped beads that appeared in prehistoric Japan from the Jōmon period, Final Jōmon period through the Kofun period, approximately 1000 BCE to the 6th century CE. The beads, also described as jewels, were made of stone and e ...

. With a number of gods serving as his retinue, Ninigi came down from heaven to Mount Takachiho in the land of Himuka and built his palace there. Ninigi became the ancestor of the

emperors of Japan The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

, while the mirror, jewel, and sword he brought with him became the

three sacred treasures The are the imperial regalia of Japan and consist of the sword , the mirror , and the jewel . They represent the three primary virtues: valour (the sword), wisdom (the mirror), and benevolence (the jewel).

of the imperial house. Five of the gods who accompanied him in his descent - Ame-no-Koyane, Futodama, Ame-no-Uzume, Ishikoridome (the maker of the mirror), and

Tamanoya Tamanooya-no-Mikoto (玉祖命), also known as Tamanoya, is a kami from Japanese mythology. Mythology Tamanooya is believed to be the creator of Yasakani no Magatama, one of the three imperial regalia of Japan - commonly referred to as the “ ...

(the maker of the jewel) - meanwhile became the ancestors of the clans involved in court ceremonial such as the Nakatomi and the Inbe.

Emperor Jimmu and the Yatagarasu

Many years later, Ninigi's great-grandson, Kamuyamato-Iwarebiko (later known as

Emperor Jimmu was the legendary first emperor of Japan according to the and . His ascension is traditionally dated as 660 BC.Kelly, Charles F"Kofun Culture"Kumano, located on the southern part of the

Kii Peninsula The is the largest peninsula on the island of Honshū in Japan and is located within the Kansai region. It is named after the ancient Kii Province. The peninsula has long been a sacred place in Buddhism, Shinto, and Shugendo, and many people wou ...

. While there, he and his army were enchanted by a god in the shape of a giant bear and fell into a deep sleep. At that moment, a local named Takakuraji had a dream in which Amaterasu and Takamimusubi commanded the god Takemikazuchi to help Iwarebiko. Takemikazuchi then dropped his sword, Futsu-no-Mitama, into Takakuraji's storehouse, ordering him to give it to Iwarebiko. Upon waking up and discovering the sword inside the storehouse, Takakuraji went to where Iwarebiko was and presented it to him. The magic power of the Futsu-no-Mitama immediately exterminated the evil gods of the region and roused Iwarebiko and his men from their slumber. Continuing their journey, the army soon found themselves stranded in the mountains. Takamimusubi (so the ''Kojiki'') or Amaterasu (''Shoki'') then told Iwarebiko in a dream that the giant crow

Yatagarasu is a mythical crowThe Book of Ancient Matters, The Book of Ancient Matters, Gakken, pp. 130, 138, 139. and guiding Kami, god in Shinto mythology. He is generally known for his three-legged figure, and his picture has been handed down since an ...

would be sent to guide them in their way. Soon enough, the bird appeared and led Iwarebiko and his men to safety. At length, Iwarebiko arrived at the land of Yamato (modern

Nara Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the ...

) and defeated Nagasunehiko, thereby avenging his brother Itsuse. He then established his palace-capital at

Kashihara 280px, Kashihara City Hall is a city located in Nara Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 118,674 in 56,013 households, and a population density of 3000 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . A number of histor ...

and ruled therein.

Enshrinement in Ise

An anecdote concerning

Emperor Sujin , also known as in the , and or in the was the tenth Emperor of Japan. While Sujin is the first emperor whose existence historians widely accept, he is still referred to as a "legendary emperor" due to a lack of information available and beca ...

relates that Amaterasu ( via the Yata-no-Kagami and the Kusanagi sword) and Yamato-no-Okunitama, the

tutelary deity A tutelary (; also tutelar) is a deity or a Nature spirit, spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept ...

of Yamato, were originally worshipped in the great hall of the imperial palace. When a series of plagues broke out during Sujin's reign, he "dreaded ..the power of these Gods, and did not feel secure in their dwelling together." He thus entrusted the mirror and the sword to his daughter , who brought them to the village of Kasanuhi, and she would become the first

Saiō or was the title of the unmarried female members of the Imperial House of Japan, Japanese Imperial Family, sent to serve at Ise Grand Shrine from the late 7th century to the 14th century. The 's residence, , was about north-west of the shrine ...

