Amaterasu

This time for japanese Mythology.


picture by Genzoman

Amaterasu (天照), Amaterasu-ōmikami (天照大神／天照大御神) or Ōhiru-menomuchi-no-kami (大日孁貴神) is a sun goddess and one of the principal Shinto deities (神, kami). The meaning of her name, Amaterasu-ōmikami, is "the great august kami who shines in the heaven". She was born from the left eye of Izanagi as he purified himself in a river and went on to become the ruler of the Higher Celestial Plain (Takamagahara).

She is also said to be directly linked in lineage to the Imperial Household of Japan and the Emperor, who are considered descendants of the kami themselves.

Amaterasu is described in the Kojiki as the sun goddess who was born from Izanagi's left eye. She was also accompanied by her siblings Susanoo, the storm deity, and Tsukuyomi, the moon deity, who were born from Izanagi's nose and right eye respectively. In the Kojiki, Amaterasu is described as the goddess from which all light emanates and is often referred to as the sun goddess because of her warmth and compassion for the people who worshipped her. Some other myths state that Amaterasu was born from water.

Most of her myths revolve around an incident where the goddess traps herself in a cave because of her brother's actions. For a while, everything among the three revered gods was peaceful and all of the world ran smoothly. One day, Susanoo, in a drunken rampage, trampled Amaterasu's rice fields, filled all of her irrigation ditches and threw excrement into her palace and her shrines. The Omikami asked her brother to stop but he ignored her and even went so far as to throw the corpse of a skinned horse at her hand-maidens who were weaving at the time. The women were killed by the splintered wood from the looms piercing their bodies.

Amaterasu was greatly angered and in protest she shut herself in the Heavenly Cave and sealed it shut with a giant rock. As a result, the world was consumed with darkness. Without her, everything began to wither and die. Countless Kami gathered in front of her cave and devised a way to lure her out. They all sat around the cave and set up a mirror across from the entrance. Ame-no-Uzume, the voluptuous goddess of merriment turned over a wash-tub and began a sensual dance, tapping the beat on the tub. She exposed her breasts and lifted her skirts as she danced. All of the gods made a great noise of yelling and cheering and laughing. Amaterasu peeked out to see what the noise was about. She asked the nearest god what was going on and he replied that there was a new goddess. When Amaterasu asked where she was, he pointed to the mirror.

The Omikami had never seen herself before and when she caught her reflection, she stared at the radiance of her own form. She was so surprised she said "omo-shiroi", which means both "white face", which the Omikami had, and "fascinating". When she was out of the way, Tajikara-O shut the rock behind her. Having lured her out of the cave, the gods convinced her to go back into the Celestial Plain and all life began to grow again and become strong in her light. Once back in the Celestial Plain, she made sure that she was ready for her brother's harsh actions again by having a bow and quiver at her side.

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.