. and delegated the worship of Yamato-no-Okunitama to another daughter, Nunakiirihime. When the pestilence showed no sign of abating, he then performed

divination Divination () is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic ritual or practice. Using various methods throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a should proceed by reading signs, ...

, which revealed the plague to have been caused by

Ōmononushi Ōmononushi (; Historical kana orthography, historical orthography: ''Ohomononushi'') is a ''kami'' in Japanese mythology associated with Mount Miwa (also known as Mount Mimoro) in Sakurai, Nara, Sakurai, Nara Prefecture. He is closely linked in ...

, the god of

Mount Miwa or is a mountain located in the city of Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It has been an important religious and historical mountain in Japan, especially during its early history, and serves as a holy site in Shinto. The entire mountain is co ...

. When the god was offered proper worship as per his demands, the epidemic ceased. During the reign of Sujin's son and successor,

Emperor Suinin , also known as was the 11th legendary Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Less is known about ''Suinin'' than his father, and likewise he is also considered to be a "legendary emperor". Both the ''Kojiki'', and t ...

, custody of the sacred treasures were transferred from Toyosukiirihime to Suinin's daughter Yamatohime, who took them first to "Sasahata in Uda" to the east of Miwa. Heading north to Ōmi, she then eastwards to

Mino Mino may refer to: Places in Japan * Mino, Gifu, a city in Gifu Prefecture * Mino, Kagawa, a former town in Kagawa Prefecture * Mino, Tokushima, a town in Tokushima Prefecture * Mino, an alternate spelling of Minoh, a city in Osaka Prefecture * Mi ...

and proceeded south to

, where she received a revelation from Amaterasu: This account serves as the origin myth of the

, Amaterasu's chief place of worship. Later, when Suinin's grandson Prince Ousu (also known as

Yamato Takeru , originally , was a Japanese folk hero and semi-legendary prince of the imperial dynasty, son of Emperor Keikō, who is traditionally counted as the 12th Emperor of Japan. The kanji spelling of his name varies: it appears in the ''Nihon Shoki'' ...

) went to Ise to visit his aunt Yamatohime before going to conquer and pacify the eastern regions on the command of his father,

Emperor Keikō , also known as and , was the 12th legendary Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Both the ''Kojiki'', and the ''Nihon Shoki'' (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') record events that took place during Keikō's all ...

, he was given the divine sword to protect him in times of peril. It eventually came in handy when Yamato Takeru was lured onto an open grassland by a treacherous chieftain, who then set fire to the grass to entrap him. Desperate, Yamato Takeru used the sword to cut the grass around him (a variant in the ''Shoki'' has the sword miraculously mow the grass of its own accord) and lit a counter-fire to keep the fire away. This incident explains the sword's name ("Grass Cutter"). On his way home from the east, Yamato Takeru – apparently blinded by

hubris Hubris (; ), or less frequently hybris (), is extreme or excessive pride or dangerous overconfidence and complacency, often in combination with (or synonymous with) arrogance. Hubris, arrogance, and pretension are related to the need for vi ...

– left the Kusanagi in the care of his second wife, Miyazuhime of Owari, and went to confront the god of

Mount Ibuki is a mountain, on the border of Maibara, Shiga, Maibara, Shiga Prefecture, and Ibigawa, Gifu, Ibigawa, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. It is one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains, and is also included on the lists of the 100 Kinki Mountains and the ...

on his own. Without the sword's protection, he fell prey to the god's enchantment and became ill and died afterwards. Thus the Kusanagi stayed in Owari, where it was enshrined in the shrine of Atsuta.

Empress Jingū and Amaterasu's ''aramitama''

At one time, when

Emperor Chūai , also known as was the 14th legend, legendary Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional List of Emperors of Japan, order of succession. Both the ''Kojiki'', and the ''Nihon Shoki'' (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') record events that to ...

was on a campaign against the

Kumaso The were a mythical people of ancient Japan mentioned in the ''Kojiki'', believed to have lived in the south of Kyūshū until at least the Nara period. The last leader of the Kumaso, Torishi-Kaya was killed by Yamato Takeru in 397. The name of ...

tribes of

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

, his consort

Jingū Jingu may refer to: People *Empress Jingū (c. AD 169–269) *Toshio Jingu (born 1948), a Japanese fencer Other uses *Jingu Stadium, Tokyo, Japan *Jingū, a name for Shinto shrines connected to the Imperial House of Japan *Busanjin District, Sou ...

was possessed by unknown gods who told Chūai of a land rich in treasure located on the other side of the sea that is his for the taking. When Chūai doubted their words and accused them of being deceitful, the gods laid a curse upon him that he should die "without possessing this land." (The ''Kojiki'' and the ''Shoki'' diverge at this point: in the former, Chūai dies almost immediately after being cursed, while in the latter, he dies of a sudden illness a few months after.) EmpressJinguInKorea

After Chūai's death, Jingū performed divination to ascertain which gods had spoken to her husband. The deities identified themselves as Tsukisakaki Izu no Mitama Amazakaru Mukatsuhime no Mikoto (, 'The Awe-inspiring Spirit of the Planted ''

Sakaki ''Cleyera japonica'' (sakaki) is a flowering evergreen tree native to warm areas of Japan, Taiwan, China, Myanmar, Nepal, and northern India (Min and Bartholomew 2015). It can reach a height of 10 m. The leaves are 6–10 cm long, smooth, ...

'', the Lady of Sky-distant Mukatsu', usually interpreted as the '' aramitama'' or 'violent spirit' of Amaterasu), Kotoshironushi, and the three gods of Sumie ( Sumiyoshi): Uwatsutsunoo, Nakatsutsunoo, and Sokotsutsunoo. Worshiping the gods in accordance with their instructions, Jingū then set out to conquer the promised land beyond the sea: the

three kingdoms of Korea The Three Kingdoms of Korea or Samhan (Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla) competed for hegemony over the Korea, Korean Peninsula during the ancient period of History of Korea, Korean history. During the Three Kingdoms period (), many states and statele ...

. When Jingū returned victorious to Japan, she enshrined the deities in places of their own choosing; Amaterasu, warning Jingū not to take her along to the capital, instructed her to install it in Hirota, the harbor where the empress disembarked.

Family

Family tree

Consorts

She is a virgin goddess and never engages in sexual relationships. However, according to , she was a consort to a sun god and some telling stories place

as her husband.

Siblings

Amaterasu has many siblings, most notably

and

Tsukiyomi , or simply or , is the moon kami in Japanese mythology and the Shinto religion. The name "Tsukuyomi" is a compound of the Old Japanese words and . The ''Nihon Shoki'' mentions this name spelled as , but this ''yumi'' is likely a variation i ...

used the words "elder brother" to translate her dialog referring to Susanoo in the ''Kojiki'', even though he noted that she was his elder sister. The word (which was also used by Izanami to address her elder brother and husband Izanagi) was ''nase'' (phonetically spelt in the ''Kojiki''; modern dictionaries use the semantic spelling , whose

kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

literally mean ), an ancient term used only by females to refer to their brothers, who had higher status than them. (As opposed to males using ( in the ''Kojiki'') to refer to their sisters, who had lower status than them.) The ''Nihon Shoki'' used the Chinese word () instead. Some tellings say she had a sister named Wakahirume who was a weaving maiden and helped Amaterasu weave clothes for the other kami in

heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

. Wakahirume was later accidentally killed by Susanoo. Other traditions say she had an older brother named

Descendants

Amaterasu has five sons,

Ame-no-oshihomimi Amenooshihomimi (天忍穗耳尊,天之忍穂耳命) or Oshihomimi for short, is the first son of Amaterasu. He is believed to be the ancestor to the Japanese Imperial family. Name and etymology Amenooshihomimi name means "Ruling Rice Ears ...

, Ame no Hohi,

Amatsuhikone Amatsuhikone (天津日子根命,天津彥根命, which means little lad of Heaven) in Japanese mythology is the third son of Amaterasu. In many versions, he is born from Amaterasu's jewels in her hair. In other versions he is born from the vine us ...

Ikutsuhikone Ikutsuhikone () is a god of Japanese mythology. He is the fourth son of Amaterasu. In many versions of his birth story, he is born from Amaterasu’s jewels after being chewed up and spat out by Susanoo-no-Mikoto. He was fourth born of the five ...

, and

Kumanokusubi Kumanokusubi (熊野久须毘命,熊野櫲樟日命, Wonder Worker of Bear Moors) is a God in Japanese mythology. He is the fifth son of Amaterasu. Some scholars have identified this ''kami'' as the ''saijin'' at the shrine Kumano Jinja in Shi ...

, who were given birth to by Susanoo by chewing her hair jewels. According to one account in the ''Nihon Shoki'', it was because these children were male that Susanoo won during the ritual to prove his intent, even though they were not his children, but hers. This explanation of the outcome of the ritual contradicts that in the ''Kojiki'', according to which it was because she gave birth to female children using his sword, and those children were his. The ''Kojiki'' claims he won because he had daughters to whom she gave birth, while the ''Nihon Shoki'' claims he won because he himself gave birth to her sons. Several figures and noble clans claim descent from Amaterasu most notably the Japanese imperial family through Emperor Jimmu who descended from her grandson

. Her son Ame no Hohi is considered the ancestral

of clans in

Izumo Izumo (出雲) may refer to: Locations * Izumo Province, an old province of Japan * Izumo, Shimane, a city located in Shimane Prefecture ** Izumo Airport * Izumo-taisha, one of Japan's most ancient and important Shinto shrines Ships * ''Izumo ...

which includes the

Haji clan The Haji clan (, ''Haji-uji, Haji-shi'') is a Japanese Uji (clan), clan. The clan administered earthenware artisans, organized collectively into a group called ''Haji-be'' (). During the Yamato period, these artisans worked chiefly on soil-rela ...

, Sugawara clan, and the

Senge clan Senge is an a capella vocal group from southern Madagascar. The group was formed as a male trio that performed the ''beko'' polyharmonic style of the Tandroy people, occasionally accompanied by an eight-piece acoustic band featuring traditional in ...

. The legendary

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by th ...

wrestler Nomi no Sukune is believed to be a 14th-generation descendant of Amenohohi.

Worship

The

Ise Grand Shrine The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the solar goddess Amaterasu Ōmikami and the grain goddess Toyouke-hime (Toyouke Omikami). Also known simply as , Ise Shrine is a shrine complex composed of many Shi ...

( ) located in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, houses the inner shrine, Naiku, dedicated to Amaterasu. Her sacred mirror,

Yata no Kagami is a sacred bronze mirror that is part of the Imperial Regalia of Japan. Name and significance The represents "wisdom" or "honesty," depending on the source. Its name literally means "The Eight Mirror," a reference to its size. Mirrors in ...

, is said to be kept at this shrine as one of the Imperial regalia objects. A ceremony known as () is held every twenty years at this shrine to honor the many deities enshrined, which is formed by 125 shrines altogether. New shrine buildings are built at a location adjacent to the site first. After the transfer of the object of worship, new clothing and treasure and offering food to the goddess the old buildings are taken apart. The building materials taken apart are given to many other shrines and buildings to renovate. This practice is a part of the Shinto faith and has been practiced since the year 690 CE, but is not only for Amaterasu but also for many other deities enshrined in Ise Grand Shrine. Additionally, from the late 7th century to the 14th century, an unmarried princess of the Imperial Family, called "

" () or (), served as the sacred priestess of Amaterasu at the Ise Shrine upon every new dynasty. The in

Takachiho file:TakachihokyoWithManaiFalls.JPG, 270px, Manai Falls file:Mt.Sobo.jpg, 270px, Mount Sobo file:Yokagura.jpg, 270px, Yokagura is a List of towns in Japan, town in Nishiusuki District, Miyazaki, Nishiusuki District, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. , t ...

Miyazaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,028,215 as of 1 January 2025 and has a geographic area of 7,735 Square kilometre, km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefectur ...

is also dedicated to Amaterasu and sits above the gorge containing

Ama-no-Iwato is a cave in Japanese mythology. According to the ''Kojiki'' (''Records of Ancient Matters'') and the ''Nihon Shoki'', the bad behavior of Susano'o, the Japanese god of storms, drove his sister Amaterasu into the Ama-no-Iwato cave. The land w ...

. The worship of Amaterasu to the exclusion of other has been described as "the cult of the sun." This phrase may also refer to the early pre-archipelagoan worship of the sun. According to the ''

Engishiki The is a Japanese book of laws and customs. The major part of the writing was completed in 927. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Engi-shiki''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 178. History Emperor Daigo ordered the compilation of the ''Engishi ...

'' () and '' Sandai Jitsuroku'' () of the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

, the sun goddess had many shrines named "Amateru" or "Amateru-mitama", which were mostly located in the

Kinki The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropolit ...

area. However, there have also been records of a shrine on Tsushima Island, coined as either "Teruhi Gongen" or the "Shining Sun Deity" during medieval times. It was later found that such a shrine was meant for a male sun deity named Ameno-himitama. Amaterasu was also once worshiped at Hinokuma shrines. The Hinokuma shrines were used to worship the goddess by the Ama people in the

Kii Province , or , was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is today Wakayama Prefecture, as well as the southern part of Mie Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kii''" in . Kii bordered Ise, Izumi, Kawachi, Shima, and Yamato Pro ...

s. Because the Ama people were believed to have been fishermen, researchers have conjectured that the goddess was also worshiped for a possible connection to the sea. In Kurozumikyō, a Shinto-derived new religion that was founded in 1814 by Munetada Kurozumi ( 黒住宗忠), Amaterasu is the supreme deity that is worshipped. Amaterasu is also the main deity worshipped in the Shinto-derived new religion

Tenshō Kōtai Jingūkyō Tenshō Kōtai Jingūkyō (Japanese language, Japanese ) is a Japanese new religious movement which emerged from Shinto. The movement began activities in 1945, and reportedly includes 450,000 members. It was established by Sayo Kitamura () (190 ...

, founded by Kitamura Sayo. Amaterasu was thought by some in the early 20th century until after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to have "created the

Japanese archipelago The is an archipelago of list of islands of Japan, 14,125 islands that form the country of Japan. It extends over from the Sea of Okhotsk in the northeast to the East China Sea, East China and Philippine Sea, Philippine seas in the southwest al ...

from the drops of water that fell from her spear" and in historic times, the spear was an item compared to the sun and solar deities.

Differences in worship

Amaterasu, while primarily being the goddess of the sun, is also sometimes worshiped as having connections with other aspects and forms of nature. Amaterasu can also be considered a goddess of the wind and typhoons alongside her brother, and even possibly death. There are many connections between local legends in the Ise region with other goddesses of nature, such as a nameless goddess of the underworld and sea. It is possible that Amaterasu's name became associated with these legends in the Shinto religion as it grew throughout Japan. One source interprets from the Heavenly Rock Cave myth that Amaterasu was seen as being responsible for the normal cycle of day and night. A historical myth holds that she painted the islands of Japan into being, alongside her siblings

and

. In contrast, Amaterasu, while enshrined at other locations, also can be seen as the goddess that represents Japan and its ethnicity. The many differences in Shinto religion and mythology can be due to how different local gods and beliefs clashed. In the Meiji Era, the belief in Amaterasu fought against the Izumo belief in

for spiritual control over the land of Japan. During this time, the religious nature of Okininushi may have been changed to be included in Shinto mythology. Osagawara Shouzo built shrines in other countries to mainly spread Japan's culture and Shinto religion. It, however, was usually seen as the worshiping of Japan itself, rather than Amaterasu. Most of these colonial and oversea shrines were destroyed after WWII.

Other worshiped forms

Snake

Outside of being worshiped as a sun goddess, some have argued that Amaterasu was once related to snakes. There was a legend circulating among the Ise Priests that essentially described an encounter of Amaterasu sleeping with the

every night in the form of a snake or lizard, evidenced by fallen scales in the priestess' bed. This was recorded by a medieval monk in his diary, which stated that "in ancient times Amaterasu was regarded as a snake deity or as a sun deity." In the Ise kanjō, the god's snake form is considered an embodiment of the "three poisons", namely greed, anger, and ignorance. Amaterasu is also linked to a snake cult, which is also tied to the theory that the initial gender of the goddess was male.

Dragon

In general, some of these Amaterasu–dragon associations have been in reference to Japanese plays. One example has been within the

Chikubushima ''Chikubushima'' is an anonymous Noh play of the first category, celebrating the sacred volcanic island of that name in Lake Biwa. Plot During the reign of Emperor Daigo, a courtier goes to the island in the center of Lake Biwa: Chikubu Island. ...

tradition in which the dragon goddess

Benzaiten is an East Asian Buddhism, East Asian Buddhist Dharmapala, goddess who originated from the Hindu Saraswati, the patroness of speech, the arts, and learning. Worship of Benzaiten arrived in Japan during the sixth through eighth centuries, mai ...

was the emanation of Amaterasu. Following that, in the Japanese epic, Taiheki, one of the characters,

Nitta Yoshisada also known as Minamoto no Yoshisada was a samurai lord of the Nanboku-chō period Japan. He was the head of the Nitta clan in the early fourteenth century, and supported the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in the Nanboku-chō period. He famo ...

(), made comparisons with Amaterasu and a dragon

Ryūjin Ryūjin ( 龍神, ), which in some traditions is equivalent to Ōwatatsumi, was the tutelary deity of the sea in Japanese mythology. In many versions Ryūjin had the ability to transform into a human shape. Many believed the god had knowledge o ...

with the quote: "I have heard that the Sun Goddess of Ise … conceals her true being in the august image of

Vairocana Vairocana (from Sanskrit: Vi+rocana, "from the sun" or "belonging to the sun", "Solar", or "Shining"), also known as Mahāvairocana (Great Vairocana), is a major Buddha from Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Vairocana is often interpreted, in text ...

, and that she has appeared in this world in the guise of a dragon god of the blue ocean." Another tradition of the Heavenly Cave story depicts Amaterasu as a "dragon-fox" ( or ) during her descent to the famed cave because it is a type of animal/

that emits light from its entire body. The connection between the fox, Dakiniten, and Amaterasu can also be seen in the ''Keiran Shūyōshū'', which features the following retelling of the myth of Amaterasu's hiding: Commenting on the ''sokui kanjō'', Bernard Faure writes:

under the name "Fox King," Dakiniten became a manifestation of the sun goddess Amaterasu, with whom the new emperor united during the enthronement ritual. ..The Buddhist ritual allowed the ruler to symbolically cross over the limits separating the human and animal realms to harness the wild and properly superhuman energy of the "infrahuman" world, so as to gain full control of the human sphere.

Relation to women's positions in early Japanese society

Because Amaterasu has the highest position among the Shinto deities, there has been debate on her influence and relation to women's positions in early Japanese society. Some scholars have argued that the goddess' presence and high stature within the system could suggest that early rulers in Japan were female. Others have argued the goddess' presence implies strong influences female priests had in Japanese politics and religion.

In Japanese new religions

Amaterasu is the main deity, or one of the main deities, worshipped in various

Japanese new religions Japanese new religions are new religious movements established in Japan. In Japanese, they are called or . Japanese scholars classify all religious organizations founded since the middle of the 19th century as "new religions"; thus, the term refe ...

, including Kurozumikyō,

Shintō Tenkōkyo is a Shinto-based Japanese new religion founded by in 1920. Shinto Tenkokyo has several shrines (''jinja'' 神社) on Mount Iwaki or ''Iwaki-yama'' ( 石城山) in Hikari, Yamaguchi Prefecture. Its headquarters is located at the southern base ...

, and Uchūshinkyō Kōmyōjin.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Shinmei shrines Ise Shrine Japanese goddesses Kumano faith Shinto kami Solar goddesses Sky and weather goddesses Wind goddesses Death goddesses Underworld goddesses Sea and river goddesses Personifications Amatsukami Legendary progenitors Bodhisattvas Vairocana Dakinis Mythological foxes Fox deities Inari faith Japanese dragons Snake goddesses